Benjamin Moore, I love you!

So...We bought a new house. An elderly couple's house. Who hadn't done anything to it in 30 years (the words of their children). Boy, they weren't kidding. We knew what we were getting into, we had been inside the house a handful of times before the deal was closed, but I don't know that we fully understood what it means to buy a "fixer upper". We do now.

I have had many people asking for pictures of what we've done. They will come. However every time I have a minute to take a picture when it's daylight out and there is some natural light in the house, I look around and see unpacked boxes and the tornado of toys my children have thrown around. It seems like every time I get a chance to unpack and organize I find myself picking up toys and running out of time for the rest. Oh well, such is moving, right? So I figured in the meantime, I would show some before pictures.

These next 2 pictures don't do this room justice. The walls were stained and the rug pad was stuck on the floors. Yuck.

Was it livable? Absolutely. Just not liveable for...us? The house used to be heated by oil. Which means that the oil heat had left brown spots EVERYWHERE. Walls, doors, fireplaces. I wish I had a picture of it, but then again, I don't think I want to look at those brown spots again. So, step #1 was priming with KILZ, in order to keep the stain underneath the paint. But then we realized that it's an old house. Which means that oil based paint has been used. Which means it needs oil based KILZ instead of regular old KILZ. Have you ever been stuck priming a closet with oil based primer? If you have, I feel for you. If you haven't, don't ever do it.

But lo and behold, we are done. Moved in and settled down. I am sure we couldn't have done it without our AMAZING general contractor. Rich Whitney of Whitney Construction is the man. Walls were knocked out, a garage was reopened, and a brand-spanking new kitchen was installed. If you ever need anything done, call him. It took a small army to get us to the point where we could move in. In the beginning, we were really brave (a little too brave) and thought we would do all the painting ourselves. 3 weeks later and we had hired professionals to finish the rest of the house. Of the many new things I have learned during this past month, 2 things really stick out in my mind (these are very important. Read them over and over again until they sink in)

#1. If you hear the word "oil-based" connected with a paint job you are going to do, HIRE SOMEONE TO DO IT FOR YOU. It will be so worth the money.
#2. Paint can transform. You'll see what I'm talking about in the after pictures.

Throughout the process, I kept a tally (idea courtesy of my wonderful sister, who, if I'm being honest, gives me most of my good ideas). It kinda puts things into perspective.

Days of work: 30
Number of naps my children took at other people's houses: I stopped counting at 26
Latex KILZ primer used before we realized we needed Oil-Based KILZ primer: 4 gallons
Oil-Based KILZ primer used: 14 gallons
Paint: 13 gallons, 2 quarts
Caulk: 8 tubes
Trips to Starbucks: 12
Taste Unlimited sandwiches consumed: 17

I'm sure that's more, but all I can think of right now! Here's a huge shout out to my entire family who primed, painted caulked and so much more. Taste Unlimited sandwiches are not nearly enough to repay you for the time you put in and the love you showed by helping us out! You helped make our house into a home!

And, I promise, the after pictures will come soon.