Château Amanda
Built in 1924, this two-story brick home has three bedrooms, two baths (full on the second floor and partial with a shower in the basement, a large livingroom and diningroom and hardwood floors on both levels. The electric, upon closing, was the old knob-and-tube variety. The windows are original, and most of the hardwood is unpainted. There is a detatched garage in the back, and the property is .14 acres.
When first viewing the house, I noticed this fabulous set of metal chairs and tables (there are total of four chairs and two tables; items not shown here were stored in the basement). I've seen these same chairs at antique shows selling for eighty bucks each. Because of this I asked for them in the contract. The seller denied my request. However, upon closing, they were left behind anyway. In addition to these vintage gems, an antique coat rack, a wooden chest, basement shelving, a workbench (with all sorts of odds and ends), and metal cabinets were all left at the house. Currently, I use the coat rack, and one of the cabinets serves as a pantry.
Ah ha! I have gotten you inside! This is the inside of the front door. As you can see, it is flanked by two windows and has not being marred by paint over the years. The varnish is in good shape and was applied with care. I'm a big fan of natural woodwork and floors. For this reason, I am glad I did not get the first house bid on earlier in the Fall. It was a charming Victorian, but was carpeted and wallpapered and painted beyonds its original state. In fact, under the carpeting, there was plywood. And beyond that, asbestos? The floors shown in this picture were protected for years under carpeting. They are oak and in excellent shape. They will need to be buffed, however, before furniture is placed downstairs. The walls, stark white at closing, have been painted Queen Anne's Lace, a soft, creamy white with a atouch of brown. The coat rack to the right was left by the previous owners. In the picture above a dustpan is hanging from it. How tacky.
Unfortunately, this fireplace no longer works. However, it will be a good place for a plant, or some books, or a candleabra, or even an electric fireplace. We'll see. Atop the brick, there is a wood mantle. The mirror above is in good shape, but needs a little silvering right of the center. That'll take a lot of motivation on my part, as I have no idea what would be needed to get that down from the wall. It might just stay as is.
To the left of the fireplace is the entrance to the diningroom. At one time this was rounded. After removing the paneling on the living wall, we noticed that the sides of the entrance were eighty percent drywall and twenty percent wood. This wood was put in place before the wall was paneled, to make the job easier. We kept it square, obviously. It was easy and saved time, and it looks fine. The wire hanging down from the wall to the right of the diningroom entrance is the wiring for the humidifier. That'll get hooked up soon. Sure.
And, here is the other side of the diningroom entrance. Not much to say here, I guess.
This is the large double window in the diningroom. I guess I could have pulled up the blinds to give a better look. But I wasn't thinking. The blinds were left by the previous owners and are very scary. I am looking forward to replacing them when I get the funds.
You are looking through the diningroom entrance from the livingroom and at my donated fridge and makeshift pantry, which was one of the metal cabinets left in the basement at closing. The fridge is about as old as I am and was given to me by my parents' friends, Pete and Mary. There is a matching oven. But it is in the detached garage.
The diningroom is adjacent to the kitchen. This is what the kitchen looked like when I moved in, with its yellow stove and matching countertop, tres' nice (sha right) paneling and cabinets. I'm replacing it all.
And, this is why the oven is in the garage. This is what the kichen looks like now, after tearing out the cabinets and two layers of paneling. Nice, ey? At least there's a really nice light fixture in the window area. And the wiring is all new and ready for a garbage disposal and dishwasher!
See the green floor? Aren't you jealous. I love it. And I'm leaving it. Down to the basement we go.
Here is the basement, before closing. The dropped ceiling has been torn out since then (in fact, it was the first thing done to the house). The three fab cabinets left by the owners are to the right.

Here is the basement now. See where all that crap is? That's where the cabinets were in the picture above this one. The furnace is new. That is a tragic tale. $5000 went really quick. To the left is the basement shower. It's pretty scary. There are plans, however, to finish fix up the basement bathroom, aka the Boy's Room.
This is the storage room, which is behind the furnace. I think it's about 7 x 8. Picture was taken before closing. Right now, there's a bunch of insulation in there. And some boxes and other miscellaneous things. Once it gets organized, it will be very nice and useful. There's some great shelving in another part of the basement that will really make the room useful and keep it organized. I love having a basement. I didn't realize what I was missing out on all those years of apartment living!
This is in, yet another, room in the basement (which used to be the old attached garage). The previous owners left saws, washers, nails, screws, some paint, drawers and a kick-ass vice. Brings out the tool monkey in me!
Okay, let's go upstairs. The wood flooring on the second floor is white pine, now extinct in the U.S. To the sides of the steps and on the hallway walls are sheets of wanescoating.
Take a sharp right at the steps, and you are in my bedroom, painted "Spring Moss." The color isn't quite right in this photo. It's a vintage color, almost, without stepping into the dangerous "Avocado Green" territory. The floors, as you can see are free of carpet. They were refinished and are a lovely blonde color with a variety of grains. I love them. The woodwork is painted partially. The windows themselves are natural, and the moulding is white, except for the sills.
Another shot of my bedroom.
And another shot. The closet door is natural, while the moulding is painted.
Okay, let's leave.
Turn left out of my bedroom and walk straight into what is technically the master bedroom. Ihave turned it into the television/guest room. Though smaller than the other bedroom, it has a huge closet with a bevelled mirror on the closet door. The color I chose for this room is "Sand Orange." It's a "cool" orange and not as "citricy" as it appears in the photo. The wall across from the cd shelf has a large double window and faces east. The sunrise amazing in this room. It is always warm, and the light always appears to be on.
Leave the orange room and make an immediate left into the bathroom. It needs wallpapered, and the current flooring reminds me of a cheap motel. Eventually, I will put real tile down. I'll post more pictures once it is complete.
Last but not least is my office. Hanging on the wall is one of my three degrees. Once I get the will to put more holes in the walls to hang the others (the nail on which that degree hangs was left in the wall). See, once you've made and patched five or six or seven or eight holes in each room, you're not in a big hurry to make more. Dig it.
And, here is where I'm sitting now. Notice the boxes in the background. They're filled with books waiting for a home. By the way, the color in this room is "Limpet Shell."
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