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Nadine McCrea

B4

By Nadine McCrea | April 25th, 2010 at 8:20am

Here are some "Before" pics of our condo I thought I'd share with you on a lazy Sunday morning.

Last year, my husband and I had just sold our 40 acre horse ranch. We were very excited because we wanted to begin completely different lifestyle. Our kids were almost grown-up and out of the house, and we were interested in purchasing a home that would allow us to "lock the door" and play hooky without worrying about the house. My husband and I have spent our marriage buying houses and renovating them for (usually) a profit. Yes! While we were living in them! And we're still married! And this is before the phrase "flipping" was even invented. So we were looking for something that we could put our own personal stamp on. At the same time, we wanted to be able to do the work slowly (for a change). Remember, this was supposed to be a lifestyle shift.

So here's what we were looking for:
-townhouse condominium (nice little yard for moi, no yard work for him.)
-basement for secondary living space and storage
-3 bedrooms
-2 bathrooms
-if it needed redecorating, that was ok, because I would redo it anyway, even if it didn't "need" it!

The real estate market in our city is red hot. (This is Canada). We looked at a unit in the complex where we eventually bought but couldn't purchase because the sale of our former home wasn't closed yet. Offers here require NO conditions. Disappointment. But it certainly sold us on this complex. And a short month later, the condo we bought came on the market. It soon was mine ours, all ours.

3 bedrooms? Check.
Full basement? Check.
2 bathrooms? Check.
Parking available for the 4 of us? Check.
Fireplace? Check.
Outdoor living space? Check.
And the extras!
Sunken living room. Vaulted ceiling. Unit floor plans flip front to back so living areas are never beside someone else's living area. HUGE Master bedroom with lots of closet space.
See? Perfect.
That is, the shell of the condo is perfect.
The details - not so much.
But we're not scared.
We've done it before....

Here are some befores:

Stippled ceilings and "boob" lights. Check.


Lego-style doorbell. Check.


Kitchen floor with handy dandy pockets to attract dirt. Check.


70s style railing with holes and dents. Check.


The ubiquitous disco style hanging lights. Check.


Original bathrooms. Nasty. Check.


Different carpet in every upstairs room. Check.


The opportunity to make it our own from top to bottom. Check.

Hope you'll join us on this little journey.

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