In the Beginning

Here it is --- the house as it was when we first saw it.   This photo disguises a failing paint job on the outside, and a multitude of sins on the inside.  For example:

Also from the listing photo.  Some people may like florid Victorian wallpaper, but we are not among them. This wallpaper (or a similar, slightly more palatable one) covered the hallway, all three bedrooms, the living room, and the dining room. Since the ceilings in these rooms are 13 feet high, this wallpaper extended up the wall for at least 10 feet.  We have met people who had considered buying this house but were deterred by the wallpaper.  These people sensibly wanted to be able to live in a house from the get-go without months of hard labor (or thousands of dollars paid to others).  We naively thought that it would not be a huge deal to get all the wallpaper down and paint the walls.