Starting From the Top

Reading about all the hard work going on over at House In Progress has me thinking and planning away for our little Foursquare. It will never have as much character as a bungalow, but sinplicity is an integral part of its design. How much "character" can you really have in a house that starts life as a cube?

The previous owners were doing some work on the house, but they'd only gotten as far as the office and baby's room. I think they probably did the dining room as well. Every other room in the house is coated in outdated wallpaper. Thankfully, it's in neutral colors, but it's still wallpaper. So it will all have to be peeled off.

The only room in the house that desperately needs re-doing is the bathroom. It's not hideous, but it is very cramped and has minimal useable space. It's only 6' by 10' and has a countertop sink directly across from the tub, which leaves about 18" of space to walk to the toilet. The previous previous owner was obviously spatial relations challenged. What I'd like to do is move the tub under the window at the far end of the room, which will free up the rest of the room. I already have a tub, courtesy of our current landlord. When he re-did the bathroom in our rental, he pulled out the old clawfoot tub and left it ... in the backyard. It's been sitting out there for about 2 years. Last weekend, S and I flipped the thing over, and I cleaned it off as best as I could. The inside enamel is nearly perfect, but the outside will need to be sanded, and the whole thing will need to be refinished. Still, it's a start.

In the hall, there's a linen closet that is a little... odd. Instead of the usual shelving, there's a rod for hanging things, and behind that is the master bedroom closet. You can walk straight through into the bedroom from the hall! So I'd like to frame the linen closet in and separate them, adding shelving for the linen closet, and organizing the master bedroom closet.

The bedrooms are all basically okay, but they will need a little touch-up work. The master bedroom has some mismatched trim, and I'd like to find some closet doors that are a little more period-appropriate. Same for S's office. My office, which is the current nursery, will need a coat of paint, but that's it. At least one room will be really easy!

I'll stop at the upstairs for now...

I'm sure I'm going to have trouble sleeping tonight will all my ideas running rampant in my skull. Hopefully they won't keep me up too late...