Tuesday, February 1, 2011

That 70's House



So much has gone one since the last blog post... almost a month ago. We've gone through a lot of really personal stuff I hope to be able to share soon, but on a more exciting note we bought a house in Decatur!!
When we started looking at homes in Decatur we noticed several things, TAXES, Illinois has some of the highest property taxes in the entire country.We will literally be paying over 5 x's the amount of property taxes with out new house. The second thing we noticed was that there seemed to be a housing boom in the 70's and then one again in the 90's but nothing in between and finding a renovated house is like finding a needle in a haystack, and if you did find one it was sold in days.
Pat and I had a really hard time finding a house. I looked at so many they were all starting to look alike. We were finding homes at the tip-top of our price range, but still I wanted to change lots of stuff, and homes that were comfortably in our price range and I still wanted to change a lot. So in the end we decided that finding a structurally sound fixer upper was the right move for us! Anyone who knows me knows how badly I have always wanted to buy and renovate a house and here I get the chance to do it. I could not be more excited! We found an amazing home built in 1977. When it was built it was like the top of the line home, no expense spared, were talking custom fixtures galore! The only bad part is that it has not been renovated cosmetically since it was built. Hence... That 70's House, our charming nickname for our new purchase!
I have decided to include some pictures for your viewing pleasure...

This is our new guest bath, what you cannot see is the custom gold toilet and shower which match all the tile and the lovely counter top.

The powder room with custom made low black toilet. This toilet is sure to be the new thorn in my side because my husband thinks it is the absolute coolest thing on the planet and swears we are not getting rid of it...

Foyer, complete with lovely wallpaper, yellow and orange stained glass, and dont forget to look at the doorbell above the stairs. It lights up when the doorbell rings.

Our luxurious new master bath... blue toilet included.
The living room complete with stucco walls. They actually hurt if you run into them!

The kitchen. Big plans for this room!

Sink, chandeliers, hood, and appliance are all up for grabs! Any takers?

The paneled family room. This room offends me the least of all. I dont know why. I kinda like it!

The beautiful outside! It may sound like I am ungrateful or dumb for buying this house, but I really do love it. The square footage and floor plan are exactly what we wanted and the neighborhood is awesome! I cannot wait to throw myself into updating. This could not have come at a better time for us! Way more pictures to come...

7 comments:

  1. Ohh I can't wait to see what you do with this place!

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  2. Love this post!I am giving you a styish blogger award at:

    http://mrsbeachbride.blogspot.com/2011/02/stylish-blogger-award.html

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  3. YAY CASSIE! I can definitely see the potential! You all will do such a great job fixin' her up. If you don't post about your remodeling adventures I will be so sad. Also..painted paneling...I'm for it.

    here were some of my favorite things people did with paneling: http://jenniferbrzinski.blogspot.com/2010/03/thats-amore-monday_29.html

    the last 2 pics are my FAVE.

    LOVE YOU FRIEND and I wish I knew all the "personal" things and I wish we could go on double dates together!

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  4. What a cute house with tons of potential. I am looking forward to seeing your renovations.

    I'm a new follower.

    Dawn @ Mom-a-Logues
    http://www.mom-a-logues.blogspot.com

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  5. I typed in the Google search-bar "cool houses made in the 70's and renovated and your blog came up. I started laughing when I saw the interior because I thought I was looking at pictures of my house. We bought a "fixer upper from 1973 that had not been renovated". I believe from the moment I walked in the double front doors, "the house had me". My husband told me before we bought the house..."not another fixer upper"...but he was hooked too. I look forward to seeing your journey and I hope someday I complete mine.
    I also am a new follower!
    Starkat4746@charter.net
    May 2011
    Washington state

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  6. please do not get rid of all of that good ole made in the usa stuff, only to replace it with cheap made it china stuff. Mark my words, you will regret it right about 5 years from now when you have to replace it again.

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  7. Wow. We are looking at purchasing a home that looks very similar to this one on the inside! I will look forward to what you do with this and hopefully get some good insight! Blessings!

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