Where did our home improvement story begin? Well, high school, if you count the desk chair we began refinishing the morning after our ACTs. But the real story, and the focus of this blog, began in December 2003. After six weeks of searching, and some convincing from Alex, we decided on the house that was, coincidentally, the very first house we toured with our agent.

Never mind that the owner was a little creepy and wouldn't leave the property during showings. Ignore the fact that the home looked like a run down bachelor pad, complete with damaged hardwood floors, little character, and a bathroom that Blanche Devereaux would have felt at home in. We looked past all of that and fell in love with the amount of space, the great location in the center of a highly sought-after historic district, the quaint outdoor courtyard, historic charm, and loads of potential. From the surface, it looked like it could use some decorating, as well as new bathrooms and a new kitchen. But boy, we would come to find out later that wouldn't even scratch the surface.

That being said, I invite you to tour our home, the way it appeared during our home inspection in December 2002. It's becoming clearer to me now why my mother had a horrified look on her face the first time she came to visit. I think her exact words were, “It will be...cute...when you're done with it.” Another close friend actually said to us, “Actually, I'm surprised you would buy such a crappy place.” (We still haven't let him live that one down.) But here it is, in all it's glory:

(We've made some significant changes to the exterior since then)

The hardwood floors in each room were damaged or removed and poorly patched. Here's the evidence the doorway to the living room was widened at some point.