Starting the Renovation Project
The couple leapt into the project with excitement and energy. They removed old furniture, the striped wallpaper, and old fixtures, looking to restore the character of the home but in a newer, fresher way. Every room was now an adventure, and every layer peeled back showed a little more history of that house.
They approached every job with enthusiasm, growing more attached to the house as they worked. Scraping off layers of old paint and wallpaper seemed almost like unearthing clues from the past with each layer revealing perhaps some aspect of style or, more likely, previous tastes of the owners. I loved this already as a laborer: even imagining what it might have been like many decades ago, even finding the remnants of floral wallpaper and old-fashioned adornment hidden beneath.
Small surprises occasionally popped up as they worked: an old photograph stuffed under the floorboards, a vintage button in a corner, or old nails untouched for years. These little finds gave them a taste of history in the house and made them feel like they were piecing together a story. They felt that they were discovering secrets hidden within the house, though they had no idea at all of just how remarkable the greatest discovery would be.
