HOUSE RENO: Before & After

So I spent a little time over the long Memorial Day weekend organizing the countless photos we took before, during & after the house renovation. Finally I’ve managed to plug some of them into the blog. I've been looking forward to sharing them with friends & family, but I've not allocated time to pour through the bunch until now. It was quite a task, but I really enjoyed revisiting all of these moments. What gratitude I have for this experience. We still have so much to do, but we’re taking it slow & really embracing the process of making this old house our own. Unfortunately, the only spaces I don’t yet have pictures of are Jasper’s bedroom & the garage. They are both still a work in progress. The garage is coming together nicely, but Jasper’s room is essentially a giant toy box at this point. We did manage to paint his walls, so that was fun! And I he picked out a darling little comforter & pillow for himself... Maybe he'll get out of our bed & actually use it someday before he heads off to college. Also, we’re considering painting the outside of the house… Even the brick! It sounds risky & weird & possibly a horrible idea. But we’re still thinkin’ on it! So let us know if you have some suggestions or warnings or experiences of your own to share. Feel free to scroll down & hit “read older posts” if you’d like to catch up on my writings over the past several months. It will allow you to 'watch' the new homestead progression as it unfolded this winter. My first entry was way back in February, the day before we closed on the property. It has been quite a journey & we are enjoying the ride. Thanks for visiting my blog y'all!

ABOVE: Before photo of house with old roof, old windows & soffits.

ABOVE: After photos of house & landscaping. New windows, soffit & roof. Landscape is an ongoing labor of love for Josh. We'll paint the front porch railing eventually & build our own, new wide plank shutters. Still deciding whether or not to paint the brick on house.

ABOVE: Before photos of side patio, deck & outdoor kitchen

ABOVE: After photos of side porch, deck & outdoor kitchen. Still need to replace some screens on doors & windows & decide whether to stain or paint the deck. Taking our time making decisions & enjoying the process of making this home our own.

ABOVE: Josh recently installed these beds on the opposite side of the house, next to garage. The "before photos" are hiding somewhere in the cloud.

ABOVE: Before photo of the funky 1970's linolium we found beneath the flooring in our entranceway. I secretly love it. I would've kept it had a few sections not been so damaged. Kitschy baby!

ABOVE: Before photo of main entrance/foyer area.

ABOVE: After photos of new, improved foyer entrance. Replaced flooring & painted walls.

ABOVE: Before photos of hallway leading to bedrooms & girl's bath.

ABOVE: After photos of hallway leading to bedrooms & girl's bathroom. Touch up painting left to do on doors & baseboards, still need to hang artwork & family photos. Feels much more clean & fresh though. Starting to feel like home.

ABOVE: Before photos of den area, off of kitchen.

ABOVE: After photos of den area, off of kitchen. Still need to add my artwork & frame my Chesapeake Bay Map to hang on fireplace. But it's finally a cozy & comfy space.

ABOVE: Before photos of kitchen. Yucky.

ABOVE: After photos of my country kitchen! It's just the right size for us & it's truly the heart of the house! Sleepy java sips every morning & barefoot dancing, cooking & flitting about nightly... Guaranteed! ;)

ABOVE: Before photo of the fugly flourescent kitchen monster light.

ABOVE: After photo of the hanging Ball jar lighting fixture we used to replace the fugly flourescent monster. We searched far & wide for the best & most affordable finds. This little gem came from a consignment shop in Norfolk called Urban Castaways in Ghent. Great price & great little shop jam-packed with sweet little treasures.

ABOVE: I've always wanted an old, cast iron sink or a nice, big chunky farmhouse sink. This lovely gal was hidden down in my friend Lindsey's basement for a couple years or so. She donated it to the Mauer family homestead! Not a bad deal... She made my vision come to life & I gave her a nice warm bottle of red vino! CHEERS!

ABOVE: This was the day our sink was installed! I giggled like a little girl! Didn't even change out the old hardware. I love it! Thank you Linds!

ABOVE: Before photo of the antique thrift store cabinet we found. We fell in love with this piece & knew it would fit perfectly in our kitchen. We were able to get the price down just enough to fit into our budget.

ABOVE: After photo... We cleaned her up & now she houses several pieces of special glass & cookware from both of our Grandma's kitchens.

ABOVE: Before photo of fam room/dining room - Essentially this was the former owner's Coyote Ugly Bar/Man Cave... Dig the football field on the lower level... Not exactly my style. I kept an open mind, but.... Bye, Bye!

ABOVE: After photos... Clearly we made a few changes to reflect our style as opposed to the 'party pad' look. Still need to finish painting & hang up artwork on back wall. It's coming together!

ABOVE: Before photos of addition. Such a peculiar space.... Yet, we fell head over heels in love with the weirdness!

ABOVE: After photos or our 'work in progress' room! We aren't finished painting the brick wall & chimney. We still have to paint the stairs & railing which leads to the older part of the home. Eventually we hope to open up the wall & make the entrance from the old part of the house much wider, make it flow a little better. Until then, this has become the family room/party pad. The kids love it!

ABOVE: Before photos of the Man Cave.

ABOVE: After photos... Man Cave/Coyote Ugly bar transformed into comfy, family chill space!

ABOVE: Before photos of art room, which would have originally been considered the "formal living room" of the house.

ABOVE: After photos of my dreamscape Art Room transformation! This room has been used more than any other room in the house thus far. It serves as a homework space, reading nook, craft & art space. Who wants to have a Paints & Pints party?!

ABOVE: Before photos of Keely's bedroom. This girl might have landed the coolest room in the entire casa! Originally this would have been used as the formal dining room. It opens up directly into the art room. She wakes up on many mornings & immediately begins creating artwork right outside her bedroom door. Talk about an inspirational way to begin your day!

ABOVE: After photos of Keely's happy little sleep space.

ABOVE: Before photos of the world's most heinous Master Bedroom on planet Earth.

ABOVE: After photos of our master bedroom make-over.

ABOVE: Before photos of super duper scuzzy master bath. It was a scary little place. I'm so glad that it only lives in my nightmares now.

ABOVE: After photos of master bath renovation. It's a tiny little space, but we're on a shoestring budget & needed to make it work without investing an arm & leg to do it. We purchased the sink off of Craigs List for $40 & the vanity is a hand-me-down dresser which has been used by both my neice & my daughter. We found the Restoration Hardware lighting fixtures on Craigs List as well & purchased them for a song! Good deals make me giddy! ;) Still need to finish painting in this room, but WOW.... What an improvement!

ABOVE: Before photos of Teagan's bedroom. It was likely the least 'trashed' room in the house, but still definitely required some love & a little inspiration to feel like home.

ABOVE: After photos of Teagan's groovy little party pad!

ABOVE: Before photos of Kid's very dated bathroom.

ABOVE: After photos of toilet room transformation! Restoration Hardware sink from Craigs List... Orginally upwards of $400.. We paid $100! I could take a bath in that baby ;) Jasper does sometimes! The lighting fixture was is chrome & was $8 at Habitat For Humanity General Store. We already had the mirror & we paid to have the tub/shower refinished as opposed to replacing, which saved us some bank. Kept the old ugly cabinets & gave them a face lift with some crisp, white paint! Newness on a budget! Yay!