We got ourselves a new stove...sort of.

We've spent a very long time without a stove at the house. Originally the house came with an electric stove from the 1960s, half the burners worked, and the regulator for the oven was all screwy, so we just asked the previous owners to take it out when they moved.

After much searching for the perfect stove we were finally lucky enough to come across an early 1950s Magic Chef stove on Craigslist, just about a 5 minute drive from our house. It was being used as a canning stove in the previous owners basement, and hadn't been in use for years. They were trying to sell it for $500, but after a little research, and some price comparison, we felt $250 seemed like a better price. So we offered, they accepted, and the next day we drove down the street and picked it up.
It was a bit of a chore getting it out of the basement, but it wasn't quite as heavy as I thought it would be. I guess it makes sense now, these older stoves are really simple, no digital panels to break down, , just some knobs and a thermometer, oh, and a really cool clock/timer as well as a wheel with various suggestions for cooking times and temperatures for different meats and puddings.

Before I installed it I did bring it down to a local oven repair shop to have it tested for leaks, lucky for us nothing came up bad. The salesperson was pretty excited for us, as the stove was in perfect condition, apart from some grease a little rust on one of the broiler handles.

So we got it home, it took a bit to get the right size fittings in place, then hooked it up to the gas line that we had installed before we moved in. The only issue we're having with it is that it's 36 inches wide, a about 2 inches too wide for it's current location. The location is temporary, as we're moving the stove to an outside wall, but that's not going to happen until we figure out what we're doing as far as cabinets go.

My suggestions, go vintage, post WWII, but nothing past 1960, and go gas. You can find them for pretty cheap, especially compared to newer models, plus they almost never break down. I even had a chef friend of mine say that our stove was putting off almost as many BTUs as some professional kitchen stoves.

Bring that paneling down

So the entire downstairs, besides the foyer, is covered in 1960s wood paneling. Now I'm not bashing wood paneling, it has it's place, but not through out the entire downstairs of a home. It gets to be a little much, feels like you're hanging out in your grandparents basement all the time. When we did our walk though on closing day the son of the the woman who previously owned the place mentioned that he had used Murphy's Oil and shined up all the paneling for us, and without hesitating I mentioned the paneling wouldn't be staying long.

So the process started, unfortunately is was both glued and nailed to the original plaster, just as it was in the kitchen. A sharp utility scraper helped out a ton in this situation, and it didn't take long to get the first few 4x8 sheets off the wall, and to discover a couple of really nice surprises.

First, on the back, west wall of the house, where we were planning on putting a couple french doors to lead out on to a deck, we discovered a piano window that had been hidden under the paneling 50 years previous. Since we're trying to do an authentic restoration on the house I didn't have a choice but to keep the window, so that was surprise #1.

Hello Mr. Window

Now on to the south facing wall, which has a fireplace on it. Again, we took down the paneling and discovered a couple of nice surprises, two square windows flanking either side of the fireplace. So again we're keeping them, I can't wait to see how much light these 3 extra windows are going to add to the downstairs. Part of me doesn't understand why they would cover up all these windows, I suppose the trends of the 1960s had something to do with it.

First trip to Menards

Some painter's tape, fire brick caulk, locks, and a furnace filter.

Kitchen time.

And so it begins

The kitchen was a disaster, we could have lived with it the way it was, but the wallpaper gave us both vertigo. Nothing about it, the colors, layout, and otherwise reflected our style, plus the dropped ceiling made the kitchen feel no larger than a cardboard box. We had to start working on it ASAP.

Found these behind some cupboards

                                                           

Amber's first house project...ever.

Wall paper backsplash gone.

Time to take down that dropped ceiling

The nook is already looking better.

A nice little surprise, turned out to be dead.

A little water damage from the bathroom up above

More water damage

Paint color under the paneling, not the original, but the second color, probably from the 1940s.

Ceiling down

Must be where the original phone was. You can see the original salmon color from the 1920s.

Second little surprise. Dropped drywall ceiling at side entry.

The liquid nails used for the paneling was a pain, but it came off easy once I had a sharp scraper.

Nice little present behind the fridge.

More of the water damage.

Let's rock?

First order of business...get this record player working? One of two things we asked for with the house, a really ugly 1960's couch and an early 1980s generic record console, 8 track and all. I don't think the player itself had ever been used, only the radio. A little dusting, some turbine oil, and elbow grease it's as good as new. Lucky for me I was able to find a copy of "Strange Negotiations" by David Bazan that was not packed away with everything else.

The befores

Here is the original listing for the house along with the photos.  These will be some good before photos.

http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/2219-Maryland-Ave-Superior-WI-54880/79391625_zpid/