{{100th post}} & big news :: finally a bungalow to call home

huge news in savannah & perfect content for the 100th post here at s&s. b & i are making a comeback as potential homeowners & have finally found *our* bungalow. i waited to post the news until after we actually had the inspection, negotiated repairs, & completed all due diligence so i wouldn't set myself up for disappointment (which is more likely when you are looking for a fixer-upper like we are). it really is amazing how things work out and had the deal on the yellow bungalow not fallen through, we would have never found what has to be our true savannah home. here are the before pictures & i can't wait to share the after shots!

welcome to our soon-to-be home :: a 1945 bungalow on the marsh.

hoping to add a few crates of oyster shells to the long driveway, eventually. plus the grass needs a little love.

i really love the carport, such a 1950s-feeling detail. the only thing a little odd is that there is no real front door when you drive up. what you could call the front of the house is facing the marsh (as it should be, really) so we're thinking we'll eventually put a stone path leading you around to the "front".

annnd the view. + what used to be a dock. we'd love to rebuild, but that will likely be [at least] a few years down the road.

view again + neighbor's/new best friend's dock.

back/front patio. and yes those are boards on the upstairs windows, but don't be alarmed, the inside's not nearly as bad as we thought. b has huge plans for a deck/screened porch & maybe even some spiral stairs.

back/front patio & back/front door that i love with the lattice panes.

now to the inside...and be forewarned, it is really dirty & needs a major cleaning. so please keep in mind these are before pictures.

the below photo gives a good view of the downstairs layout. when i took this photo, i was standing in one of the living spaces. the kitchen and door to the carport are on the left. through the kitchen is what we'll make the dining area and past the stairs to the right is another living space with a huge fireplace. the far right of the photo will take you out the back/front door with the pretty lattice panes. the floors are the original wood floors but we're thinking to trade the ugly brown stain for sparkling white paint.

if you were to do a 180 in the photo above you'd be looking at the doorway to the below room. it used to be the carport (so you go down three stairs) but was made part of the house (in the 1970s i'm betting just based upon the room full of fake wood paneling). we're planning to turn it into a studio/office space/possible guest room. isn't that window seat fantastic?! just needs a cushion to create a new reading nook + likely the gh's new favorite spot. (see it on the outside of the house in the photos above) would love for it to ultimately have a feel like this room.

the kitchen. definitely needs a lot of work. annnd appliances (it was a foreclosure at one point so all appliances & light fixtures disappeared with a previous owner). but this is the kitchen i was talking about with the butcher block counters. and really, i think it will sparkle with some elbow grease.

also my farmhouse sink (which im still toting around in the back of my car) will fit beautifully where the current sink sits & will have a view of this enclosed soon-to-be garden instead of weed-bed. lots of ideas for this space. (that's the back of the carport to the left)

here is the fireplace living room. yes, that window is covered with cardboard. the fireplace needs a few more coats of paint. and another mantle (old one went the way of the appliances). but the fireplace is flanked with two huge built-in bookshelves, which i just love. to the right is the downstairs *full* bathroom. definitely a huge upgrade from the yellow bungalow :: three full baths in this house. i think that will ultimately be much better.

now to the upstairs. isn't the railing gorgeous? there is a matching one in the garage that goes up the stairs (see above photo & you'll notice there is not currently a railing).


below is what will be the guest bedroom. plans to put beadboard on the ceiling here (and really in a lot of places in the house) to get a beachy/cottage feel.

upstairs full bathroom off the hall. eventually the salmon tile will have to go, but for immediate use it will just need a major cleaning, and look, a gallon of bleach is already waiting.


annnd finally, here is the master bedroom. in all of its boarded-up glory. picture it with real live windows & we'll be getting somewhere. the floor also has a few issues as the back portion of the room + the bathroom were an addition (on top of the studio/office space/former carport below) so that's our logic behind the origin of the ugly two-by-fours thrown into the middle of that gorgeous wood. the bedroom used to be carpeted & if we can't find an easy fix for the floor, we may just put down some carpet until we decide to revisit the project that is the floor.

the master bathroom is probably in the worst shape of the three bathrooms. it is usable, but the main problem is its lack of light. we're hoping to punch out either a skylight or a side wall window (that would pop out over the big bay window, if you see the outside photos above). also the bathtub is in somewhat of an awkward spot. we have thoughts of rotating it 90 degrees to put it on the far shorter wall, but that will all be determined when we figure out just how much money that will cost & how much money we'll have to spend elsewhere. but either way, we're hoping to update the bathtub/shower. also the vanity (see photo of bedroom above) is made of pretty cheap material, but i'm not too sad as it will allow me to implement this project that ive been daydreaming about for sometime now. and finally is the closet (if you can even call it that at this point) to the master bedroom. used to have heinous mirrored doors, but i'm thinking curtains..

so that wraps up the tour of the new bungalow. can't wait to start the projects!

p.s. come back this afternoon for monday shoes!