In November of 2018, Matt and I took on the massive undertaking of renovating and restoring a 130-year-old Victorian duplex home in Columbus, Ohio’s Olde Towne East neighborhood. To say it has been a hard journey is an understatement. Here are the before photos. Sadly, we did not start with photos as soon as we walked in after we got the keys. We were so excited to see what was under the dingy, stained ridden carpet, we did not even think to stop for photos. So when looking at these, try to remember the entire house was completely carpeted. In some of these before photos, we had already started ripping up the carpet.
To our complete joy we found insanely beautiful inlaid ash, oak, and mahogany hardwood floors with intricate details. We found original marble tile fireplaces. We uncovered original 1865 stamped door hardware that was so covered in layers of paint, it had lost all detail. We discovered postcards tucked away inside walls framed with hand hewn 2x4s and constructed with blacksmith forged nails. We even found some other hidden surprises that we will talk about in later posts.
Now, we had a lot of bumps along the way as well, but the journey has been one of discovery (about ourselves and our limitations). We fought about the silliest things, and it absolutely tested our relationship. We found good contractors, and we dealt with terrible ones. We uncovered issues that made us want to cry a little bit. But through it all, we learned how to be patient, how to rely on each other’s strengths, and how to build relationships with others based on trust and understanding.
Look out for some in-process photos and some of the finished downstairs unit!
