Wenwood c.1842 - a renovation
There truly is a psychological aspect when buying and selling a home. As a home stager and real estate agentI, I know it's hard for some people to walk into a home and imagine the possibilities. So many people probably saw this home and ran! That was NOT the case when I first walked into Wenwood, an antebellum home in West Tennessee. I could see the amazing potential this home had.
Before
We bought Wenwood in 2001. It had not been occupied for roughly two years. There were a gazillion bees living in one of the columns and all three were about rotted out. They would have to be replaced. We were able to save one of the Corinthian capitals and ended up making a table out of it.
During
When you are young and don't have a lot of money - you do a lot of stuff yourself. When we lived in the Washington, DC area, my husband was mentored by a fatherly figure who built homes. In exchange for sitting on their deck overlooking the Chesapeake Bay while eating crabs, Chas would work on home improvement projects with The Boss (as he was known) and learn more and more building and home improvement - how to cut trim, cope moulding, mitering - you name it. It would later come in handy for us! I was pregnant at the time and look back at theses photos of me standing on scaffolding pulling nails out of the lath in disbelief! We had some folks who worked out basketball gym floors come in and make the diamond pattern in our foyer. Right before our son was born, the fireplace fell off the wall in his nursery; that almost did me in - as I was already in full "nesting" mode. We had more friends and family come to our aid to get this home ready before our son arrived.
After
It's hard to figure out what some of these rooms are based on the Before photos. The nursery was eventually turned into a library/music room when our son was old enough to move upstairs. You learn a lot after going through a renovation project - things you like and things you'd do differently.
