Day 103: I declare George & Annabelle's house done!

For my sanity I declare 2 things...

A) George and Annabelle's house is as complete as I intend on ever making it!

and

2) I shall never again in my lifetime work on a tab/slot kit!

Now, getting back to talking about G & A's house.  

This was the 1st project I started that snowy night a few years back that got me back into

miniatures.  It was a kit I had purchased from the goodwill for very little, 

and if you really want more info on it, go all the way to the beginning of this blog 

(as in when I created it) and you can read more story on it.

My inspiration for this home was a couple I created, George & Annabelle.  

They got their names because at the time I started this my husband

and I were newly married (not my 1st time :)

and we were trying to conceive, and the names we had

chosen for our future child was either George or Annabelle.

Well that child never came to be, but the memory of that dream is with

my little imaginary couple.

This is G & A's first home, their starter home :)

It's an old house they chose in a great little old

neighborhood, and although it needed lots of work, 

they purchased it, and then as money allowed, they remodel.

You'll notice the walls aren't perfect, in fact in many places they look

quite old, and it's obvious that many many coats of paint have

been applied over the years to this old house.

The textured wallpaper that some previous owner decided to 

put up and then paint over is downright nasty in spots, but

Annabelle knows that eventually she and George will

find the time, energy and money to either replace it or repair it better.

For now, it's fine, because it's theirs and 

they love it!

Here's a bit more of how I imagine G & A feel about the house:

Before they closed on the their 1st house, they 

made the previous sellers put a new roof on, so you'll notice

nice new shingles, some even still show a little 

chalk mark from the roofer's. 

(this roof is made from real shingles from our house, we cut each

one to size and my husband patiently worked with me

to make it as 'real' as possible"

The home was built on a slab, so when they discovered the original 

hardwood floors were rotting, and they couldn't afford to replace them, 

G & A decided to take a much trendier approach and poured

their own concrete floors on the ground level, then 

they painted them.

 

The kitchen is a mix of old and new.

Luckily the kitchen sink (which Annabelle fell in love with 

when they first viewed the home) was in perfect condition.

Annabelle saved money by painting the cabinets, but

shortly after they moved in the old fridge died, 

so they upgraded to a new fridge.

The original hardwood floors on the 2nd floor were in really good condition, 

so George surprised Annabelle while she was away on a business trip

by sanding (by hand) the bedroom floor and refinishing.

Having 1 bathroom was a drawback for the house, 

but they decided it was a concession worth making.

Shortly after they moved in, G & A found out they

were expecting!  Well with such little space in the house

they decided to turn this little space into a 

nursery for baby Norah.

The floors in this room were just ok, so Annabelle decided to paint them a 

soft white (almost like a wash)

As you can see, some of the floor boards are a bit warped and weathered,

but now that baby makes 3, money is even more precious.

On the weekends you will always find George

putzing in the yard, he is soo proud of 

having the greenest lawn on the block.

The bench out from was a wedding gift from 

some dear friends.

The dog.....well he's the neighbors, but he's taken a fondness to 

how the sun hits G & A's patio, so he's often found

relaxing there.  It's nice for George, as he loves dogs, 

but with a small home and a baby now...well 

it just doesn't work for him to have his own yet. 

So enjoy the neighbor's he does.

One of the things Annabelle was most excited for 

when buying their first home was planting flowers.

She's not a huge gardner, but fresh flowers she finds so inviting.

One of G & A's favorite things to do together is grill.

They enjoy many picnics at home.

Well there you have it, 

George & Annabelle's first home.

As fun as it was at times, the frustrations

were equal to that of a real 1st time homebuyer :)