April Showers Bring... Renovations!

Spring is here and renovations are back in action! Life and its sense of priorities, which often differ from my own, have kept us away from the house for a few more weeks than anticipated. After coming off of our spray insulation high (no pun intended), we were ready and raring to get back up there and demo/insulate the remainder of the downstairs. Alas, almost 4 weeks have passed, but we are set to drive up at 6am tomorrow and get back to business. We're very much hoping that the spray insulation tanks, which aren't supposed to sit for more than a few weeks, are still usable. Each set of tanks costs upward of $600, so a loss of that kind would be a big financial blow! Fingers crossed.

In the meantime, we have been keeping ourselves busy with some reno-related activities. We've continued to work on a few furniture restorations, including my new pet project... a side table/cabinet type piece of furniture. I can't really say that I know what it was originally meant for, or where we will put it, but darn it it's going to find a home in this house. It was so beat up even Tony wasn't sure if we could save it, but after quite a few hours, a good amount of wood filler and some antique-colored paint, we have something nice on our hands. The final step is to stain the top to match the interior of the cabinet. Here's an image of what we have so far:

Updates to this item and a few others, including an antique dressing chair, have been posted to our Furniture Restorations slideshow. Click here if you are interested in seeing more: Furniture Restorations

If you find yourself feeling nostalgic for greenery and totally trashed homes, check out our most recent slideshow, aptly titled "The Worst of the Worst." After seeing our slideshow of photos taken during our first weekend working on the house, Tony felt like perhaps we were selling ourselves short. Most of the photos had been taken after the rooms were already somewhat cleaned up, making the house look a little better than its original appearance. They didn't properly convey the wreck that still managed to win our hearts. So, for your enjoyment, have a look-see at a series of photos taken during our first official visit to the house in July 2010. We intentionally photographed the worst spots in the house for construction purposes, but they also make for an amusing photo album. Revel in the destruction and ask that inevitable question... 'What were they thinking??'

Click here to see photos of the house sporting 30 years of neglect!

With the weekend being mere hours away, we are getting primed and pumped for another two days of serious demolition and serious progress! A little bird told us that the majority of snow around the house is gone at this point, so we just... might... see grass. Or at least some sort of grass/mud combo. After all, it has been covered in snow for 5 months straight .

Updates to follow next week! 

- Melissa