Unless you're a family member, I'm sure you're thinking, "Who the hell are Barry and Carly and why would I care about their house renovation?" Ummm...they're nobody and you shouldn't!
Just kiddin, Barry and Carly. They're family and they are one of the four people that read this shizzle. Actually Barry is Mr. B's son and Carly is our niece. Barry recently moved to Birmingham to be owner/operator of the newly acquired Splash-N-Dash carwash and Carly is finishing up her senior year at UAB. And they both happened to be homeless!! And single. And it's the South and they're cousins......oh even I can't go there.
The truth is, Barry needed to buy a house and Carly's former roommate had gotten married and moved out of town so she needed someplace to live for a year, so......we helped them find something that would work for both of them.
And we did, but it was in dire need of a little fixing up.
We're talking built in the 50's. Probably last renovated in the late 70's. Lots of baby blue carpet in addition to the ever chic avocado appliances. I know, right?
Well, let's just take a look, shall we.....
This is the front. A little lacking in the landscaping, don'tcha think? It's been a little cold around here so that part's not starting until next week.
The good news is that it has a great fenced in back yard. They both have dogs. You've seen them......Buck and Cody.
This is what I saw the first time I walked in the front door. I dove into my purse for my sunglasses. The baby blue was blinding. On a side note....check out the traffic patterns in the carpet. Do you think the owner had moved her furniture in the last 40 years?? Also, take special note of the walls. There's a lot of them and I hate walls!
Awww....panelling. 70's panelling. We had this in my house growing up. Don't need it in Twentyten, people. And how about that faux stone fireplace. Taking up 40% of the room. If you love it, SORRY. It's gone. Oh, and more baby blue carpet.
Check out that wood toilet seat!! Saweeeet!
This is what will be Barry's bedroom. That's not wallpaper....it's stenciled paint! I think we should bring it back. I'm a little sorry I got rid of it. ;)
And if the baby blue carpet wasn't enough, we color-matched the walls. Another thing that needs to re-appear in home decorating this century.
So chic.
I have nothing to say about the bathroom. EXCEPT. I love the bubble curtains on the FAKE window. Seriously thought about keeping that.
And the walls.....come tumbling down....and the walls....come tumbling, tumbling..... I love John Cougar Mellencamp, don't you.
That walls a goner, too.
Oh...that used to be the kitchen. A little outdated. Imagine.
See. I told you the walls were coming down.
Hate walls. That's Carly trying to figure out what the hell this mess is gonna look like and have her Aunt and Uncle gone MADDDDD.
Nope. We have vision.
And we don't like baby blue.
We like neutrals....earthy tones. Something representing this century.
And hardwood floors. Although I was clinging to the baby blue carpet as they were hauling it out.
Ahhh....new, modern cabinets. And electricity. Updated electricity. Which we need to do a little more of so the inspector will let us get new light fixtures. I don't like inspectors. They ruin my vision.
Can you see where this is heading?
Are you feeling me, yet??
The warmth, the inviting , homey vibe?
The open, airy, sunshiny feeling?
You didn't see this coming, did ya? Admit it. How did we ever get from baby blue to this?
Yup. All those walls are gone.
That 30 year old carpet.
That awful wallpaper and faux painting.
That dark, stifling, choking paneling.
On to light colors.....
Sunshine coming through the windows....
happy colors on the walls....
and big open spaces.
There are a few finishing touches yet to be completed....like these cabinets. We're going to tone them down a bit from the stark white and make them a little softer.
And light fixtures. They all need to be replaced.
But for the most part, Barry and Carly have a new beautiful home.
Carly has a room to study in (which should mean another year of great grades!)
An awesome bedroom...
and new....non blue....bathroom.
And then there's Barry's man cave. He's still got some cardboard motif to deal with!
But all in all....I think it turned out great! And, by the way, so do they!
A huge thanks to H2G Husbands who were our general contractors. They did a fantastic job and we can't say enough good things about them.
And our plumbers, SOS and Phillip Contorno. If you've ever renovated an old house, you know how important your plumbers are! These guys are the best.
And Anthony Davis, who built and installed all of our kitchen cabinets. This guy's a master. He also built my entire wine cellar so there's nothing this guy can't do!
Email me if you're in the Birmingham area and need some genius help!! I recommend them all!
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