The Kitchen and the Deck were first on the list. Because both spaces badly needed priority love.

Let us begin with my favorite room in any house. Cabinets made from local milled wood with antique bronze hardware; and a workspace designed by the chef who renovated the house. This kitchen rivals any of the massive spaces we were looking at in terms of functionality, hands down.

Before. Seller had the window covered; and bulbs in only four of the overhead lights. Not the bright and welcoming kitchen I need to play within. Oddly enough, Seller was a Nutritionist by trade.

The After. The lightbulbs have since been replaced, but the wine refrigerator is on a shipping delay. Spectacular transformation.

The back garden was is quite something. Though Seller seemed to also be an avid gardener (raised vegetable beds; a compost bin; a pollinator garden, and so forth), there was no love for the back garden space.  Curiously, though Seller had children, the corner beneath the trampoline had been taken over by poison ivy! Moss covered the deck and clogged the spaces between the deck flooring; after our first big summer storm water was actually pooled on the deck! The space was mosquito-riddled and slimy; and we did not set foot into the back garden until Power Wash Guy came to its rescue.

Behold. ‘Twas a bit of a surprise to see that the railing had not been painted to match the engineered deck flooring, so that is a(nother) project for next year.

George approves.

There remains much to do in the back garden, and throughout the house, honestly. Good thing we are well versed in, “How to Eat an Elephant.”