After 1 full year in our house (happy anniversary house), I have finally sat down and taken some time to put together some post-renovation pics. I know, I know, it's about time. Although we still have some finishing touches to complete and a few rooms upstairs to occupy, we are satisfied and comfortable with the way things turned out. Some of the pics are purely decorating transformations, and for some of them I do not have any before shots, so please use your imagination. And yes, I love to paint, if you cannot tell. The only rooms in the house with color when we moved in was our bathroom and just wait until you see that!
(click on any picture to enlarge)
Kitchen- Before
The cabinets were in bad shape. Lots of wear, fading, and scratches. The countertops consisted of the same gray tile that you see on the back splash, and the sink was your standard scale basin with a very dated faucet. Oh, yes, and don't forget the ceiling box light with hanging make-shift pot rack. Good news here is that the tile was fairly new and laid at a diagonal, which actually complemented the flow of the kitchen and the stove was a recent purchase by the previous owner. We had the cabinets sanded, primed, and painted, and the island refinished to a darker mahogany color. We felt doing this to the entire kitchen would darken the room too much. Instead we went with a busy and exotic granite with undercabinet lighting and a light tumbled travertine backsplash. The old ceiling box was removed, new drywall and texture added in its place, and new pendant lights hung over the island. With a new stainless steel sink, bronze faucet, and new cabinet hardware the end result really came together. The original stove and microwave surprisingly work like new, so until we get sick of looking at them, they are here to stay.
Kitchen- Now
Masterbath- Before
Okay, this bathroom was a nightmare. Sadly, I do not have a picture of the window leak. The wall with the window had to be gutted due to a leak coming in from the top of the window. We knew about this when we bought the house, no surprises there. In fact, it is partly how we got the seller to come down quite a bit on the price, that and he was already into another home and mortgage. At the end of the day, the leak really was not a big deal at all. The wall paint, cabinets, and shower were, however. I don't know who thought that green cabinets and "poop smear" wall paint looked good, and I don't know how long it took them to do that, but it took me much longer to fix it! Again, the tile in this room was fairly new. Beautiful tumbled travertine with a lot of character. First task was tearing out the shower, starting over from scratch, new hardware, tile, glass, shower pan, the whole 9 yards. We bought coordinating bath and sink faucets, replaced the outdated fan, yes there was a fan in the bathroom, and I spent several days repainting the cabinets. We bought new sinks, installed granite, and had the ginormous mirror taken down and cut for two individual mirrors. Oh yeah, and let's not forget the gold door knobs that were throughout the entire house. Yes, all 24 of them. We replaced them with bronze lever-style knobs.
Masterbath- Now
Family Room- Before
New paint, lighting, window fixtures, and furniture. Oh yea, and the yellowed air vents on the ceiling were replaced as well throughout the house. All the small things that you just don't think about.
Family Room- Now
Entry- Before
New paint, lighting, and furniture.
Still need to paint this room and find a rug, but at the moment
it is functioning adequately as my scrapbooking room.
Craft Room- Now
Masterbedroom- Before
New paint, lighting, and furniture.
Masterbedroom- Now
Half bath- Now
This use to be a standard white pedestal sink. We replaced it
with a console, added a stone sink and modern faucet.
Bedroom 1- Before
Bedroom 1- Now
Bedroom 2- Before
Bedroom 2- Now
This is Chris's old college furniture and bedspread.
Aww, I hope he is not sad one day when I replace it.
Bedroom 3- Before & Now
This bathroom had wallpaper throughout and a cowboy theme, with matching electric outlet and light switch plates. It was very interesting. We had the wallpaper removed, drywall floated, texture added, and painted the bathroom a light green color. I also painted the built-ins a sharp black color to accent.
Upstairs Bath 1 - Now
Upstairs Bath 2 - Before
This bathroom also had wallpaper throughout. Same task here. Had the wallpaper removed, drywall floated, texture added, and painted the bathroom a teal/blue color.
Upstairs Bath 2 - Now
This room was great as is. Carpet upstairs is only a few years old, so it is in great shape. I painted this room an "Elephant skin" color and accented with olive colored pillows and drapes. The room is most definitely still a work in progress, but at 22x20, it has a long way to go before it looks complete. The couch was a great Craigslist find, leather, seats 5-6 people and is in new condition.
Some friends have been asking for awhile now to see pictures of the progress on our house. We did a whole lot at once when we moved in, sort of hit a wall and took a little break, and now are slowly making changes again, so check back as we continue on this fun learning experience.
