The former owners really loved this house.  They loved it so much that they pretty much loved it to death.  I thought I’d kick off the multiple days of pictorials of House 17 I have planned for you with an episode I like to call “Neat Souvenirs”.

These are examples (we didn’t always have the presence of mind to take pictures of every little souvenir we found) of what the former owners left for us in the upstairs of House 17.  Let’s get started….

Neat Souvenir #1:  In the bedroom I’ll later refer to as “The Ketchup And Mustard Room”, someone left us this rolodex.  Ok, so you have to look hard here to see it.  But, they wrote several names and numbers in permanent marker on the window glass.  They also really loved bumper stickers, as you can tell.  It took me an hour to scrape all that off with a razorblade and get it clean. 

Neat Souvenir #2:  Then, we found doggie stains on the carpet…lots and lots of them.  Or, at least, we hope that’s all it was….

Neat Souvenir #3:  The former homeowners considered themselves handy-people, too.  We had to cover lots and lots of bad “Trading Spaces” ideas, including this two-toned, sponged-on paint with seemingly no rhyme or reason behind it.  This paint job was found in the room that will be Michael’s office.

Neat Souvenir #4:  Sorry for the bad photo here.  We were taking pictures with very low lighting since so many bulbs in the house were burned out.  But, here, you see lip prints, or “kisses”, with lipstick on the door frame dividing the two parts of the upstairs bathroom.

Neat Souvenir #5:  This type of damage was everywhere.  Every windowsill has to be replaced.  I can only imagine they liked to hear the sound of the rain and didn’t even mind when it actually rained inside the house.  This was in what I like to call “The Strawberry Shortcake Room”.

Neat Souvenir #6:  Also, we’ve had to patch so many holes in the drywall, I’ve lost count.  No one could accuse them of being nice to their belongings!  In one area downstairs, it looked like someone just punched through the drywall with a fist.  This particular damage was on the wall in the upstairs living room.

Neat Souvenir #7:  I kept finding black tar everywhere in the form of little handprints!  Here, you see black smears on the wall.  But, black tar was also on several of the doorhandles upstairs, too.  This picture was also taken in “The Ketchup And Mustard Room”.

Neat Souvenir #8:  This do-it-yourselfer certainly didn’t concern themselves with finish work.  Door not closing properly?–Ah, I think I’ll just put a drywall screw through the doorframe!  Why not!  This picture was taken at the entrance to “The Patchwork Orange Room”, which is now my office.

Neat Souvenir #9:  What do you do when you’ve put an exterior locking handle on an interior door and you lose the key?  Oh, right–just kick the door in!  This was also taken at the doorway to “The Patchwork Orange Room”.

Neat Souvenir #10:  Do you get the feeling that Paige felt a little insecure about her personal space?  She felt so strongly about it, she had to scratch her name on the painted-over wall plate.  This picture was also taken in “The Strawberry Shortcake Room”.

I’ll let that be it for today!  Since today’s Saturday, not many people are reading anyway.  But, I’ve got some good “before and after’s” to post tomorrow!  Until then….

March 8th, 2008
Categories: House 17 . Author: Trisha

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