Goodbye Duplex....

Today we moved out of our first home. Mom and dad bought the duplex on 49th Street in February of 2006. They were going to rent it out, but instead "sold it" to Mark & I. With the help of a LOT of people we slowly fixed it up and moved in August of 2006.

We lived here for three years (and it took us three years to get some of the projects done... infact... some still didn't get done.) I thought I would post some before and after pictures of our first home.... (all the before pictures were taken when Dad went to look at the house before buying... so none of the junk is ours.)

KITCHEN

The previous owners had thought yellow, blue and orange would be WONDERFUL kitchen colors... well... that just wasn't Mark and I's cup of tea. So we painted the cabinets white. We installed a new counter top and a dish washer. We bought a new sink and faucet, microwave and stove. We took out the old, weird pantry, moved the fridge there and had another cabinet installed for our dishes. We also took out the lino and Mark layed ceramic tile. We just put up the tile backsplash this September. The only thing that never got done in the kitchen was the cabinet beside the dishwasher.

Eating Area

Again, the previous owners loved yellow, orange and blue. So we repainted. We replaced the old light with a new fixture. And put a "decorative" cap on the half wall.

Living Room

The living room had its own unique "style" when we moved in. It was painted blue with a dark strip across the wall. The floor had parkay flooring on it, however, it wasn't finished all around the edges. We ripped that up and put carpet down. We also removed an old wood burning stove/fire place that was in the corner and had to repair the joist the previous owners had cut in order to install it. We placed potlights in the ceiling and again, we put the cap on the half wall. (These are pictures from when we first moved in... I never took pictures of the living room once we had kids... it was always too crowded with toys).

Bathroom

We took down the wallpaper that was in the bathroom and painted the walls and the vanity. We replaced the medicine cabinet and toilet seat (although we reeeeeeeeeally liked the wood one :P) We replaced the tub and shower doors with a new tub and surround. We also did ceramic tile on the floor and around the surround. We installed a light in the shower to add more light. The only thing that never got done was the counter top in the bathroom (although it is still sitting in the basement.)

Bedrooms

We never took before or after pictures of the bedrooms. All we really did in them were paint and add potlights.

Outside

And I wish we had taken before and after pictures of the outside of the house. In the front yard were two HUGE spruce trees. We took those out the first year Mark & I lived there. It added a lot of light into the living room, which we LOVED! We also took out a small tree and a hedge from the side of the house to put up our fence (there had never been a fence around the house before). We built a small deck on the back of the house (now with a rail Mark just finished building last week) and a large deck on the side of the house. The backyard was just a big hill, so we put in a retaining wall and steps and terreced it all. (I blogged about all of this way back when as we were doing it, so you can check out pictures there.)

We put a lot of elbow grease and sweat equity into this place. (But don't get me wrong, there's still a LOT that could be done!) And now... and now we have to start all over again with the new house. Auuuuuuuuuugh! But now we know how to do a lot of the work ourselves and know that in the end, its all worth it! I don't want to get all corny and mushy... but its kind of bitter sweet. I'm happy and excited to be moving to a new house - a bigger house! But I'm sad to be leaving at the same time too. This was Mark and I's first house as a married couple (the only place we've lived together) and its Logan's and Katie's first house too. (Not that they'll remember it at all). Oh well..... back to square one.

We don't get posession of our new place until Monday. And then we're going to take about a week to do most of the major renovations (painting and flooring) before moving in. So for now we will be living at my parents' place. (Six people and three dogs all under one roof... this should be fun!)