Orange is Not the New Black

Hey there fellow readers! I'm excited to start sharing with you the journey I've taken these last few months. For those of you that know me, I've been searching high and low for the perfect house here in Austin, Texas. It's been three years of patience or more like impatience at times. I'm sure all you homeowners out there have had the joy of riding the roller coaster that is home buying. So... after many offers/counteroffers, I finally closed on my first home this past August. Yay.

While many homeowners are looking for the ideal turnkey home or even new build, my set of criteria looked a little different. Now of course I started out with this long wish list, but as reality set in, it quickly whittled down to the essentials. So, what I have here are the two criteria that stuck around:

1. A fixer-upper that needed some major work 
2. Good bones in regards to the floor plan 

And now onto the tour of the new casa...

I couldn't wait to show you the pièce de résistance, so here it is. The kitchen in all its orange formica glory. Mind you, this home was built in the 60's... 

Here's a shot of the living and dining room. Check out the spikes on that light fixture! And if you were wondering, the cake is not real...

It was pretty surreal walking into the house for the first time. It brought to mind scenes from Blast from the Past, any fans?? 

After closing, I took a few pictures of the home after it was vacant. Here's the living/dining room. You can get a better feel for the wood paneling and the wallpaper. I quickly discovered that there was not just one but two layers of wallpaper. 

Check out the wood paneling and this dated office nook in the living room. WOOF!

And here's the kitchen again! Of course I had to start and end with the glorious kitchen.

Overall the house was very clean and with the original homeowners selling the home, it meant they took good care of the home. And although the house came with some stellar wallpaper, I was definitely ready for some big changes to happen. 

More updates to come, huzzah!

-M.