1st House Tour

Here is a little sneak peek at my house before (2011) and three years later, right before I sold it.  I have so much love for this little house.  I purchased it myself and did 90% of the updates on my own and with the help from my parents.  This little house taught me so much! It was a great starter home for me.

While I made some major improvements throughout (kitchen, basement, electrical, new driveway, and new garage roof and door), I kept my costs really low by updating the rest of the house with paint!  I love the power of paint!

If you would like to read about my home buying experience you can see that here. 

Living Room 

BEFORE

AFTER - I removed the floating floor and refinished the oak floors (that were original to the house).  During a part of renovation, someone had ripped out portions of the original moldings and replaced with basic builder grade material.  I replaced all the "newer" moldings to match the remaining moldings that were original to the house.  I replaced all the outlets and light switches and painted the walls in a neutral color (BM Manchester Tan). Spare Bedroom

BEFORE

AFTER - The spare room also had original hardwood floors.  These were also refinished in a dark stain. I removed the overhead light and replaced with a schoolhouse style (more original the style of the house).  Painted, added interior doors, and added shelves above the window for storage.

Master Bedroom

BEFORE

AFTER - The floors were also refinished in this room.  I added a custom-built organizer to the closet (not shown), installed a paneled wall to accent the room, and replaced the base molding to look original the house.  I brought out all the trim by painting it a bright white and swapped out all the light fixtures with something more period style appropriate. (Except for the fan... it was needed for the summers).

 

Hallway

BEFORE

AFTER - I removed a door jam and patched holes to become a pass-through door, added interior doors, and painted trim in bright white to make it look crisp and clean.  The floating floor was removed and the original oak floors were refinished.  I also patched the plaster walls (they were in bad condition), and built custom organizers for the hall closet.

Full Bath
BEFORE 

AFTER - I repaired the tile work, painted the walls, replaced the sink and toilet, and rebuilt the closet with sturdy shelves. 

Dining Room

BEFORE

*Mom and I on closing day!



AFTER - Refinished the floors, made a mason jar chandelier (using the same base from the pendants that were there before), patched the chipped windows, replaced the molding with an original style (8" base), and built a faux mantle to accent the wall.  I also built in a bookcase for some extra storage.

Kitchen
BEFORE



AFTER - I gutted the kitchen down to the plaster (which required so much repair I probably should've just removed it), removed the soffit, tossed the cheap cabinets, counters, backsplash and flooring.  I installed a wooden beadboard ceiling with crown molding, replaced lighting and updated the electrical to code.  Added new Ikea cabinets with organizers and soft close, repurposed an antique as a kitchen island, built and hung floating shelves, installed the backsplash, updated all molding to match the rest of the original trim throughout the house, added an exterior vented range hood, purchased all new appliances, built in the refrigerator with a custom wine rack and installed a new VCT floor (since the hardwoods were a mix of pine and oak under the floor) in a large checkerboard pattern.  I added tons of new storage and undercabinet lighting.  I did 90% of the work in this kitchen on my own - allowing me to afford a modern kitchen on a budget of $10k.

See how the kitchen evolved here

 

Stairway

BEFORE



AFTER - The hallway was in pretty poor shape.  It had been beaten up and neglected over time, so the plaster on the walls required a lot of repair.  I patched the walls, added trim to the paneled walls, and trimmed out the two doorways to match the original style molding.  I removed the carpet and painted the plywood stairs with black porch paint.  Then I made a coat rack from a scrap piece of wood and updated the lighting and switches.



Basement
BEFORE

AFTER - This is the first project Justin and I did together!  We gutted the basement, by removing the floating ceiling (which made our already short basement less than 6'2" tall).  Then we cleaned up the rafters, installed recessed can lights, and painted the rafters white.  Then we added a wall to split the basement into an entertainment side and a workroom/laundry room side.  We added baseboard trim and accented it with white paint.  We repurposed an old built-in entertainment center into a dry bar.  Then we added a floating floor (which we got for free) to create a yoga/workout area, and added closets to access the furnace, and a door to access the workroom/laundry room.  The basement had asbestos flooring, so we patched the areas of the floor that had missing or chipped tiles, and installed carpeting over top.  We completed this entire project for less than $2k by doing most of the work ourselves!  I never got a chance to decorate this space how I wanted because we sold the house shortly after finishing the basement.

 
Garage

BEFORE

AFTER - we cleared out the interior of the garage and removed the old, moldy and soaked peg boards (which was attracting all kinds of critters), and replaced the garage door and motor.  The garage was starting to lean to one side because the roof was so heavy.  As soon as I bought the house, my brother helped me strip the roof off the garage and install new sheathing and roof. (There were 4 layers of asphalt shingles... no wonder it was leaning)



I would love to hear how your home has transformed and how long it took for each project. Have you redone your home multiple times? What were your favorite/longest/biggest projects that you have tackled? What would you like to do to your space? I would love to hear about your projects. 

Thank you for looking!

Mary