A tour of our "new" 1959 home

This has been a long-time coming kind of blog entry. For one, we've been looking to buy a house since last September, and two, we actually made the offer on this place in April, and took possession on May 18. 

I know, I know! I haven't written a damn thing about it! How could I keep such a secret from you?

Erik and I determined back in December, that to have a house that we could really live and function in, we would have to buy a fixer upper. Housing prices in Norway are outrageous (in my opinion), and we were finding homes that were at the way-high end of our price range, and would find that the kitchen was recently renovated, but cheaply. Or every room would be finished, and Erik wants/needs a woodworking room. In the end, our money would be paying for something we didn't like. Or. . . we could pay significantly less, and put in a ton of work (and money) and get something we were much happier with. 

As we walked through this treasure, to which we now possess the keys, we raised our eyebrows at each other in silence, mouthed the words "whoaaaaa" stoned-surfer-style as we encountered the basement Water Closet, and I said in the home's defense, "It's really clean. I could live in a place like this for 6 months, if I had to, while we fixed it up."

Famous last words. See for yourself. . . 

Welcome to the backside of our new home!
(This picture was taken in February. We don't actually have this much snow in June).

Charming living/dining room space with
completely non-functioning fireplace. By non-functioning
I mean that it's fake. Completely fake.

The long, skinny kitchen is designed to remind
you that if you want to be long and skinny
you need to leave the kitchen. (Note: not real wood floors).

Second bathroom, in the basement. . . next to the furnace
(not pictured is the furnace to the left of that door.
Not beyond the door--in the same room as the "bathroom").
Of note: the "shower" in the corner is the only shower in the house.

Would you believe that the man who
built this house had four children?

This diggy room goes to the daughter.

We get the fancy-schmancy bedroom with a sink!

What's that you say? You've seen this before?
Yes, this room was featured in my "house-searching"
entry a few months back. This room was not long for this earth,
under our ownership. It will eventually be a bathroom.

A huge saving grace: a spacious backyard with fruit trees.
And after the 2 ft. of snow melted, we discovered a
half-hearted attempt at a fountain (which will soon be a sandbox).

You know you want it--this carpet--for your very own hobby room.

Huzzah! Psychedelic WC!

And when we're finished, the house will look something like this.
(note: original floor plan is in black, new floor plan is in red).