Nov 30, 2024 4 min read

Before (& During) & After: Part 2

The "easy" stuff.

The house gets terrific eastern and southern light.

When we bought 615 Sunset Lane, there were still some furnishings left in the house, along with a lot of dated window treatments. Those had to go before we could resell. There were also "little things" that weren't so little that needed attention.

The light blue of the fireplace had gone well with our dear neighbors' furnishings, but once the house was cleaned out, it seemed clear the 1923 fireplace looked wrong in blue. So, we fixed that, starting with a special paint-remover. We also replaced the heavy, 1970s-style ceiling fan with something less obtrusive.

The living room also got fresh paint in a color that really compliments the woodwork.

When we bought in January, the four-season sunroom had most of its windows obscured by the overgrown bushes out front. (Click here to see what those looked like from outside.)

Still, I loved the sunroom even when it was in need; it evoked my elementary school, which was full of real woodwork lovingly rendered and aged to a perfect patina. But this room did need a big cleanup, and fresh paint, too.

Here's the after:

The bushes that remain were saved because they compliment the house and sunroom. In fall, the burning bushes blaze.

The room faces east, with northern and southern exposures, too. It's remarkably large and wonderfully bright and warm.

Upstairs, one thing that bugged everyone was that the crown molding didn't meet the ceiling in the bedrooms.

That gap between the molding and the ceiling drew the eye up to...a dark shadow.

Now, all the crown molding in the bedrooms is fixed, and all the bedrooms (ceiling, walls, and trim) and bedroom closets are freshly painted.

This is the first of the upstairs bedrooms. The house has four bedrooms in total: one on the first floor and three on the second floor. All have fresh paint on the ceilings, walls, trim, and closets.

The same upstairs bedroom with both windows shown. To the left is a doorway to the attic stairs. To the right is a big closet.

Another upstairs bedroom, crown molding fixed, freshly painted walls, trim, ceiling, closet.

The third upstairs bedroom. Again, fresh paint on the ceiling, closet, walls, and trim. The door with a window leads to a roof used as a sundeck. The other door leads to a big closet.

Here's the walk-in closet to the third bedroom. It backs up on the second-floor bathroom and could be turned into an en suite full bathroom with shower. In that case, the big closet in the hallway could have a new door cut to become the closet to this bedroom.

Like I said, some things were relatively easy to fix...

In the living room, dusty gauze curtains hung on the front door and on the French door to the upstairs hallway. Additionally, the doorway to the kitchen (to the left) felt blocked by the old door. The curtains, which were starting to come apart, went in the trash, but of course we saved the beautiful oak door, in case a future owner wants to put it back. It's tucked into basement storage with other salvaged items.

Without that unnecessary kitchen door there, the space along that wall is perfect for a side table with a lamp. And a new owner can add fresh curtains to whichever doors they like.

Doors from left go to the kitchen, to the coat closet and stairs going up, to the front porch, and to the sunroom.

Not that it wasn't a ton of work in itself, but that was the easy stuff. Pretty cosmetic. Then came the serious work....

Stay tuned for Part 3...