Facing the terror within....

...the walls of my early 80's ranch house.   May I mention that our children will be posting photos of our oh-so-trendy decor in 20 years on their blogs?  Yikes.

Here, let me just let the pictures speak for themselves....this is all the previous owners' stuff as we were there for the inspection. A lot of the pictures have been modified because it's like a cave in here most days. I try to look on the bright side and say it's the little english cottage I've always wanted....it just happens to be in the middle of suburbia USA.  It does have a great wooded lot and sits on a cul de sac (hence the tag line in my blog title).  Here we go, put your hands up!  Wooooo Weeeeeeee!!!!

The outside.

As you enter.  Hmmm.  Getting the vibe?

 

Looking from the other direction.

 

To the right of the front entrance, the living room.

 

Yeah.

 

To the left of the entrance, the dining room...which is ALMOST finished and ready for the big reveal!

Please notice the recurring theme of fake (dusty) ivy adorning just about every light fixture in the house.

And the big furniture tv set.  How's that panelling hittin' ya?

 Looking into to the family room from the kitchen nook.

 

From the other side, looking into the kitchen.

 Guest bath.  I like hearts, just not on my walls.

 

So we see the ivy?  Someone mentioned to me upon seeing this that "those are the most amazing light fixtures I've ever seen...they sprout plastic growth!"  I won't mention what they remind me of.

 

The entrance to the catacombs.

 

Master bedroom (working on this room after the dining room is finished)

 

With a peek into the master bath.  Yes, there is ivy on the lights in there AND maroon Christmas ribbon wound around it to match the wallpaper border.  Mkay.

 

Home office, which is now my craft room.  Just sold the cabinets at Craig's place.

Hmmmm....what's in this room?

 Ah yes.  Johnny Appleseed wallpaper.  I should've guessed.

 

Well, I've been in said 80's ranch for about a year and a half.  It obviously needed a tad or hundreds of updates.    Even so, I saw thru the country fair/faceless amish dolls/plastic ivy and sunflowers EVERYWHERE/and coordinating country wallpaper and panelling to a diamond in the rough.  Very rough.  Though the gal had beautiful furniture all hard wood with classic lines (raise your hand if you've been flipping all that wood to a shabby chic distressed white like I did), I was dumbstruck by all the trinkets and doodads she had accumulated. Anyway.

We're slowly making it our own.  I've posted a few 'after shots' of the rooms we've done so far.
Here and here you can see the outside.
Here and here are pics taken in the reading/living room.
The dining room reveal is coming next.
The kitchen is mostly done and I'll get  pics of that soon.
My girls have painted their bedrooms, but I don't have pics of them either....I let them pick the colors and I hate them, therefore they do their own decorating and I ignore their rooms.  Which works out perfectly because they never have to clean them, knowing that in mom's mind their bedrooms simply don't exist.
Hey. Wait a minute. 
Master bedroom is up to the plate. 

I must mention that some of the rooms I've done and re-done and RE-re-done because it's been such a challenge getting colors and furniture and arranging done in so many small rooms.  Lots of frustration, trial and error and grace have gone into the few rooms we've done.  We've also done NOTHING structurally to change the house (although there are several I'd like to undertake...like adding some windows and taking down some walls)...everything has been surface flourish.  Still have a looooooong way to go.  Makes me tired just thinking about it.  Think I'll go back to bed.