Trespassing..

Seeing as I’ve got nothing but time while I wait for the legalities to be worked out, I thought "What better to do with that time than trespass?" J

OK, so technically it’s trespassing – but I’m going to own the house soon, anyway. If anyone can tip-toe through the yard, it’s me. Plus, I wanted to document the ‘before’ portion of the house. I can rationalize most things.

Anyway, as you can see, the house has good points and bad points. I will contend that everything looks worse at this point in the year. We’re not snow-covered and pretty, and we’re not springy and new…we’re just gray and brown. Which accents my peeling paint really nicely. These pictures should give you a better idea of what we’ll ultimately be dealing with. It is – as I said – a tiny, little, Victorian home.

Many of the original details – like the bay window, and the overall scale of the house – have been left intact. Same goes for the interior; there’s a fireplace and all kinds of original woodwork and moldings. Some aspects of the house may have to go for budgetary reasons. In making these changes, I’m also keeping an eye on future maintenance concerns. That said, I’m probably going to do some things that will ADD to future maintenance because they look good and satisfy my need to make this house my home.

Anyway – here are pictures for today. Don’t get discouraged…this is the beginning of a big, fun project. A lot of work…but a lot of fun!

Here's the view you're familiar with - from the contentious driveway:

The front steps could use some work – I plan to keep the bricks.

The massive amount of shingles. In my unqualified opinion: the weight of the roof is pushing the west chimney away from the house, resulting in cracks.

The side entrance – from the driveway.

The rear of the house – this is the master bedroom (right) and the mudroom/side entry (left).

And here’s my problem child: the garage. Sorry garage, but you’re going down.. But I'm keeping your door.