We have official been in our house 7 months and I cannot believe how far it has come! Today I just wanted to share a little update and a few before and after pictures! The first thing we did was add can lights throughout the whole house, other than that we’ve done everything ourselves with major help of parents. So much of what we’ve done has been paint. I am convinced that you can truly paint anything! Countertops, backsplash, a fireplace, you name it!
No exaggeration, it took a solid month (while we were still living in our apartment) to clean. Words will never be able to describe the state of this place when we moved in. Just be glad you didn’t smell it. There were definitely “what did we do??” days. 6 months later it feels like an entirely different home and feels like ours. We are truly so happy here. Both sides of our family live close to each other and we kept saying we wanted to live in the “drop by” zone. We are so happy to be closer to them and get the “want to come over for pizza in 15?” or “Can I swing by on my way home” texts. They fill me with joy and gratitude every time!
I took these pictures right around the 6 month mark and it’s funny how even more has changed since then! Life in a reno!
Paint colors: The whole main floor is painted Moonshine by Benjamin Moore. The trim and cabinets are Chantilly Lace by Benjamin Moore.
the kitchen
We had a delay with our lazy susan (corner cupboard) but i just got put in yesterday! yay!)
Ahh the kitchen. Crazy what some paint can do, right? Painting our cabinets was NO JOKE. If someone asked me to do it again I’d probably say no! haha! They were so coated in grime that we had to power sand the dirt off. Then came the 8 (!!) coats of paint (plus sanding, cleaning, and tack clothing between each coat). But truly I am so thankful we didn’t have to replace them. Paint and some new hardware and we ended up with a fresh and budget friendly transformation.
The backsplash – also paint! I wanted to replace it and thought painting would be a temporary fix but I’ve actually been really happy with it! Rust-Oleum Epoxy paint – this stuff is magical!!
In time I would love to replace the flooring and sink. We will probably tackle the half bath this winter and have no choice but to replace the flooring in there. When that happens I’m secretly hoping the rest of the mudroom and kitchen flooring will *magically* happen too haha.
// Hardware // light fixture (spray painted) // picture light (spray painted) //
The mudroom
The mudroom was next level nasty. The previous owner kept her pets back here and it was totally destroyed. The walls were beat up, stained, and all sorts of smelly. It truly has come a long way! My dad made the peg rail (still have to paint the two nail covers white haha) and we this room has my favorite light fixture! Still needs a doorknob (ha!) and I would love to add a rug, bench under the window, along with maybe a dresser or chair below the mirror.
// light fixture // mirror // basket //
Living room
I don’t have as many pictures of the living room and we still aren’t 100% sure how we want to use this space. There is a second living room off of the front entry (still under construction) and that may end up being where we put our tv. For now we’ve painted, replaced the front door, and painted the fireplace (we are working on retiling the bottom and replacing the plate at the top). Now that the kitchen is settled, I’m excited to keep working on this room!
This house has brought us so much joy and taught us so much! It has been a safe haven during this year and I am so so thankful for it.
i love your house so much!!!!!
it has come SO far!!!!!