Before...

Last January, Clif and I decided that we were interested in buying a house. We began our search in D.C. because that's where we went to church and Clif works there. But, after months of searching and realizing that we were going to get a row house, in a reeeeeaaaally bad part of town for about $500,000...oh yeah, and it would need tons of work, we decided that was out of our plan for a realistic home purchase. Then, we began looking closer to the area that we currently live. We looked and looked, with a similar outcome to our findings in D.C., we were bummed. Then, a neighbor told us that the home right next to us was owned by the son of the previous owner (who had lived in the house since the '50s.) They were interested in selling. So, one day I saw them working and I hopped over...they offered to show it to us...and I was smacked in the face by the smell of cigarette smoke right away. The walls were cracking. The olive green shag carpet was kind of sticky. The windows were horribly old and metal and gross. Pretty much everything was gross. We knew that we were wanting a house to fix up...but there's a difference between "fixing up" and a health hazard. So, after a few months we decided that we would buy this mess of a house. Luckily, we knew the potential because we had lived next door for a year in a home that was in great shape. Immediately, Clif and I began scrubbing the walls with a bleach solution. We spent hours cleaning the walls. They were covered in nicotene. Then we had a marathon weekend of painting. Between KILZ and painting each room...4 walls and ceilings...required 6 coats of paint...each. The nicotene kept seeping through. This house was a PSA announcement in itself...don't smoke. Then, we ripped up the carpet (horribly gross) wearing some serious masks, then the floors were redone...they look like brand new hard woods! We moved in, replaced the roof, the windows, and have a brand new kitchen. Our home finally feels transformed. We still have work to do - bathrooms, a few light fixtures, adding a room in the basement...but when I look at these pictures...I cannot believe we moved into such a place. The after photos will follow...I just wanted you to get the full effect of the beauty of the befores....