I officially became a homeowner in March 2011!
My house is a fixer-upper, but it has so much potential (and I bought it for a great price). It’s a slow process, but changes are happening and it looks better every week!
My house is a fixer-upper, but it has so much potential (and I bought it for a great price). It’s a slow process, but changes are happening and it looks better every week!
*all of the ‘Before’ pictures were taken during the home inspection
This is the front door/entry area. Nothing special, but not horrible…except that two-tone wall color. Yikes!
This area is still a work-in-progress (like the rest of the house), but at least that horrible paint job is gone! I also added an entry/hall tree that used to be my grandma’s. I painted it black and added glass hooks. My plans for this area include: a bench, artwork, and possiblyremoving the blinds/frosting the windows.
I fell in love with this house because of the living room/dining room/kitchen’s open floor plan.
This is the living room area. I love how bright and open it is. I didn’t love the two-tone wall color or the dated built-in wall unit.
A couple days after closing we my boyfriend took a sledge hammer to the wall unit. After it was removed my mom and I patched/painted the wall and I hired a handyman to replace the missing tile. Once the baseboards are installed you’ll never know the wall unit existed.
I bought an entertainment center from IKEA to fill the wall. Even though we had a few assembly mishaps, I love it (and it takes up way less floor space than the previous entertainment center). My plans/shopping list for the living room include: a new couch, coffee table, rug, card catalog (build one?), maybe a bench for under the window, and some general styling. I also want to update the fireplace. There's still A LOT of work left to do in the living room!
I love my large, open kitchen. I think the previous owners had recently installed the kitchen cabinets. They were in great shape and really clean.
The house didn’t come with a refrigerator and the dishwasher didn’t work, so first order of business was buying appliances. My awesome parents bought me the refrigerator as a house warming gift and I bought myself the dishwasher. I eventually replaced the microwave and stove to match the other stainless steel appliances. I also added hardware to all of the doors and drawers – one of my favorite projects to date. The biggest project left on my kitchen to-do list is tiling the backsplash.
Let's head down the hallway.
Not much has changed in the hallway except for the linen closet. I painted the dark, dated wood white which freshened up the whole area. I still need to replace the hall light and change out the dated, gold door knobs.
First door on the right is the guest bathroom - formerly known as “The Crime Scene”. I have no idea what those stains are…I don’t think I want to know.
After two coats of paint and all new hardware/accessories, it’s the best looking room in the house! You can see the complete makeover here and the budge breakdown here. One of my favorite parts of the update is the painted vanity. It was a pretty easy project and it made a huge impact. The pictures are marked “After” but is a room really ever complete?
Across the hall from the bathroom is the first bedroom. Two shades of purple and a Winnie the Pooh wallpaper border…ugh!
We tore down the Pooh border and primed over the purple. 2 coats of Behr White Clay later, the purple walls are a distant (horrible) memory.
One door down is the second spare bedroom. This room is the guest room/where my boyfriend keeps his clothes because I’m not sharing the master closet room. Get your sunglasses for the “before” pictures! Yes, it is half hot pink and half bright blue.
We primed this baby like nobody’s business and then painted it Behr’s Ice Cube. My old bed and bedding were moved to this room. I still love that Ikea headboard/footboard set, but I love my new king-size mattress more.
Across the hall is the master bedroom. I loved the size of the room (and closet) and the bay window immediately. The green color…not so much.
We painted this room the day after I closed on the house. We used Secret Locket by ColorPlace and it was pure hell…but worth it. I moved into this room with very little furniture. I started out by replacing my full-size bed with a king-size. My mom bought me a pair of nightstands at a yard sale for $20 and I painted them black and replaced the knobs. I tried to hide the ugly brown blinds by sewing curtains to cover them, but I think the window situation is due for another upgrade. My favorite project in the master bedroom has to be my stenciled upholstered headboard. It was painstaking to make, but worth it.
Just off the master bedroom is the master bath. This is the room I hate the most…it’s WAY too small. This is the only before picture I have...
We also painted this room Secret Locket by ColorPlace. My dad is really handy so he replaced the toilet, faucet, and light fixture for me. He also updated the nasty beige outlets/light switch to clean white ones. I added the damask shower curtain and towel bar…plus some artwork. I really need to replace that missing drawer so I can get started on the rest of the bathroom makeover (paint vanity, new countertop, frame mirror, etc).
Back through the house, next to the kitchen, is the laundry room.
The house didn’t come with a washer and dryer, so I bought a set off of Craigslist. Once my boyfriend moved in with his nice washer/dryer set, we sold my Craigslist set. This is the one room in the house that hasn’t been re-painted. I’d also love to build a counter around the washer/dryer, replace/update the shelf, and add storage on the opposite wall.
Next to the laundry room is the pantry. Now this is a pantry for stockpiling!
I painted the walls with paint leftover from the guest bathroom makeover and updated the shelves with a fresh coat of white paint. I updated my food storage to glass jars and crates. I also replaced the light fixture.
Just off the pantry is another room. It’s a tiny little office that I’m using as my craft room.
I painted the walls (Sterling by Benjamin Moore) and painted the shelves white (just regular off-the-shelve bright white). I also painted the desk with chalkboard paint! I’m still working on organizing and putting everything back in the room. I also have two chairs that I need to re-upholster to use in this room.
Now let’s head out back.
This is the backyard. It’s freakin’ huge, but it’s just dirt and weeds (for now). I had grand plans of adding fruit trees, grass and other plants, but Ringo has destroyed pretty much everything back here. So my big plan for now is just to have the whole thing leveled, add weed plastic, and then cover it with gravel.
And here’s the back patio…way too small for such a large yard.
During the summer of 2012 I hired a local landscape/concrete company to extend the patio. They extended the patio out and also poured concrete along the side of the house. I love how it turned out…and it’s nice being able to take out the trash barefoot! I also bought a patio dining set off of Craigslist. I still have more decorating to do out here, but I’m happy with the progress so far.
And finally, the swimming pool! It’s expensive to upkeep, but it’s so much fun swimming with the dogs. Ringo and Abby are obsessed with the pool. Ringo wants to swim every day during the summer. We haven’t done much with this area yet. I’d like to add river rock around the pool and maybe some large plants and tiki torches.
