It's been a busy couple of months for us, as evidenced by our rate of posting. Work has been busy, we haven't done much worth illustrating, and we've finished it all up with twin bouts of the Flu That Swept the Twin Cities. I finally feel good enough to do more than read trashy novels, sleep, drink orange juice, and cough, so here's the post I've been meaning to make for weeks.
It was about three years ago that we closed on our house. People keep telling us that we've done a ton of work, but it doesn't feel that way to me - probably a side effect of seeing too many before & after Cottage Living remodel features that are completed in the space of a few pages. So here's my personal retrospective of the world's slowest low-budget house transformation. At the three-year mark, that is. We're far from done.
When we moved in, the exterior of the house was a lovely shade of baby-poop brown. Landscaping consisted of some low juniper bushes and hostas in railroad tie planters. Before
We refinished the front door, had the house painted in the summer of 2006, and have added more interesting plants in the railroad tie planters, created a new bed on one side of the yard, and added a tree ring planter. Now we're just waiting for everything to grow.
The biggest changes made in the living room are sunny yellow paint, the addition of my beloved bookshelves, and Roman shades. The house came to us with more drab brown paint on the living room walls. I think that painting the living room was our first real project in the house - I distinctly remember painting while watching the NCAA basketball tournament, which means it was still March 2005. Before and More Before
Big changes are coming in this room, though. The furniture that's there now (and the giant TV) will probably be moved to the basement, and we plan to replace it with chairs that match the scale of the room a bit better, and hopefully a piano. We also hope to finally get rid of the infamous Bone Lamp, which dates from a garage sale during college. New lamps are expensive. Sigh. No word yet on where Craig's favorite ugly blanket will wind up.
The kitchen featured 1950's pine/birch/some sort of wood cabinets that had achieved a lovely orange patina, and plain white walls. It was generally inoffensive, except for the horrible condition of some of the cabinets. Before and More Before
Generally inoffensive didn't cut it, though. We got a new schoolhouse light fixture for over the sink, painted the walls red and cabinets cream-ish white, and changed out the hardware on all the cabinets. I hope to get Roman shades made in the near future. Still to come - new dark brown Cambria countertops, undercabinet lighting, some sort of non-vinyl flooring, and, down the road, new appliances. Until the basement and the backyard are done, though, I'm stuck telling people that we painted the cabinets to match the countertops we want, rather than the ones we have.
The bathroom on the main floor hasn't changed at all. Three years ago I didn't like the window treatment, and I still don't like it today. Maybe I'll get that changed out by the end of the year. Our wish list for this room includes a new floor with octogon tile and a different paint color on the walls (one that doesn't need to match the vinyl floor). A tiled bath and shower area would be nice, too.
There's not much to say about our "dining room." I don't even have a "before" picture anywhere. It's really a second bedroom, but currently serves as a dining room on the rare occasions we dine at home with people other than ourselves, sewing room, and storage room. We plan to move the dining table downstairs when the basement is done, and this room will hopefully find another use.
The only change to our bedroom is fresh paint in a lighter shade of green, and the addition of floaty white curtains. I don't forsee any other big changes, but I would love to find a way to organize the furniture we have (or find new furniture) that doesn't make it feel like everything is squashed in there. Before
(See? The funiture's all squashed together.)
I've written plenty about the basement, and have plenty more to write, so here's just a quick peek. Before and More Before
Semi-current shots with drywall up. The texturing has also been done, but that's another post...
The back yard will also be covered in excruciating detail this summer (I hope), so I will leave you with a photo of Projects To Come...our second story, which hasn't changed at all since we moved in. This room functions as another storage room, and is host to most of our embarrassing mess. The office type mess will be moved to the basement, and this will become a bedroom of some sort. Right now, I intend to paint over the wood paneling with a light gray paint and switch out the light fixtures for halogen track lighting, but I'm open to ideas. In the meantime, yikes!
Ever since I bookmarked your page, I've checked it for updates far more often than a non-stalking person really should. Ahh, excuses to read non-work-related things for the first half-hour at work...
We moved into our condo in July 2005, and now that we're getting ready to sell it, I'm realizing that we have made no improvements whatsoever since our initial painting and re-carpeting. I am very impressed by all you have done in just three years. When you finish with your house, could I hire you for redecorating motivation?
Posted by: Anne | March 10, 2008 at 09:46 AM
This is a nice little review Ellen... even though I remember reading it as it all happened, it was kinda fun to go back and look at the before pictures. It's good to look back and be able to say you were able to get at least a few things done since you moved in. And you guys have completed quite a few! Getting the basement finished will be a huge addition... can't wait to see that finished.
Posted by: glennae | March 10, 2008 at 12:15 PM
What a lovely home...you've obviously worked very hard!
Posted by: Amy | March 23, 2008 at 11:00 AM
Great Job
interesting topic , I would like to read more on this topic and interior painting .
Posted by: house painter | July 01, 2008 at 04:17 AM
Your home is such a pleasant surprise for visitors. I love your kitchen! Seems to be i'll be lurking here more often, am finding ways to improve my little nook in the kitchen and your blog is indeed helpful in my quest.
Posted by: Amanda Beaudoin | January 15, 2009 at 10:30 AM
What a beautiful house!
I like the small garden that you have. Also, the kitchen and the dining room looks good. Looks like you are still arranging things in the house.
Steve
Posted by: Steve | February 04, 2009 at 04:03 AM
Now your house is very attractive.
I appreciate that how you improved your house. It is a quite different than before. I like the kitchen and bedroom how you’ve arranged—they are so beautiful!!! But the household items are a big closed each other. Still, they are indeed pretty to look at.
Posted by: Carpet Cleaning | March 19, 2009 at 05:54 AM
Nice work, i especially like the choice of colors for you bedroom. I am looking forward to see what your basement will look like. (i like basements, i turned mine into the cliche game room)
Fellow homeowners, will you take a quick survey about home improvement:
http://www.surveygizmo.com/s/115813/tv-commercial-feedback
Thanks.
Ron
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