It is pink-- very Florida, though most of the exterior front is a dark green and tan. I am at such a loss as to how I want to paint the exterior, I'm sure once we've done some landscaping and lived with the house a bit we'll get some better ideas as to what we want to do. Right now I'm really liking the look of painted stucco with wood paneling accents and keeping the court yard multicolored and fun (especially since the courtyard is so visible from the kitchen and family room). Here's a picture of the family room (it's the room the stairs from the kitchen lead down to)-- the back of the house is very open and there's lots of views of the courtyard.

We actually have a library-- separate from her room's "study". Her room was three tiny rooms when the house was originally built so now it's a long sort of three section room with the entrance room leading into the area where the bed is that leads to her study (pictured in the main post). She's 2 so my main concern now is people getting in, later when she's 13 I think our main concern will be her using it as her escape route (I snuck out A TON when I was a teenager). The doors from the study don't lead out to the yard, but instead lead out to the side of the driveway-- would work great if she's still living with us in college and needs her own entrance/exit We were tempted to use her room as the master but man... there's a porch off the master bedroom that is just too sweet to pass up:

The office/library is a bit of a concern as well. Our goal is to have an office/guest room. I'm thinking of putting a murphy bed in place of some of the shelves on one side of the room but because this room was originally two rooms there's an awkward bit that sticks out between the two windows where I think the desk should go.

I'm thinking of removing the wall of shelves from the longer wall here for the murphy bed

since there are still tons of shelves on this side. This picture shows the division in the room that makes putting a desk under those windows awkward. It's such a special house, I can't wait to live in a bit and have it help me figure out what to do with it!

here's another view of the exterior color sort of a pinky tan. feels quite cave like right now but I think clearing out some of the overgrowth and a new paint job/paneling will really brighten up the exterior a ton

this is the side view of the house... it really just looks like an overgrown lot. the house has NO curb appeal-- all the excitement is off the courtyard (she's kind of a mullet house... serious up front, party in the back). I don't want to go crazy but I do think we can make the exterior more appealing from the front and side with some fresh paint and landscaping!

I can't wait to see what you do with the place!

Take your time making decisions - you might find fabulous new ways to use each space, once you live in it for a bit. Maybe put your daughter in the library, and turn the room with the patio door into an office/guest room?

that's an interesting idea! see, why don't these things occur to me? i really think once we've lived in her a bit she'll "tell" us what goes where (she being the house, haha). i have no idea why i didn't think of swapping my daughter's room with the library/office! they're about the same size room and having the office/guest room in a space that already has some separations to it makes a lot of sense!

plus the current library/office is right across the hall from the bathroom my daughter will be using. this is why it's great to get input. i have so many ideas whirring through my head that i miss some very obvious things!

Can you either paint the dishwasher door or replace it with a black or SS front to match the other appliances? I would go with black or dark hardware to match the counter top. It doesn't look like you have any gold tone items in the kitchen presently. I like the chandelier you have. Maybe change the color, but it somehow fits in to me. The different colors of paneling on the outside of the house remind me of the Partridge Family's tour bus from the old tv show. Lots of fun. Do you like the colored paneling on the outside? If you do, why not go with bold colors? Get some color swatches from the paint store and play around with some colors you like. Get a feel of how it may look. It is a very unique, cool looking home. Congratulations on your soon to be purchase! NancyLouise

Thank you. I LOVE the color paneling of the courtyard and think we will continue it. I've gone between doing various shades of the same colors or doing a bunch of seemingly random colors like it is already (just fresher). I just worry my random mix won't look as cohesive as the original does. It just works somehow. I hope I can figure out the trick.

What a beautiful house and setting! Yes, quite unusual.... as with any antique I think the antique houses that retain most value are ones that are well maintained, as original/authentic as possible, most evocative of the era, and were well designed in the first place.

Yes definitely don't do ANYTHING unless you're pretty sure it will be an improvement and not a detriment to the house. A lot of times people think they're "improving" by modernizing but really its the opposite.

Things about a house make more sense when you've been in them a while. I might even go so far as to investigate what the original colors were (exterior and interior) - sometimes you can see traces of it around the trim, or peel away top layers - not that you have to slavishly reproduce those colors, but just to inform you what the original design and esthetic was. Its interesting! Also Id just spend the first year or so connecting with people locally and online who know about, understand and appreciate this particular house & this particular era.... so that when the time comes to think about working on it, you'll have some trusted people to bounce ideas off of.

Jollie Kaye, I love that you think of the house as "her". And I'm glad you liked my suggestion! Two heads are better than one, for sure. And sometimes, the most obvious things don't register. My Mom and I have each had cases where we come up with some fabulous idea for the house (usually it's about storage), and we say "Why the heck didn't I think of THAT 10 years ago?!"

I agree about swapping your daughters room and the library. Also when you first move in maybe get a stainless panel for the DW and swap out the hardware on the cabinets. If that DW does not come with a panel you can buy rolled stainless and do it yourself or appliance paint to change to another color. It seems very livable and a good house to settle in and see what it feels like needs to be done. Best wishes.

What about some natural wood grain in some sections of the exterior? I think the color blocking in some places detracts from the architecture. Sure hope you get it.