Before and After Pictures at Happy Hill

Happy Ground Hog Day!  Seems as though our little furry Pennsylvanian has predicted 6 more weeks of winter.  Personally, if the weather stays as mild as it has been, fine with me.  In honor of Ground Hog Day, this is a Throw back Thursday, lake style.

We are coming up on our 6th year anniversary of buying our lake house, aka Happy Hill.  When we purchased the 40 something year old house it was truly a diamond in the rough.  But the view was unbeatable and the water was good. (i.e. deep).   After a few years of constant remodeling, it’s finally to a point where we can enjoy it!  Here are before and afters of how it looked when we bought it and after a LOT of paint and gallons of round up:

As with any house, there are always improvements or repairs to be made.  For instance, the deck is very old.  We reinforced it a few years ago and reconfigured the stairs but other than that, the deck is exactly the same as the day Mr. E. built it.  Our plan is to eventually rip out the entire deck and add a covered deck facing the lake.  This would extend our living area substantially since the house itself is small.  We also plan to remove the flat roof on the front of the house and add a covered front porch with more curb appeal.  There were no gutters on the front of the house when we bought it therefore the decking has rotted in some spots.

As always improvements and additions take time and money.  The money we planned on using to redo the deck ended up in Pennsylvania.  Unexpectedly we had to have the stucco removed on 3 sides of our house and replace it with Hardie Plank.  So, Happy Hill will have to wait for its update.  But, it is fine for now.  We still love it.  It’s amazing what paint and elbow grease can do.  This is the foyer.  The back of the fireplace is the first thing you see when you walk in the front door.    The piano was “Not Conveyed”, meaning they took it with them.  Sigh.

We ripped out the carpet and replaced it with hardwood floors.  We painted the brick white and added crown molding.  Here is how it typically looks today, depending on the season.  Hmmm.  There is a tennis ball under the table.  That is typical too.  And for some reason the outlet is in the ceiling.

The kitchen was one of the first major projects.  We ripped out every single thing and bought new cabinets and appliances. Since the ceilings are not that high, we took the cabinets all the way to the ceiling.  That is my favorite thing to do   regardless of the height of a ceiling.  Just another place to collect dust if you ask me.  We added a ceiling fan in the middle of the kitchen and eating area since it gets so hot in there when we cook.

The other ceiling fixture in the main kitchen area is going away very soon.  One of my nautical lights will replace it.  (of course!)  Probably this one. (below)   It is currently in the Banana Room, but this one is a 3 bulb fixtures and we need the extra light in the kitchen.  Plus, I have plenty more cuties in my stash to replace this one.  I love the compass and the crystals.  <3

One of the biggest changes we made in the house was between the kitchen and den.  You can see in the picture below there was a large window or pass through over the staircase.   Since we needed the wall space in the kitchen we closed in the window.  Not only did it allow space for the new refrigerator, it gave us the perfect spot to hang my husband’s fish.

There is still much to be done!  My next mission is to have an electrician come and replace some of the existing lights for us.  My husband surprised me at Christmas and bought me some gorgeous vintage wrought iron carriage lanterns.  There are two brick columns, one out front and one out back.  I think these will be perfect for those spots.   I can’t wait to see how they look! Once they are up, I’ll post a picture or two.  (or 10).  Hope you have a wonderful day!  Thanks for stopping by!  xoxo Dell