Before & After: The Bathroom

Who doesn't love bathroom renos?!?!? Well, I can tell you honestly that I don't! Plumbing has not been our forte in the past. Luckily we didn't have to do any kind of complete gut here!

No great 'before' pics, but this one, taken on our walk-through of the house, gives an idea!

Using melamine paint, I updated the counter tops. We changed the sinks and faucets, put up a real mirror (the original was small and centered over the countertop, ie. not above the sinks where you need it!)

We also replaced the toilet and window, freshened the walls and cabinets up with paint.

The Before:

The After:

Maybe it's a 70's thing. The sink area is separated from the toilet/bathtub area by a door, which has actually turned out to be pretty handy. There is also a door from the master bedroom to the toilet/tub area, so it feels like an ensuite, but it's really the main bathroom.

Here, you can see the 'sneak door' into the bathroom from the bedroom.

And here it is now!

I won't go into more detail about the bedroom; the headboard and carpet was a whole other post a while back! And did I mention the next-to-new window that I got on PVOL for a fraction of what a new one would have cost? And that it was the right size?!? So good!

It really is pretty amazing how even just changing up the 70's baseboards and trims can totally update a home!

I don't have any good before pics of the sunroom; but just imagine with me....updated the brown panelling with some paint and changed out the blah grey commercial (thin) carpeting.

Thanks for taking this trip down memory lane with me! It's been fun and nostalgic looking back at all of the old photos!

Before & After: The Basement

We'll head downstairs now! The basement was pretty standard. A bit of panelling, white paint, no defined activity areas, good carpet but not my color choice.

There were some things I wanted to change (carpet), but couldn't justify it. Other things were definitely in my scope to do.

Before:

After:

Biggest change was paint! Typically, in a basement, you want to brighten things up, keep them light and airy. Well, I didn't do that! I went for impact, drama, and a bit of cozy!

Dark brown paint from floor to ceiling, covering up the panelling, and taking attention away from the 'not as current' carpet. The photo makes it look like 2 browns, but it must just be the lighting, as it's all the same color!

Do you want in on a secret? Here goes: I wanted to create a cozy living room/TV watching area, but needed something to frame it all in. My solution? Bamboo blinds and full length side panels on a black iron rod. But the secret?? There are NO windows behind those blinds!!!!

The other side of the basement is Toy Central! In other words, no pictures! I tell you, it takes about 38 seconds for that room to go from tidy and organized to chaos!

On to another little basement project. Behind the rec area, there was a small room with some nasty carpet, interesting doorway, but the room had no purpose.

So, if you know me, you know I enjoy a bit of sewing (I come by it genetically if you look at my family!). I thought this would be the perfect little spot to set up!

I painted out the panelling, bought a carpet remnant from a flooring store, and installed some cabinetry that was getting taken out of my dad's business (ie. free for me!).

I love having my sewing machine set up all the time. Also, having a place for storing crafty stuff, wrapping supplies etc. My butterfly table sits in the adjoining bedroom which can be pulled out for a bigger work surface.

I've still got some 'good' (ie. hilarious) before pictures....I'll be back with another room soon!

Before & After: The Kitchen

Well, you can't get much more of a change than going from white to black! And that's what we did in the kitchen. Looking at the 'before' pictures shows a kitchen that I really don't recognize! I can hardly remember it looking like that!

So, with out further adieu, here is our kitchen...

Before:

White cabinets, brass hardware, green countertops. There was a lot of work to do, but good bones to work with! As you can see above, Don is removing the trim that closed off the space between the top of the cabinets and the ceiling so we can continue the cove moulding through the kitchen.

We kept the original doors, but applied beadboard and trim around each door. Then, painted them BLACK! I love it when Don gives me carte blanche and goes along with new ideas!

And our little cutie - Brady - at about 8 months old!

A better look at the trim/beadboard

The next major improvement was the countertop. We replaced and extended the countertop into a peninsula/eating bar. If the truth be told, we eat all of our meals there, and only use our dining table when company comes! We needed to add some lighting over the counter, and had two junction boxes installed.

Wow - this trip down memory lane is going to do one of two things for me. It will either motivate me to find another home that needs a little TLC; or, it will make me want to just stay here and just live a little without any projects on the go!

Hmmm.....I think I need a project!

Before & After: The Living Room

First, I apologize for the zero quality of the before pics....they are pictures of prints that were apparently printed without full ink tanks. But, I suppose the lack of clarity helps protect the original home owner's belongings from being identified!

The Waaay Before:

The After:

Oh, just ignore the functional - but no so pleasing to the eye - recliner in the corner. I'm still working on Don....trying to convince him that the Eames is what we need. After all, how could you go wrong with a piece that's rightfully made it's way into the MoMA in New York!?!?

The biggest improvement is definitely the fireplace. The original brick had already been painted white, but I wasn't going for that look in this particular room.

First, I painted the (nasty) brass surround with a black high heat paint. Almost could have stopped there...(almost!).

Next we built up and covered up the brick (thank you MDF!) and beefed up the mantle with trim. The hearth was green tile, which I painted again with the high heat black paint, and again built up the lower part of the hearth with MDF and trimmed it up with baseboard.

More to come!

Seven Years

It was exactly 7 years ago that we signed the deal for our Maple Drive house. Maybe it's just me getting nostalgic - or the focus on getting the house ready to 'show' - that made me peek into the old folder with all of the paperwork from the deal. In there, I also found the pictures I'd taken when the realtor showed us the house, before the 'for sale' sign had been put up (yes, I'm a keener that way!).

Looking at those pics showed me how far we'd come with this house. Many, many hours of sweat equity, but also some pretty fun (not always in the moment, I suppose) adventures along the way.

I thought it would be fun to do a Before & After party and show some pictures.

The first one isn't the most complex or dramat

ic, but it completely changed the feel of the house (in my humble opinion!). We got rid of all the white! Painted the window trims, pillars, garage and entrance doors and removed some lattice

Oooh! Here's a good one that really 'shows off' the white!!

And the After:

More Before & After's of the inside to come....gotta get some pictures taken!