It's really hard for me to post before and after photos when my "afters" aren't complete, but we love our house so much already, it's getting better every day!
Here is the BEFORE view from the front door. Take special note of the low doorways and ugly window on the back wall, not to mention the carpeting and the tile. All gone on day one!
The AFTER view, and although this room isn't completely decorated (still waiting for art and bookshelves), you can see the changes pretty easily. All new floors, walls removed and doorways made larger. Brand new wood floors and new lighting fixtures. We removed the whole back wall and installed 2 windows and a french door.
My favorite change is the fireplace. We covered over this brick veneer with drywall, designed and had a mantel built, then knocked out the hearth and installed pretty tumbled travertine subway tile, flush with the wood floor. We took out the hideous fan and put in a fixture with a simple drum shade. A new coat of paint on the walls and trim, and voila!
This is the BEFORE view from the back wall (now with french doors), looking toward the dining room. Take note of the doorway openings, we made them bigger.
We're still working on the furniture arrangement of the piano room (and we bought drapes tonight). I'll be putting the drapery rod over the top of the arch, so that from the inside, the arch is somewhat camouflaged. I don't love arched windows. Obviously, lots of our larger art is stored in there right now, and once Christmas is over, it will look a bit different. We may move the piano to the other side of the window. We purchased three large bookshelves that were to go on the wall behind the chairs, but if we move the piano, we may have to put the bookshelves behind the new sectional in the living room. We go back and forth on it! What would you do?
Stats on the house: It was built in 1986 and is about 2400 square feet. It is one storey, 4 bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms on .70 acres. Photos of kitchen and bedrooms to come . . .
And after.
I had a friend from church build the bookshelves. I knew the design/size I wanted, but was unsure about the color. I posted a bunch of paint chips to the wall (familiar task), and finally pretty much just grabbed one and handed it to him. I love how it turned out, the shelves are exactly what I had pictured!
This is a before picture of the boys' room. It's a really great size, and since we downsized, we lost the "playroom," so all of the toys, books and craft supplies will be going in this bedroom. So we're glad it's big. I haven't purchased the craft table or craft storage yet (I'm thinking about this one). My kids pretty much draw, color, cut and paste in all of their free time, and the kitchen table is just not equipped for their stuff anymore (and I'm tired of cleaning it all up for dinner every night). So the opposite corner, which I'm not showing yet, will house all of that. On to the changes!
This room didn't need much besides new carpet, paint and a lighting fixture. The carpet had a horrible odor, and once it was removed, we realized that even the cement slab underneath this room had pet stains. I scrubbed with bleach and water, they laid down new plush carpet, and it's as good as new. We also installed new window coverings and drapes.
The AFTER view, and although this room isn't completely decorated (still waiting for art and bookshelves), you can see the changes pretty easily. All new floors, walls removed and doorways made larger. Brand new wood floors and new lighting fixtures. We removed the whole back wall and installed 2 windows and a french door.
My favorite change is the fireplace. We covered over this brick veneer with drywall, designed and had a mantel built, then knocked out the hearth and installed pretty tumbled travertine subway tile, flush with the wood floor. We took out the hideous fan and put in a fixture with a simple drum shade. A new coat of paint on the walls and trim, and voila!
This is the BEFORE view from the back wall (now with french doors), looking toward the dining room. Take note of the doorway openings, we made them bigger.
We're still working on the furniture arrangement of the piano room (and we bought drapes tonight). I'll be putting the drapery rod over the top of the arch, so that from the inside, the arch is somewhat camouflaged. I don't love arched windows. Obviously, lots of our larger art is stored in there right now, and once Christmas is over, it will look a bit different. We may move the piano to the other side of the window. We purchased three large bookshelves that were to go on the wall behind the chairs, but if we move the piano, we may have to put the bookshelves behind the new sectional in the living room. We go back and forth on it! What would you do?
First dinner in the new house (thanks to lovely friends, we had delicious pizza and veggie sticks!)
More photos will happen. We are not unpacked enough yet!
Apparently floor scraping is more of an ancient trade than I thought. The minute I walked into our house this afternoon, I thought of this Caillebotte painting from 1875. I've had a magnet of it on my fridge for years! All I can say is, floor scraping is some hard work (and makes a terrible noise). These dudes looked real tired by the time I left around 4:30.
One of the things we're most excited about in our remodel is the black honed granite countertops we put in the kitchen. Honed granite doesn't have the glossy sheen of polished, they almost look like soapstone, which is our dream material. They went in yesterday, and we love them! The before shot of the kitchen is quite hideous, as you will soon see. This is already such a major improvement! Everything else is moving along. Today they're finishing the floors. In case you are curious, we decided to go with a very light scraping and a very dark stain. I think it will be beautiful. Perhaps I'll post a picture tomorrow as they're drying . . . until then, Happy Cooking!
Posts
