Usually I tend to fizzle out on projects...or the kids drag me away...or I decide something else sounds like way more fun. So it comes as a surprise that I am still writing this blog. After two whole years.
Let's take a look at where we've been...and where we are now. After all, aren't Before and After photos the best part of updating a house? They are for me! I'm also including a short to-do list for each area, so you can see where we heading - at least at the moment.
Are you ready? Are you buckled in? Got a few snacks? Then...let's go!
Front Yard
We're the corner house on a cul-de-sac, so everyone going down our street sees our house. So let's start here. The "before" here is also my masthead, so you've probably seen it:
The after doesn't look a whole lot different, except for a few plants (and no pumpkins, since it's August and not November). It's fascinating how different the light looks in different months, isn't it?
Still To Do:
- Finish painting the front door (still no second coat on that redness!) and fix the window (it's single-paned at the moment) or replace it (my vote)
- Add an wood arbor and stone half-wall around the porch area
- Paint or replace siding - we're not too thrilled with the pale yellow
- Finish landscaping. Next year I can even start trimming those roses in front!
Front Room
Now we're inside. Welcome! You don't need to take off your shoes, even though there are usually several lying about right by the door. And if spelling bothers you, you are welcome to correct our "family" blocks. They are always in disarray, but are usually at least on the shelf.
The house originally had a dark brown wall, as well as four full walls enclosing the room.
That wall limited our view, so we chopped it down. Doug wasn't thrilled with the brown, either, so we went with a soft green/gray. I also started adding curves on the wall. It's a lot brighter in there now. And we can see the view out the front window from the dining room table, which is a big plus.
Still To Do:
- Finish curves on wall to add a graphic element to a very large wall
- Finish trim on half wall and possibly add bookshelves along the wall (Doug and I are in discussions, since we have differing viewpoints here)
- Finish reupholstering chairs ('nuf said)
- Add art and possibly some greenery - once the kids stop tearing into indoor plants
- Replace flooring (another point Doug and I disagree about)
- Plank ceiling, add beams
- Replace ceiling fan (no overhead lighting) and add ambient lighting instead
Dining Room
Next, come on into the dining room. It was pretty basic when we moved in, with Doug's stereo speakers making a dubious design statement...
Now we have a large sofa to chill on while someone else cooks (primarily me, unfortunately!). The black-and-white photos are arranged in a straight line to add to a sense of order. A girl can always try, right?
From that couch, you can see directly into the kitchen. Depending on the day, that may or may not be a good view. Regardless, you can talk to the cook...which in this house ends up being variations on: "What are you making, again? No, not that!"
Still To Do:
- Replace flooring (for this room, Doug agrees - there is a chipped tile that no amount of TLC will make better)
- Add curtains, take down the broken blinds
- Replace french doors with a sliding glass door...we really want a screen to let in air
Kitchen
Luckily for us, the previous owners updated the entire kitchen. Commercial appliances, new cabinets, new tiling. Unluckily, they didn't actually finish the cabinetry or the tile. Close, though!
They did paint a red accent wall that is now painted the same green/gray as the rest of the front rooms.
We painted, added curtains, and took off the molding that was hanging in no-man's land over the sink.
We also ditched a cabinet in exchange for open shelving.
Still To Do:
- Finish the tiling
- Finish up the molding on top of the cabinets - there were a few that didn't have any to begin with
- Add a backsplash - the painting is nicer than the plaster (and the patched holes), but not as functional as, say, tile
- Get some bar stools for the counter area
Hallway
Let's head on down the hallway. It looked pretty blank to start with, even with the addition of my large-scale canvas from IKEA.
After a coat of paint and a few more pictures, it's a little more welcoming.
Still To Do:
- Fix the doorbell...there is still a hole in the wall from whence the doorbell should ring out
- Replace flooring: this goes along with the front room flooring agenda
- Replace registers: they are getting old and bent out of shape
Under the Sea Room
This was the first room to receive a coat of paint. I think. It has been two years, after all - am I supposed to remember that far back? Sadly, there aren't any pictures of the room when we first moved in. It was a cute lime green. You'll have to take my word for it.
Today, though, there are fewer fish. There's also a lot more blue.
Still To Do:
- Malena insists she needs something to sit on, like a poof or a beanbag
- New carpeting
- New quilt for Malena - this will introduce a badly-needed contrasting color (red, in case you're wondering)
- Add closet doors
Sunshine Room
This room went from dark to sunny, although it didn't really bother me as it was when we bought the house. It was classic: dusty blue with chocolate brown. My parents would have loved it. I don't really have anything that matches that particular palette, though, leaving the room looking uncoordinated and awkward.
Some serious painting later, along with new bedding and curtains really brought the room into this decade. And added a lot more light.
A few crazy mirrors helped, too.
Still To Do:
- Add ambient lighting
- Add closet doors
- Replace carpeting
Upstairs Bath
We have done nothing to the upstairs bath - other than add a shower curtain when we moved in. The to-do list, while not much longer than the other rooms, is much more pricey...which might be why we haven't tackled it, yet. Of course, the fact that it is functional also counts as a reason to not put it at the the top of the list.
Still To Do:
- Replace vanity
- Replace flooring
- Add a closet door
- Replace the room door to match the six panel doors upstairs
- Replace tile surrounding tub
- Replace tub (eventually - I can deal with a blue tub for the time being)
Serenity Room
Also known as the Master Bedroom, this room started out white, white, white. I don't think it had even been painted, but was still in its primed state, complete with unfinished patches. It was a little sparse in the furniture department, too.
Now it's a little more crowded. It's also painted and there's a headboard (which I'm still amazed I made all by myself). There's a missing finial on the curtain rod...it's underneath the bed. I think the bed will have to be moved to find it, so it's not happening anytime soon.
As you saw last week, we added a sofa and mounted our TV to the wall. Another issue that we discuss often - Doug loves the TV in our room. Me, not so much. Either way, we do need to hide the wires - if they weren't there, they'd be a lot easier to hide, don't you think?
Still To Do:
- Hide TV wires
- Add shelf for TV equipment (if it's going to be there, Netflix and DVDs are always a bonus)
- Add side tables for the sofa
- Organize the shelves...this may be a continual item on the list, of course
- Replace carpeting
- Add closet door
- Redo the entire closet: it has an awkward shelving arrangement and almost no hanging space
Quiet Room
Now we're heading downstairs. These rooms were less finished than the ones upstairs, and a few still need drywall. The Quiet Room was at least complete when we moved in, although a sickly color of yellow. The walls were also trashed, tribute to other kids that had once lived in the room.
Mind you, I am not passing judgement. Kids are kids. Yellow, however...that's a different story.
The room is quite a bit brighter now.
It can also be super dark, thanks to the blackout curtains.
Still To Do:
- Find matching bedding - it's hodgepodge right now
- Replace the carpet
- Add closet doors
- Replace the room door to match the six panel doors upstairs
- Finish hanging artwork...it's there, I just haven't gotten around to it...
Laundry Room/Craft Room
This room needs a lot of work...it's only partially finished. It is operable, though, which means it regularly fills up with stuff and is cleaned, starting that cycle all over again. Other than using it, we haven't done much of anything to the room itself.
Still To Do:
- Add a ceiling
- Add flooring
- Paint
- Add curtains
- Add trim
Downstairs Bathroom
Okay, the laundry room is practically finished when compared to the downstairs bathroom. We did update the vanity - kind of. We replaced the broken vanity (it did have a working sink) with a functional vanity that our neighbors were throwing away.
Before...
And after. I guess it is an improvement.
Doug also added a door and did the framing, but then stopped. With the sink undone, so it's no longer functional. Bummer. At least the toilet still works...
Still To Do:
- Add a shower
- Drywall the room
- Tile the shower and floor
- Add lighting
- Refinish or replace vanity - oak isn't my thing, really
Morning Room
Hah! I figured out a name for Bonnie's room downstairs. It gets the best morning light, while not being too hot when there's too much sun. Eventually, I'll have to decorate it accordingly. However, we have taken it from the same sickly yellow that covered the Quiet Room into a basic white. Maybe not much of an improvement, but at least we can easily repaint over the white.
The walls were also trashed in this room.
The stickers add a little life to the whiteness. This is probably the first room I've painted white in 6-7 years.
Still To-Do:
- Add trim
- Replace the room door to match the six panel doors upstairs
- Replace carpet
Living Room
This room is completely unfinished. That is, until Doug framed and insulated it this summer. It's a little closer to being livable! Here it is with a little bit of framing and a few pieces of furniture:
And now, with fewer pieces of furniture, completely framed and insulated:
You're right: it looks worse now. But closer to the end goal.
Still To Do:
- Add drywall
- Paint
- Add trim
- Add lighting & covers for the can lights
- Add flooring
- Add more furniture, so we can lounge instead of stand around, looking at the walls.
Library
Ah, the library. This was originally painted a brown room with a red accent wall. Unfortunately, I didn't take pictures when we first moved in (bad girl!), and it was soon repainted as the Garden Room with flowers and fairies.
It even looked pretty decent as a guest room.
Now it is Collin's room, waiting to be repainted.
Still To Do:
- Repaint (I'm thinking a nice gray with one or three red horizontal stripes)
- Add closet doors
- Replace room door with a six-panelled door like those upstairs
- Replace carpet
Back Yard
And that wraps up the inside of the house. So let's head out to the backyard. It is, frankly, a mess. Still, it is better than just plain dirt and stickers, which is where we started. Before:
After, with a
lot more plants:
North side of the house before:
And after. The plants are a little larger, but it still is pretty plain.
Garden before:
And after. This is pretty much the same, yes? It depends on the season - once Doug plows it under in the fall, it will look neat and tidy until next spring.
The chicken coop before...
Yup, that's a little Jack doing a "Toyota" jump. See how close that little tree is to the right of the shed? And after...
The tree isn't so little anymore...and it's quite a bit farther. The chickens have a lot more space to roam, too.
The fruit trees are getting a little bigger - before:
And after:
And my flower beds are no longer empty. Before:
And after:
This is the same stretch of land from two different perspectives - I am sorry about that.
Still To Do:
- Fencing - I probably have said enough about this topic
- Arrange plantings instead of just throwing them in beds
- Plan out what we're doing (majority of the yard)
And there you have it. Next we are planning on tackling a real fence (at last!) and finishing the basement. You know, little things. Hope you are having success and happiness in your home...we're certainly trying!
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