House News

The For Sale sign went up in the front yard, making it official. And in less than two weeks, this was added to the sign:

SOLD!

Whew!

I had some reservations about selling this house. Namely, would others love this home as much as I did?

There were more than a few design hurdles to overcome in this fifty year old colonial.

There was a wood paneled family room:

http://maryrosescafe.blogspot.com/2014/01/this-end-up-taking-our-wood-panelled.html

There was an original kitchen:

http://maryrosescafe.blogspot.com/2014/03/this-end-up-adding-color-to-white.html

There was a dark wood paneled den that underwent a dramatic transformation to become my favorite craft studio of all time:

http://maryrosescafe.blogspot.com/2014/06/the-studio-reveal-before-and-after.html

There was a yellow toilet:

http://www.keepthisendup.blogspot.com/2014/07/before-and-after-yellow-bathroom.html

There was a pink bathroom:

http://www.keepthisendup.blogspot.com/2014/08/save-pink-bathrooms.html

There was a dated metal awning that had to go:

http://www.keepthisendup.blogspot.com/2014_07_01_archive.html

There was a front entry that could use a little improving:

http://maryrosescafe.blogspot.com/2013/09/welcome-autumn.html

There was wallpaper:

http://maryrosescafe.blogspot.com/2013/08/chalkboard-art.html

Just looking back at all these posts is a good reminder for how much love we managed to give this house in a short amount of time.

I would say that the biggest secret to overcoming these design hurdles was this:

We didn't fight against the house's original character. We worked with it. And in the end, it presented itself as exactly what it was:

A well built, well loved home.

Exactly the kind of house we're STILL looking for in the Chicago area.

But that's another story for another day.

Blessings on this day, cafe friends!