Before and After... gulp

Loved Rhoda of Southern Hospitality's idea of a before and after

tour she is so smart that way!...Just click the emblem below to be swept away

to some amazing blogger accomplishments...

Okey Dokey, Grab your popcorn...

as for me...I came across a couple of pictures of our humble abode

BEFORE we bought it.

It was kinda sad... one friend could not understand

WHY we were buying it.

"It's not old (all our previous homes were from mid 1800's to 1920's)

It has no identifiable character (1970's spanish-ish rambler)

and mainly....drumroll...

It is ugly."

she ever so gently reminded us.

Let's take a peeksie, shall we...

at a part of the kitchen...Mod in it's heyday it had orange formica, yellow lino

a jennaire indoor grill and wacky orange and gold wallpaper.

Now THAT sounds like fun on a stick!

Wish I could have seen that...we uncovered those parts..they had since vanilla-ized it

This pic was lightened significantly so that you can see it...the black/brown

panelling from the family room cast a suitably dark pallor over the kitchen...

Now...No beauty queen awards...but injected a bit of personality.

I am allergic to upper cabinets ( yes. note from doc to prove it)...so they came down within a month.

But just last year we did this...

Backsplash, for those who asked before

was found at Habitat Homestore...$5 bucks. Tried to use it in bathroom re-do 1. No go. Tried again in bathroom 2. Still no go.

So by default it landed here. hated it at first...

There was a gate around the pool (gone).

pool was built to teach scuba diving so is extra big and deep

...and, oh dear, more uppers. (you know)

Wave to Alice...the lovely previous owner

they lovingly built the house.

And I have to say it is built like a tank...no expense spared in that dept.

Not a great pic...but, you get the drift...



Yet...Another part of the kitchen.

We ended up putting a glass cooktop (hate it...bucking for gas)

In the island...and turned this whole space into a butcher block

work area. (yep...uppers? Outta here)

works for us.

2008 added new cabs with a lot more

storage. Yippee. And tiled.

I know, I know...a red (??) hood!

I toyed with taking the paint off, and

underneath it is aluminum...like an old airplane's body.

Thought I could do that...for a bit more industrial vibe...

Or....(you tell me? Plaster over the metal with a molding ledge?...)

2009 may tell.

But this... this is my most fave part. The guest house.

Built as a boy scout lodge (He was a pack leader hmmm)...

The yard was mud...well a few trees and mud.

Wave to Ginny...Said friend who couldn't believe we would even think of this place

If you look closely...you can see the disgust on her face (hee) In her defense... I was having some major trepidation right then too!

Now a charming cottage (says I)...

engulfed by jungle and paths

that was significantly more charming until we realized we needed a machete in our gardening tool bag

So...some Before and Afters for ya...really before and middles. We have been

Tackling this sponge... err... project... for five years now,

everything seems to keep changing aound here

year to year.

What's up with that???