Well it looks like DH and I will be moving into my Gramps' home after our lease is up here in August. Gramps moved into an assisted living facility and will no longer be able to live at home again. He and my Granny and their kids (including my mom) built the house in the 60s. It's on a beautiful plot of 34 acres of land in the country--including a creek, forest, meadows, and rolling hills. It's incredible and we'd love to keep it in the family, hence why DH and I plan to live there until we can possibly build a new house on the property.

Problem is: the house wasn't built as well as it should have been. They spent all their $$ on the property and didn't have enough to pay for a very nice home. The kitchen has been recently remodeled (in the last 10 years), but it's still a VERY 60s style home---everything is brown, the living room has wood paneling walls (:pukey), bathrooms are very dated and plumbing is an issue, etc.

With the help from my parents, DH and I plan to fix up the house to be livable for us so we can live there (our "rent" will be to take care of the land and home) and save up enough money to build our own home or purchase one in the future. We have a substantial amount of money left by my Granny just for the house itself, but I'm trying to come up with things that could/should be done to make the house a home for us...

We'd love to get rid of the wood paneling or just sheetrock over it, unfortunately my Gramps would throw a fit (apparently it's 'high end' paneling :arg), so I'm looking into alternative such as a fabric cover to hide the paneling.

We're going to put a fresh coat of paint in all of the bedrooms and bathrooms and refinish all of the floors (it's 100% beautiful wood flooring, but we'll have area rugs for the living room and at least one bedroom.)

We would also like to put in a shower in the main bathroom and redo the counter/sink. Also the kitchen doesn't have a dishwasher, so we'll probably purchase a "portable" one unless we can figure out a way to rig up a permanent dishwasher.

We're trying to do as few renovations as possible just in case we do tear the house down and build our own in a few years, but we would still like it to be "nice" and changed enough that it won't feel like living in my grandparents' house.

Not sure where this thread is going, but, I guess...is there anything we should look into when doing the renovating/remodeling of the home? Any ideas on covering the wood paneling? Any tips on buying cheap appliances/home supplies? Any home decorating tips?

We're really excited to start the project (won't be until after the auction to sell all the stuff that is in the house now), but we're just trying to plan as much as possible so we don't get in way over our heads.

:) this si what i do for a living:P you can check out our website if youd like (well mine for 3 more days:P) improvementdirect.com we have basically everything from faucets to light fixtures to blenders and bedding type stuff (im not trying to sound solicity but it really is a helpful website)

:) this si what i do for a living:P you can check out our website if youd like (well mine for 3 more days:P) improvementdirect.com we have basically everything from faucets to light fixtures to blenders and bedding type stuff (im not trying to sound solicity but it really is a helpful website)

Awesome, thank you!!

Wow . . . I have so much to share- if I wasn't trying to remodel a restaurant by Friday it could go one for pages :D. The one thing I will say about the paneling is that if you put a chair rail around it at 3'-0" and leave the bottom with whatever stain it has now but paint the upper half it will give it a lot more of a 'country' look as opossed to screaming 60's. I will try and remember to send you a PM later tonight when I get home. Remodeling/renovation are exactly what I am planning on starting my Masters for in the fall so I have a billion ideas :lol

Wow . . . I have so much to share- if I wasn't trying to remodel a restaurant by Friday it could go one for pages :D. The one thing I will say about the paneling is that if you put a chair rail around it at 3'-0" and leave the bottom with whatever stain it has now but paint the upper half it will give it a lot more of a 'country' look as opossed to screaming 60's. I will try and remember to send you a PM later tonight when I get home. Remodeling/renovation are exactly what I am planning on starting my Masters for in the fall so I have a billion ideas :lol

Whenever you have time I'd LOVE to hear your ideas!

Unfortunately, we can't paint the paneling or touch it in any way, (:rolleyes) so I'm going for a "cover" approach.

I'm thinking of either doing a "fabric wallpaper" (you soak fabric in starch and put it over the paneling like you would apply wallpaper) or just hanging fabric drape things from rods on the ceiling. I've even thought about creating fabric boards by stretching fabric over a piece of plywood and possibly some padding and then tacking the boards onto the walls, but I don't want to feel like I'm in a padded room!! :lol

That stinks you can't paint the paneling, because throwing some primer/kilz and then some paint on that will make the room look SO much different! We did it to my Granny's house and WOW it made it seem much newer!!

As for everything else.. it sounds like ya'll have a good idea of what you want to do. Remember... any fixtures you buy for the kitchen and baths can be removed and used in the new house you build as well. So if you want something nice you can get it and install it and then move it (esp toilets and sinks)

I cant wait to see some pictures!!!
Good Luck.

That stinks you can't paint the paneling, because throwing some primer/kilz and then some paint on that will make the room look SO much different! We did it to my Granny's house and WOW it made it seem much newer!!

As for everything else.. it sounds like ya'll have a good idea of what you want to do. Remember... any fixtures you buy for the kitchen and baths can be removed and used in the new house you build as well. So if you want something nice you can get it and install it and then move it (esp toilets and sinks)

Good point! We'll probably invest in some "middle-grade" sinks/fixtures that aren't horribly cheap, but aren't top of the line, perfect for a "starter home."

I cant wait to see some pictures!!!
Good Luck.

Thanks! It'll be awhile before pictures are ready...stick around until August/September and I'm sure you'll see some!

Probably this summer I'll update with some renovation process pictures.

I read somewhere once that a military wife who hated to paint would sew fabric panels, and then use strips of velcro around the top and bottoms of the walls to attach it. She said it took her a while to get the hang of getting them tight enough that it looked good, but after a few moves, she had it down to a science.

Since you are so good with fabric, I bet you could make it look awesome. It wouldn't take much to put it up, and if you decide to do something more permanent later, then the fabric could be reused instead of being permanently adhered.

I read somewhere once that a military wife who hated to paint would sew fabric panels, and then use strips of velcro around the top and bottoms of the walls to attach it. She said it took her a while to get the hang of getting them tight enough that it looked good, but after a few moves, she had it down to a science.

Since you are so good with fabric, I bet you could make it look awesome. It wouldn't take much to put it up, and if you decide to do something more permanent later, then the fabric could be reused instead of being permanently adhered.

Oh, velcro is a great idea! I have heard of staples, but velcro sounds much easier to be able to adjust to make it just right. Thanks!

no problem and if you want midline stuff i can give you brand names too to look at :):)