The Little House

Welp.  You just may be hearing a lot about what I have deemed "the little house" in the near future.  Yessiree, we have a house (all financial rigmarole pending of course).  We bid on a 1080 square foot house in SE Portland and this time the owners didn't change their minds about selling!

As of right now the house is far from what a had dreamed we'd move into.  Instead of an adorable craftsman bungalow, we ended up with a mid-century plain Jane.  HOWEVER, to me plain Jane equals blank canvas!  My mind has already been racing with ideas to give the house some spunk. 

Spunk is exactly what it needs too.  The entire house is monotone inside and out.  The textures are even boring.  No worries, however, a year with the Becker's and the little house will be nice and loved up.  Want a peek at it?  (again, please realize we're buying good solid POTENTIAL here, not a better homes and garden cottage)  I took these pics from the rmls listing.  They're not the best quality, but you'll get the idea.

yep.  The ENTIRE house is covered in cream colored vinyl siding.

Imagine a new, colored door, wood trim details added in same color (what color would you suggest?), painted garage door and possibly a mini pergola over it similar to this one

Eventually we'd update the garden beds.  I don't like rhododendrons at all and the azaleas are looking pretty old and rough and I don't like how they distract from the big windows (which currently have ugly aluminum storm windows on them).

The back yard is HUGE, a rarity in P-town.  Again, I HATE rhodies, but we'll live with them for now.  I really like the clothes line and can't wait to use it.

This is the view when you walk in the front door.  Aren't those marbled carpets lovely? HA!  Luckily the entire house has gorgeous oak flooring that has been hiding underneath marbled and chartreuse carpet for decades.  Project #1: get rid of ALL carpet!

After we tear down the track lightly and 1987 brass chandelier I've been toying with the idea of broad horizontal stripes in the dining room.  Maybe two neutral tones like taupe and white.  What would you do?

Alright. The kitchen is definitely where we need some help.  The fridge, curtains and stove will go right away (anyone want an antique?).  As for the rest of the kitchen I think I'm going to have to live with it for a little bit to figure out what exactly I want to do.  It's itty bitty so some real brainstorming will have to take place.  The cabinets are solid wood, which will give us a nice starting point.  The floors...oy, the floors.

The bathroom is without a doubt going to be a BIG project someday.  It's layout is horrible and everything is super outdated. I'm going to take more pics during our inspection tomorrow so that you can experience the atomic style heat lamp for yourself.  There is probably less than 24 inches between the sink and the tub wall.  Maneuvering around in there is going to be interesting.  If I could I would tear everything out and start over.  That's probably not going to happen for a very very long time. First step will be new mirrors, lights and eventually a new vanity.

All in all this little house just needs some lovin'.  It's structurally in great shape, in a great location and we're not going to be breaking the bank.  I'm so thankful.  I'm ready to be done with the paperwork process and get on to the painting!  We have an inspection tomorrow, so I'll take more pictures then.  Did I mention the tray ceilings?  I'm going to have all kinds of fun with those!