AHHH! Fresh Air!

 During the house inspection, the inspector told us he could not get any of the windows open. Awesome, because the house has the typical 60 year old house smell...musty, stale cigarettes, and no telling what else...probably  mold.  At the closing of the house we were able to talk to the previous owner, a sweet elderly woman. She said, "oh the windows don't open,  many years ago my husband put nails in the windows to keep people out."
 Immediately, we took out all of the nails. Not being able to escape through a window is a little bit of a safety hazard if I must say so myself.  We went to open the first window (excited about letting the smell out)...it did not budge. Come to find out all the windows were painted shut not only on the inside but the outside as well.  After a long days work, elbow grease, utility knife, and a good working husband, open sesame!

The first one open! It was monumental.

That is as far as it will open for now. We have air, everybody!

Here comes the storm...or maybe just rain

We haven't really seen anything so far that is really messed up in the house. Until, in the lavender room, we removed the ceiling fan and had a big surprise. All you can do is laugh at situations like this because if I think about the danger of it ...I panic just a tad.

Let me explain this; If you look to the right of the electrical box you will see the white material. Can you guess what it is? That's right TOILET PAPER! Yes, toilet paper is a great material to stuff in the ceiling next to old wires! Great installation! (sarcasm of course). Luckily, this has been the biggest problem.

THE FLOORS!

As we were debating on purchasing the house, we constantly heard rumors about there being the original pine wood floors under the carpet.  We were so nervous about the shape of the hardwood, only because it is 60 years old! ekk.  Right after we got those lovely keys to the Aurora house we knew what we had to do...look under the carpet.  WE COULDN'T BELIEVE IT! The floors looked awesome, we were "floored" hehe! Also, found out it was oak instead of pine, even better. Pine is a softer wood, so that is why the floors were in better shaped than we thought.
Check them out!

The only problem we can see is the carpet pad residue. We have no idea how to get it off!

--So I have tried the following products on this so called carpet pad residue:

-Murphy's Oil

-Goo Gone (this has never failed mee!)

-Bona (all natural floor cleaner)

-Vinegar

-Mr.Clean

-Borex

-Baking Soda

-Kitchen Cleaner (got desperate)

We heard that if you rent a floor buffer and put a sanding screen on, it will take the carpet pad residue off without sanding the wood.  WRONG! It sanded the wood and did not take the residue off. So what are we doing now, after all these attempts, redoing all the floors! Professionally. Ohh see we were going to do it ourselves but after my husband got a throat infections from sanding with the buffer ( he gets sick pretty often), professional was the way to go.

THE AURORA PROJECT

In the last post I let everyone know we bought a house. Sorry it has been awhile, we have been moving and doing some prep work. Here are some pictures of what the inside looked like when we bought the house.

This is when you first walk into the house. You walk into the living room and see the opening for the dining room.

As you can see the carpet has a wonderful design...ekk.  We heard there are wood floors underneath  but have no idea of the condition. (yay!)

This is the view from the doorway of the dining room. As you look to your left you see a wonderful wallpaper reminding you of a daydream in a park in 1990... blue sky and a border with what looks like leaves that are blowing in the wind...

The view from the dining room to the living room. Don't forget that chandelier, it seems as though it may belong to the presidential library, for it is sprouting wisdom. 

Ohh the lavender room, you may feel relaxed as you are encompassed with purple walls and a purple ceiling. or you may feel like royalty... of the garden club of course.

And here is the gold faux room. It is the only room in the house that has crown molding??  Really cant think of anything to say about this room...hmm the ceilings are a peach color.

The green hallway, looks like they were thinking lavender for royalty, green for money as the pathway to gold... maybe? My favorite part is the telephone shelf. I love that feature, that is something that I am not changing. 

I love these vintage hexagon tiles. All they need are some elbow grease and a good cleaning!

 Can you believe it, maroon and yellow with those awesome blue tiles. Don't worry ladies we are changing it quickly!

Here is the super long garage, which we are hoping to turn it into a bedroom one day. What is cool about this garage, is all the old and handmade tools of the man that once lived here is still in the garage. There are even the old screens for our wooden windows.  When I opened one of the cabinets, there were glass condiments filled with mismatched screws and nails. Aww it reminds me of my grandfather's shop! I love those little things that always seem so precious. 

Lastly,  a small room added to the back of the kitchen. I have no idea what the purpose was for this room. The smell of water damage when you walk in is overwhelming.  Hopefully, I can make it into my sewing room once we figure out what the smell is.