Does anyone want to move to Texas?

Because we have an adorable newly renovated house for rent! Here it is with all its irresistible charm. :-)

Front swing

Backyard

Finished

We are finished with the interior and most of the exterior. Our hoped for deadline was July 15th and our absolute deadline was August 1st. So, completing the interior on July 17th felt great!

Here is the house as it looks now (to see how it used to look, go here). Nick and I have grown to love it, and even briefly considered renting our own home and living here. :-) The neighbourhood is so peaceful and the backyard is so green and lovely (unlike our poor yard at home, though it has been watered often!). We really hope that whoever rents this home will love it and take care of it!

Master bedroom

Middle bedroom
The end bedroom still needs to be photographed, but it looks about the same as the master.

Bathroom

Hallway
(The bedroom are along the left of the hallway, and the kitchen and living room along the right)

Kitchen

Pantry (almost too gross to look into when we first got the house, but now SO clean and usable!)

Living room

Before and After

At a quick glance, these two pictures don't tell a whole lot, but for us, they mean:
-removing trim and gutting the kitchen floor
-moisture barrier laid
-new plywood flooring laid
-silicone seal applied between plywood sheets
-new vinyl flooring laid
-sink leak repaired
-scrubbed walls
-painted walls
-scrubbed washing machine water hookup
-painted water hook up area
-cut floor trim
-painted floor trim
-installed floor trim
-caulked floor trim
-cut cabinetry quarter round
-stained quarter round
-installed quarter round
-scrubbed inside of cabinetry
-cut wood for new base for cabinet under sink
-installed base
-covered base with vinyl lining
-caulked edges

Consequently, this is probably my favourite before and after shot. :-) It represents a TON of hard work and learning.

Exterior paint

(and proof that I didn't only take pictures of this project, but actually worked on it too) :-)

So who is Sarah?

Some of you have been wondering who this Sarah girl is...We tried to capture a few photos of her, but alas, she only permitted pictures of her pony tail. Sarah's parents have been friends of Nick's parents for many years, and thus Nick views her as a little sister. I am very happy to adopt her as the same, and besides, it is very handy to refer to her as Nick's sister when introducing her to others. They could easily pass for siblings.

Sarah very kindly offered her help to us for three whole weeks, enabling us to get a lot of work done at the rental house in a short time. I was thrilled to have company, and it was a delight to get to know her! She shares my love of making beautiful things, and making things beautiful, so we got along quite well. ;-)

Sarah, thank you for all your hard work! We really appreciate it! I hope you are not entirely avoiding tuna for the rest of your life (we ate it nearly every day for lunch for three weeks! :-P), and that you weren't too exhausted from all your slave labor by the time you got home. We can't wait to see you (and every one else!) in Edisto in a couple of weeks!

Painting, painting, painting...

Sometimes the task of painting seems endless; painting walls, closets, shelves in closets, trim, and doors...and then second-coating it all. But there are amusements along the way. Like this painter after he got as much paint on the floor and in his hair as on the walls. :-)

And there is always the satisfaction of a completely repainted room. This picture does not do Nick's Mom's paint job justice. Mom, I have walked into this room just to enjoy the peaceful finished look many times since you have left! Thank you for your hard work!

The Kitchen

This room was originally so filthy and roach populated, I would not set foot in it. When the fridge and stove were discarded (roach dwellings), I felt a little better about it, but it was still disgusting in there. So, you can imagine that when Nick and his dad replaced the kitchen floor I was delighted! The plywood felt so clean, smelled great, and looked even better. :-) Here are some pics from start to finish.

Today Nick finished installing the baseboards, and all we have to do yet is clean the cupboards and replace the light fixtures and the sink.