40 Years Young

So, we bought a house.  Unlike our current home and the condos we each owned before marriage, this house is old.  And outdated.  And full of 90s decor.  But, it's on a golf course.  It's in a great country club community, and it's in one of the state's best school districts.  And, despite the house being outdated, it has good bones.  It's been maintained pretty well, and it has a nice yard.  So, we bought it.  We spent months searching for a lot on which we could build a custom home in the same area.  We had no luck.  We started looking at renovated homes and new construction, and nothing we saw had the right combination of an efficient layout, the right finishes, a nice yard, and a quiet community.  So, we looked at this old house with our realtor and general contractor.  With their approval and without too much thought, we made an offer.

Now, almost two months later, we own the house.  We spent a frantic couple of weeks going back and forth with our architect to get the ball rolling.  It was a crazy, rushed process.  We finally decided on a 5/5 layout with an open floor plan on the main level and a finished basement.  We're also tackling the exterior.  New roof line, new porch, new deck, new yard, new everything.  It's a MAJOR project.

Below are the before photos.  We look forward to the day (three or so months from now) when we can compare these to the after photos.  I'm certain there will be far less hunter green, burgundy, and brass.  The home was redecorated twenty or so years ago, and it is a perfect snapshot of the 90s.  I'm tempted to break out my Bass Bucs, Nirvana CD, and Seinfeld quotes each time I enter. 

I was planning on mentioning the changes to each room/area below the photos, however, everything is going to be changed.  Even the way the yard is graded will be different. 

I do have to say something about the photo below.  This is not wood on the basement steps.  It's carpet.  Carpet that has a parquet wood pattern.  Seriously.