It's always an adventure (sometimes painful, sometimes fun) to turn a new house into your own. We knew going into this one that there were some...shall we say...quirks that we were inheriting. The previous owner is an artist and she definitely used the house as her canvas. Before we start painting and redoing, I had to share some of the unique aspects of our new home. As my humanities professor always said, "different isn't necessarily bad...it's just different!"
1. (Starting at the top left.) This light, like many of its friends throughout the house, has been painted over...shade, cord, everything.
2. Likewise EVERY PLUG in the house. Not just the faceplate, mind you, but also the actual, wired, plug-goes-in-here thingie. I think this will require a bit of electrician work.
3. Look closely and you will see the kitchen mural of a big daisy, very Farrah Faucett-like with the wind blowing the petals back from its face. I'm sure if I were an adolescent male flower, I would want this on my bedroom wall but since I'm not, it's going to have to go.
4. Another mural that is directly across from the main entry to the house. Before I got a chance to take the picture, the kids (okay, I helped) took off all the fake jewels that were intermingled in the mural. That's right, I bought a home with a bedazzled wall. When we first walked through, there was a little pedastal in the lower left corner with a fairy on it.
5. (next row) This isn't so bad, actually. The colors aren't me, though, and I think the way the chair rail molding zigzags up the staircase is a little distracting so we're going to take it down.
6. That's right, folks. That fan is painted: the paddles and the fixture itself. I'm very excited about this room, though. It will be our project/homework room. We just got several IKEA pieces that will house all our art-sewing-craft materials, etc. Then we'll put a couple of tables in the middle of the room with stools. I'll post after photos in August once it gets painted, etc.
7. This is the little fireplace in Sam's room. Nice, huh? Well, here's the quirk:
8. It has tiles with soft-core romantic scenes on it. Yeah, we'll be at least painting over those.
9. (next row) This is the view from the master bedroom, through the see-through french doors, to the master bathroom. Clearly these people haven't heard that a little mystery, a little privacy is a good thing.
10. Another mural, this one in the master bedroom complete with glow-in-the-dark stars.
11. Also another painted light cover. It kind of defeats the purpose of lights, doesn't it?
12. Finally, this is the fireplace in the family room. I actually kind of like the harlequin-style painting on the mantel and my kids love it. Maybe this quirk will make it through. For now.
Stay tuned for the next installment...things I *love* about the new house.
