The Interior

There were some things we definitely did NOT like about the interior of the house when we bought it!  Previous owners had remodeled the kitchen and bathroom in the 60's or 70's, with avocado green paneling on the walls, matching avocado green stained cabinets, sparkly formica countertops, and coordinating linoleum flooring.  The ceiling had been lowered in the kitchen, and covered with ceiling tiles.  The bathroom also had a suspended ceiling which was a metal frame with plastic panels, above which was a large fluorescent light.  The bathroom sink, which was hanging on the wall, with exposed pipes beneath, was quickly replaced with a simple pedestal sink.  Although we swore that those two rooms would be the first things to change, they were also the most expensive, so we kept putting it off.  These items, at the top of our list, remained uncompleted for over 20 years.  Looking back now, we can't believe we lived with it for that long!  

These photos were taken in 2014, but it looks very similar to what it did in 1991.  The cabinet doors had been removed, in preparation for demolition, and the stove, refrigerator, and faucet were all updates we made over the years.  When we moved in, the stove was olive green :-)

 . . . and now the bathroom!  One thing missing in these photos is the mini wall which used to be at the end of the bathtub, screening the rest of the bathroom if the door was opened.  It was constructed of the same paneling, with yellow-orange glass or plastic at the top, which had a pattern of medium circles to diffuse the glass.  The window was also originally covered with golden-yellow blinds--yikes!

The next thing on our list was the wallpaper in the entry--dark blue with medium pink flowers.

The 70's-era light fixture which was hanging in the central/dining room also needed to go.  We did replace that with a ceiling fan fairly soon after moving in, not only to get rid of the ugly one which was there, but also to improve comfort in the cold winter and hot summer.

In 1991 there was light green carpet in the hall, living room, and central room, and all of the walls and trim were a light beige (blah!).  The fireplace in the living room was surrounded by 60's-70's brick which had been painted blue, and had a blue wallpaper border across the top, with a brick-red tile hearth (who decided that those colors went together, especially with the light green carpet?)

The east bedroom was pink, with the same (or similar) blue wallpaper border which was above the fireplace, and matching blue carpet. For many years it was called "The Pink Room" :-)

The south bedroom had threadbare antique rose-colored wool carpet, with white walls and purple gingham wallpaper on the doors of the cabinets above the closet, and torn curtains on the window and door.

The north bedroom had striped medium-blue wallpaper with ivory flowers on some walls, the other walls and closets were painted ivory, and there were medium-blue blinds in the window.  It had grey carpet, which can just be seen in the below photos. That room remained basically unchanged for the time we lived there.  The photos below are also from 2014, after demolition had begun, so the closet doors have been removed.  We had also done some repair to the door, filling some dents and scratches (the yellow-ish spots you can see in the photo).  Otherwise, it is basically the same as when we moved in.

Sometime in the 50's-70's a previous owner had built closets in each bedroom, with large cabinets that reached all the way to the ceiling above.  Although the wooden bypass doors on the closets in two of the rooms were not very pretty, we did appreciate the storage.  That is a rare thing in houses of this era, as they usually used wardrobes and dressers for storing clothing.

This photo is also from 2014, but those closet doors were there when we moved in:

The things we DID like about the inside, the things which convinced us to overlook the kitchen, bathroom, and other atrocities:

* 11-foot ceilings in most of the rooms (that darn kitchen and bath with their low ceilings!)

* Beautiful wide baseboards, and woodwork around all of the doors

* Intricately-detailed brass hinges and hardware on the doors

* Original "wavy" glass in some of the windows

* A 6-foot cast iron clawfoot bathtub (you can lay ALL the way own in a tub that size--well, at least we can, since we're short ;-)

* Amazing turn-of-the-century light fixtures in some of the rooms, from when electricity became available in Springville, around 20 years after the house was built.

* Two beautiful fireplaces (if you don't count the blue brick and wallpaper in the living room!)

* Transom windows above most of the doors-some of which still had working hardware.

Thank goodness we were able to see the beauty--and potential-- in this home, from which many others had walked away!  We were told that the home had been on the market for several months (or possibly over a year) before we bought it.