All For A Floor

Today the first real project in the house began. Let's begin with the true "before" picture:

The living room (featuring the previous owner's furnishings)

The dining room (also not my furnishings, but what a great built in!)

So, it's nice right? It is. But...of course I can't be satisfied with things like they are! I have always dreamed of having wood floors in my home (also, a fireplace, but that's a far future project!). Plus, I think this carpet is WAY too light for a high traffic area like a living room and dining room that leads into the kitchen. I would never keep it clean, and it had a few stains already. 

I decided my first project would be to pull up the carpet and see what was hiding  underneath. Since this part of the house was originally built in the 1800s, I figured it was a good bet that there would be hardwoods underneath. However, it was risky, since the house was actually moved in the 1960s from across the street, so I could have found a mess. 

What I found instead...

That would be some nice floors with a LOT of old adhesive stuck to it.

Who put tile over these gorgeous floors in the past? Some choices will always baffle me. So, they're not perfect and it's gonna take a decent amount of work. I spent most of the day scraping.

But my first problem was tackling getting the utility knife package open.

Does anyone see the irony in being unable to open a knife package because you DON'T HAVE A KNIFE??

By the end of the day I'd made a little progress, though you couldn't tell too much. Tomorrow, back at it with the help of a friend and his dad's tools! My dreams of getting up new paint may go by the wayside as I try to get this floor done before I move in my furniture!

My First "Hive"

Today I closed on my very first home.

Maybe it seems silly to be nearing forty (let's not dwell on that, shall we?) and only now investing in your first property, but it's something I honestly wasn't sure was in the cards for me. Upon leaving the title company's office, key in hand, I got a little misty eyed sitting in my car. Could it have only been six months ago that I was crying, feeling like I was never going to own anything? never have a home of my own? It seems impossible.

Then I drove to my new (old) little house on its quiet, quaint street, and new it was true. It really felt like mine, as I sat making notes and picturing all the things I will do to make this "hive" feel even more like a home.

This process will involve lots of firsts, and I hope to chronicle the ups and downs here. Tonight mostly involved planning, but it also involved a bit of a revelation! The seller left me a lot of paperwork, including some pictures of the house before it had some changes made, and a newspaper from 1960 with a front page story of my 1890s house being moved from across the street so the First Baptist Church could build a new parking lot. The article talked about the potential first owners, one of which was the town's blacksmith/veterinarian. Somehow that seems about right!

I also worked with my friends to pull up the carpet in the living room to see what sort of shape the hardwood floors are in. They're going to take some work, and still look well worn...but I kind of like that. Tomorrow I'm off to work at removing ancient adhesive from the floors!

I'm glad they chose to move my little hive instead of tearing it down in the name of progress.