Welcome to Our Vintage Villa. The "Villa" that is about to undergo a complete renovation inside and out.
We purchased the Villa in the last part of October 2014, after a summer spent camping in our 1971 Airstream in a lovely campground on the peninsula where we live in Maine. We are newly married and in our early sixties, so we decided to live as simply and economically as possible going forward. Before we got married, I had in mind to rent a friends house in the fall, but since employment in this tourist area isn't too great in the winter, it would have been an iffy thing to take on. The rent was high, not to mention the cost of heating.
About the time we were getting a bit panicked about the winter, the man that my husband worked with for the summer learned from a family friend of his of a mobile home that would be going up for sale in a small local park. The person, who was a a realtor, lived across from the place, and would be the listing broker.
I admit; my first thought was: no way. I want to live in a house. After I had a chance to think about it, I realized it was the smart thing to do, (much to my husband's relief). We could own a home for just a little money and only have a small lot rent to pay. We would be debt free and able "get out of Dodge" with our Airstream for a few months when the real winter hit. Hm. Maybe not so bad after all.
We purchased the place as is for $2000.00, and paid the entrance fees and set to work. The interior of the place was trashed. Unfortunately the previous owner didn't make a lot of good lifestyle choices and it showed. The up side is that is was solid, sat on a really nice lot, and had a garage/workshop that had been built along side. The roof was in really good shape, and a fairly new and solid deck ran pretty much the length of the back also.
The interior, well I really have no words. The first thing that we had to do is bomb the inside before we could even work, because of flea infestation. Once that was accomplished, we set about ripping out all of the filthy carpets down to the plywood sub-floor, which had been replaced not all that long ago.
The next project was to buy GALLONS of primer and set to work. That was the easy part. Our main criteria was to get it clean enough to be livable before the cold weather hit. There were a lot of other things such as broken doors, cleaning the furnace (which had been run out of oil) the bathroom (ugh!) etc., as well as getting the grime of who knows how long out of the kitchen. It's amazing what a difference just the primer makes!
The exterior will be the summers project. Though the battleship gray isn't too attractive, we can certainly get by for the winter.
So.....here we are and it is January 1st, 2015. We have been in here for a couple of months after a marathon and help from some great friends. We are "buttoned up" for the winter, and now able to pick away at the inside during the cold months.
From here forward I will bring you back to the beginning with pictures (before/after) and as we proceed pecking away at it over the winter and beyond.
Enjoy, and thanks for tuning in!
Toni and Will
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