Our Seattle Craftsman Before Photos

I discovered our house only two days after losing what we thought was our dream house. I’m not sure how I had missed it on the redfin site, but it was almost hidden in plain view, considering it checked off all the boxes - older than 1940, 3 bedrooms, located in Beacon Hill, the kitchen and baths had not been touched for many years and it had a large lot.

Even though I was a little heartbroken from the last house, I decided to schedule a tour. I’m so happy I did, because immediately upon walking in the door, fell in love. The entire interior needed a good coat of paint and I needed to research what pebbledash was (the exterior facade) before I was completely sold. But the tall ceilings, original plaster moldings, woodwork and hardwood floors were hard not to love. I saw so much potential in this house I convinced my husband, who was even more heartbroken than I from losing the previous house to tour it as well.

All the bad paint and poor staging worked in our favor since no one in 10 days had made an offer. Which in the Seattle market at that time translated into 30+ days on the market. We submitted a low-ball offer, the owners countered and ended up accepting their counter (still below original asking price!)

So, here are the before pictures, which came from the real estate listing so the house honestly looks a lot better in these photos than it did in real life. The yellow is much more yellow, all the walls really needed to be skim coated and yes the kitchen was in desperate need of an update. But you can see as I said, the moldings are great, the original old growth fir paneling is in good condition, and the floors only needed a good refinish.

In the next set of posts I’ll be sharing the plans and projects for each room. We immediately tackled the floors and walls - which I’ll post about as well. The first room I’m trying to make feel like ‘home’ is the living room, so I’ll share the little changes I did that made a huge difference. I’m also excited to share the biggest project our kitchen, which is already well under construction.

I’d love to hear what you’re thinking and if you have an specific opinions now? If you follow me on instagram you may have noticed in my stories I asked the audience about the wood paneling. Would you paint it or keep it? It was a hot debate and I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Thanks for reading and stay tuned!