She had good bones our little Spanish bungalow. We could see it. Underneath the stained carpet, power blue window curtains, and dried out yard. You could see this Spanish beauty still held her original charm and elegance. She just needed a makeover, and a makeover she got.

Fist things first. Demo.

Fun, dusty and overwhelming.

I have vivid memories of ripping the carpet up, tugging on the nails, and as suspected finding original wood floors. Wow she had potential.

We debated a kitchen remodel. Could we make the original closed off 1927 kitchen with three doors entering it work? We asked a contractor friend. His exact words “take the fucking wall down.” So we did. And man, something about opening up a kitchen into a dining room can do wonders. Modern functionality with no harm to the homes soul.

We continued to rip, paint, sand, dust, and plant. Month after month and year after year we made modern changes, yet always focused on keeping her original beauty. Sure you want a new sink, but those glass doorknobs and built ins were something special.

We continue to poke and prod her. She began to shine.

Bright white paint for the fireplace, a new chandelier to match the sconces-which of course were also repainted, lights for the closets, original light fixtures hunted down, plants in the yard and of course blinds. I mean, who wants to live in a fish bowl?

On and on we went, living without a shower (resulting in my husband shaving with a hose in the backyard, barefoot and in his surf shorts), old fridge in the dining room. Scrubbing and sanding, rearranging, tweaking.

Four years later with never ending work, who knew of the love this little Spanish Bungalow could bring us. Not everyone’s trash is a treasure, but we sure treasure our little Spanish fixer upper.

Once the wall from the dining room to the kitchen was taken down, we were able to enjoy natural light flooding through. The bar now allows for a handful of people to huddle around during get togethers.