The Guesthouse Project... Can This Really Be Done?

Remember back in March when I said I'd found my dream house? Well, it just happens to still be for sale & they have lowered the price by $25,000. I want it even more than ever now, which means it's time for me to really buckle down and get this place in shape to sell. The true bane of my existence are the outer buildings, which include the guesthouse/workshop/art studio/storage of inherited things & things for sale in my shop (all one building), the storage house across from it, and the ancient, crumbling playhouse/fox den.

Whenever we can't find a place for something in the house, we're known to throw it out in the guesthouse, when it probably should have just gone in the trash.

If I can manage to clean out the guesthouse, I think it will enable me to move all of my art supplies back out to the studio, from various nooks and crannies around the house. I am really beginning to resent this house & the shape it's in, so I need to take action, which I've already started on. I did manage to take a few dozen shots of how really bad the guesthouse is. I thought the end result would be more impressive if I showed Before & After pictures, right?

I really want the Georgian/Federal townhouse in La Fayette Place! I want it so badly that it hurts! I probably need to quit driving by the place so much, but I can't. I think I'm obsessed.

So, to keep my mind busy as well as work toward the sale of this monstrous house & property, I am beginning the cleaning out of an accumulation of 23 years of crap. The new roof is scheduled to go on soon and the painting of the exterior of our house & the outer buildings begins when the roofing is done. Remember back in the spring when we had that horrendous hailstorm? We failed to check on the guesthouse for a couple of weeks and when we did go out there, the damage was unbelievable. As if my mess out there wasn't bad enough, it sort of tripled the mess. Argh! However, we received a check for $36,000.00 for a new roof and other repairs. One of our skylights was severely cracked and gutters seem to be hanging on by a thread. We've neglected things far too long, which is why I've put this off as long as humanly possible.

When I get everything eventually cleaned out, we can begin the few remodeling jobs we plan to do before putting the house on the market. The real estate market here has really slowed down, so I'm hoping La Fayette Place won't sell very quickly. I'm keeping my fingers crossed at any rate. I'm not worried about our place selling because of its size & prime location, especially being across the street from the largest & most expensive home & property in town. Hopefully, that will help sell ours quickly along with all the work we're doing.

So, my absence will continue, with brief updates & pictures throughout the summer & possibly into the fall. Tune in periodically to see me transform this mess into organized clutter.

At first I thought I'd have a garage sale, but I just don't think I have the *get-up-and-go* to manage that, so my housekeeper is receiving lots of things for free. So far, she hasn't minded it a bit…