But for reals, the retaining wall is finally going in and it’s going to be SO much better than the horrible rock-and-concrete-chunk wall we’ve spent many collective months weeding over the past three years. I’ve never been so excited about a wall before. #hellohilltop via Instagram http://ift.tt/1F52b7u

This was our bedroom one year ago. That purplish-blue trim took about five layers of primer to cover up. #hellohilltop via Instagram http://ift.tt/1cCVq5R

#hellohilltop via Instagram http://ift.tt/1dUQYQg

One year ago, our living room looked like this: painted wood floors, nicotine-stained walls, black trim, painted-over wallpaper, cracks in the walls, a section of the wall extending out into the room to cover an old heating duct, burn marks on the baseboards leftover from old heaters, and a scary chandelier awkwardly positioned off-center from the ceiling. #hellohilltop via Instagram http://ift.tt/1dUQY2w

And today, it looks like this! We’ve come a long way, @trevormruss. #hellohilltop via Instagram http://ift.tt/1dUQYzJ

We have windows! On our roof! Roof windows! #hellohilltop via Instagram http://ift.tt/1DcbdE9

Dump day! #hellohilltop via Instagram http://ift.tt/1A1kyfj

Not too thrilled about New Year’s Day #hellohilltop demo. Taking out the kitchen and bathroom floors upstairs today. Wishing I could be #smedleythecat all curled up on the window bench instead. The good news is that it looks like the wood floors in the kitchen (under a few layers of not-glued-down linoleum) are very much salvageable! via Instagram http://ift.tt/1AkbbGy

Yesterday, we found what we think is the back of the original medicine cabinet in the upstairs bathroom! It was built into the lath shared with the kitchen wall, so there’s no easy way it could have been added in during a later renovation. You can still see the unpainted lines from where the shelves used to be! #hellohilltop via Instagram http://instagram.com/p/xPitcCyF7Z/

We discovered this cache of pink and burgundy tiles inside the bathroom wall during demo yesterday! Based on the color combination, my guess is that they’re from the ’50s, maybe from when the house was originally converted to a duplex in 1951/1952. Even though they’re not original to the house, it’s always fun to find something reminiscent of how the house used to be! #hellohilltop via Instagram http://instagram.com/p/xPiERaSF5j/