Birtha's Before Tour

When looking for a home last year, we specifically wanted a fixer upper. Don't you give us a nice home, realtor! And Birtha certainly was (and still is as we're 10 months into our renovation). 

What made us fall in love, aka, Birtha's Before:

The outside of the home is definitely the most up to date (almost all new windows - scoorreee!) and was kept up pretty well. Birtha looks so well manicured here, but as a crazy dog mom, those poisonous boxwoods and yew trees in the front yard said buh-bye (those suckers did not go easily) and they have been replaced with lumpy dirt mounds. So now it's like, "LOOK AT OUR NEW HOME! WELCOME TO OUR DIRT MOUND HOME!" We promise your front will be pretty again someday, Birth!

The front door! It seems as though everyone who has commented on this front door loves it, but I am not feeling it. I love the windows on the side, yes, but the carved motif and chipping stained glass date the door so much. We have a few ideas for how to make the door better, and paint will definitely be involved.

Oh, hello, peep of a beautiful staircase!

Oh, hello, smoke-stained green and yellow wallpaper that I believe was not originally green and yellow. The beadboard's not terrible, but doesn't fit the style of our renovation. 

Even with the wallpaper, this photo is so beautiful to me - it's all about the windows and french doors.

The living room with a gargantuan, ugly 80s yellow brick fireplace, a strangely textured wallpapered wall that was painted over, one wall light, one wood-paneled wall and another wall (not pictured) that seemed to have plywood put up over the plaster that we didn't notice until after we were under contract. Oh, and the ceiling fan! I honestly don't even remember that - we have done a lot of work these past 10 months. 

Oh, geez.

Looking into the dining room from the kitchen, with a sun room off to the left. We sure do love all of our windows!

Looking into the kitchen (our poor, terribly lit, tiny kitchen) from the dining room. 

The sun room off of the dining room with more paneling and god-awful red marble tiles that were in four rooms total - you'll see. 

This kitchen. So tiny and with a drop paneled ceiling. 

Instead of the kitchen, let's focus on the beautiful sunlight drenching the dining room floors!

We've got a paneled ceiling and a paneled wall in the kitchen!

The dark space on the right-hand side of the photo is a doorway leading to the back room (and this back room is so poorly designed) - and the doorway on the left leads to the front hallway.

Ah, here's the strange back room that we speak of! Panelingeverywhere (yes, that's meant to be one word). What seems like another room jutting out into this space is from the first-floor hallway bathroom/original powder room. Inside that magical paneling lives a jetted tub, with a skylight, with a ceiling above the skylight. And yes, we all hit our heads on that light. 

A big, bulky closet on the left and another mysterious what is that room doing there jutting into this space! Behind that panel is the washer and dryer, and behind the washer and dryer is the fridge pushed into this back room. There is also a closet with the water heater and electrical panel. Oh, and see - there's the red marble tile again!

The original powder room downstairs that was converted to a full bath with the addition of the tub. And the skylight leading to nowhere - can't forget the skylight. 

Now onto the second floor, and yes, the vertical wallpaper stripes do get skinnier as you go up the stairs. 

So much space was taken up in this hallway by the large wooden bookshelf on the right and even larger closet on the left. 

Our master bedroom! Paneling flanks the bottom of the walls, we have a lonely wall light and two closets (one not pictured).

Our en-suite (which is also open to the hallway as you come up the stairs) with double sinks, a light switch placed in the mirror, a sloping floor and crisp white "walls." I say "walls" because they are actually the awful red marble tiles painted white - and the walls are completely covered in them. 

The door in this photo is the one that allows access to this bathroom from the upstairs hallway. 

Lighting placement in this bathroom is questionable. What was there that made someone put a light behind a door above absolutely nothing? (Update: Clayton says it's a poop light.)

One of the two guest rooms (this one is what we refer to as the "third bedroom"). We did pull back a bit of the carpet, and there are original hardwoods under that pink carpet. You'll also see that the third bedroom is open to the second bedroom via bi-fold doors. 

Our sweet, enclosed back porch! We still haven't figured out what the purpose is of the blue fabric in the bottom right-hand corner, but we still have it there (you know, just in case, plus we've been busy).

Our back yard needs so much help, and it looks much better in this photo than it does today. Despite its current state, it is incredibly peaceful with mature trees and leaves that make the most beautiful rustling in the wind. This is also where Clayton and I plan to be married. 

This view reminds me of a country home, and I love it so much. Crazy dog mom again - I did love the plants surrounding the porch, but since I didn't know what they were, couldn't find a definitive answer and was worried about whether or not they were poisonous to dogs, out they went. The pavers were given away as a free-if-you-pick-up on Craigslist and I have relocated about half of those pebbles to the now defunct pond o' fertility that is in our backyard (aka, what we call the "penis pond" because it is phallic in shape - I kid you not).

If we want to have picnics in our driveway, WE ARE COVERED!

The only thing Clayton wanted - a garage he could use as a workshop. He got his garage, but it has had water intrusion over who knows how many years (it sits below grade), and it smells really moldy - like I-don't-think-it's-healthy-to-be-in-here moldy.

And that - all of that - is exactly what made us fall in love with Birtha. We could see that this home had beautiful bones and A TON of freaking potential. 

What do you think you would've done after seeing this home? Would you have fallen in love with Birtha, too, or would you have said, "Buh-bye, Birtha!"?