Blackshear Project: A (nearly) blank slate
It's been a few weeks since I've given any updates on our house remodel, but it's not because nothing has been happening. In fact a lot has been happening over there, and I'm finally ready to share a bit of the progress I've made. Before I do that, let's do a quick recap. Basically, I bought a house that I can remodel, live in for a year, and tear down. For the full details, check out my last post.
Original yellow on beige on brown color scheme. This was the living/bedroom on one side of the house.
The first bit of work to be done was demo, and lot's of it. There were a few pesky walls that were standing between my and my vision of an open livable space. A few hours with a pry bar, and lot's of dust later, things were looking much better. The next decision was to tear down all the ceilings in the living room / kitchen area. This was partially because of the meth inspired stalactite texture that was on the ceiling, and partially to open up the space even more, and bring some warm color into what will otherwise be an all white house.
The three pictures to the right are all looking in the same direction, before, during and after demo. I've connected the two front rooms of the house by removing a wall, and connected them to the kitchen as well, forming a large open L floor plan. While the results aren't entirely impressive in the photos, I can tell you that it makes a huge difference in real life. Speaking of making a huge difference. The original floor plan of the house had absolutely zero indoor / outdoor connection to the back yard. Which is a shame too, because the backyard has a very lovely heritage pecan tree. My remedy to that problem came in the form of a $300 vinyl sliding glass door from Home Depot. A little measuring and a saws all later and we had a sliding glass door! It's amazing to be able to see out to the backyard from the kitchen and it lets so much more light in.
Speaking of kitchens, the kitchen was probably about the scariest part of the whole house. All the cabinets were super nasty and there was so much water damage I ended up having to replace a whole bunch of dry wall and flooring that was falling apart. The end result is a nice blank slate just waiting for some custom budget cabinetry. Stay tuned for that one.
Lastly we have the totally amazing built in refrigerator. Budget style. I'm a bit of a snob when it comes to kitchen design, and I hate it when a refrigerator breaks up an otherwise clean looking kitchen. Obviously we didn't have budget for a fancy built in fridge, so we bought a small $400 fridge from Home Depot, and mounted it in the wall. If you are wondering why it's elevated? That's because there is a bathtub underneath it. We are turning the second bathroom into a laundry room and closet, so there was no need for the tub.
I left out a lot of the small things I've been doing (updating wiring where it was really scary, new plumbing etc) and there is obviously a lot more work to do. Then next big step that is going to hep tie everything together will be a white concrete floor. I think I've found a good DIY budget solution, fingers crossed it actually works out. Stay tuned!