Well, one year and one day ago we moved into this home. (And yes, I was planning on posting this yesterday which would have been exactly one year ago but things don’t always go according to plan when you have little girls, so this is a day late – sorry!)
After living in our townhouse for five years we were quite excited to be moving to a house with a yard for the girls. We knew it was going to take a good bit of cosmetic work to get the house updated and feeling a bit more our style but we didn’t mind that seeing we didn’t need to move any walls and the house was well built and we loved the flow of it and LOVED the location! And we have loved this new house, I haven’t loved all the hours I have spent painting it, haha, but we have loved raising our girls here this last year and have already had so many wonderful memories here.
First up is our dining room. We haven’t put a ton of work into this room. We pretty much just painted the trim and then the walls and added the beadboard wallpaper to the lower half of the chair rail. Then we added in some furniture and changed out the chandelier (that was a bit of an adventure) and we eventually ended up using the chandelier from the before picture up in the girls playroom. Although we painted it bright pink before we hung it up there. =)
I am still on the hunt for wallpaper for this room. I actually just ordered a bunch of samples last night so am hoping one of those will work. I have tried quite a few samples so far but am just a bit unsure of what I was to do and haven’t loved any of them yet. Then I’d like to go with a different table (I built this one for our townhouse and never really intended for it to go in here) and then will probably move this one outside. I may try to build one or I may just continue keeping my eye out for one. I also am on the hunt for a hutch for the wall you can’t see in these photos. Right now it’s bare. I pretty much check Craigslist and our consignment shops pretty regularly but so far haven’t found what I have in my head.
Full source list for the items shown here in our dining room can be found here and you can find all dining room related posts here.
And
here are the updates we’ve done in the den/study. This room required
the least amount of work so far seeing how we have decided to keep the
dark woodwork as is in here. I painted the walls a creamy color (they
were a pale peach) and then just did some basic decorating in here using
pretty much all things we already owned. I haven’t put any effort really into this room yet but I am hoping to in August. I’ve got a couple of small projects ahead of it on my list (like making over our pantry and linen closet) and then I am hoping to tackle this. Even though I often ponder painting the woodwork I think we will keep it dark and try to make this more of a masculine looking room for Jon seeing how the rest of the house gets kind of taken over by us girls. I’ve been thinking about incorporating old family sports photos and some of Jon’s basketball things. I don’t want it to have a literal theme but just kind of a subtle feel. Or I may not do that at all, I’m not really sure.
Full source list for the den can be found here and all den related posts can be found here.
The room we’ve probably done the most work in is our kitchen. Pretty much the minute we moved in we started working on it by immediately replacing the appliances and removing the cabinets overhanging the peninsula. That completely opened the room up and made the kitchen feel considerably larger. Then we tackled the painting and had a hood custom built. That was the first phase. Then this spring once we had saved up for it we added the marble counters, farmhouse sink and the subway tile backsplash. Then we’ve made one more change in here. We removed the metal rolling cart island and I built a sideboard for under the oversized chalkboard. I just finished that last week though and although I finally got it photographed I haven’t transferred the images onto my computer yet. Once I do though I will do a post on that and try to remember to update these photos. I also just removed the flush mount drum shade that we put in the kitchen temporarily up to our bedroom. We are hoping to have a bunch of recessed lighting to added to the kitchen and family room that way there won’t be anything competing with the beams (except the pendants over the peninsula of course). The one on the family room side is still up though and will stay there until we actually have someone out to make the change to the recessed lighting for us. Oh and I’d like to eventually add different stools to the counter but that will probably be a little while down the road. I think my favorite part of the kitchen now is the farmhouse sink and the new faucet.
And you can find a full source list for our kitchen here all kitchen related posts here .
Our family room was pretty much just painting and then having fun decorating.
For a full source list for the items shown in these photos of our family room click here or here.
And then here is the powder room. This room required quite a bit of cosmetic work but we didn’t change the footprint which helped keep the cost down. We got rid of the old wallpaper and then had this new paper put up. Then we replaced the toilet and mirror. We kept the existing vanity but added a new top and sink. Then we just spray painted the sconces for now. I plan on eventually replacing them but am not in any hurry. I still haven’t hung any artwork in here. Hopefully I will get to that at some point very soon. It’s starting to drive me crazy. =)
A full source list for the powder room can be found here and here.
And
then there is the entry way. I am not going to lie – I pretty much
hated doing all the painting in here. The spindles and risers seemed
endless… I mentioned it in the original post, but I felt like I didn’t make the best choice for the stair runner. I don’t think it was the best pattern to do on the stairs and I don’t love it. However, it has grown on me and I have to admit I do like it more than I originally did. (There isn’t anything wrong with the runner itself, I just think I would go with a different look if I could).
Full source list for the entry way can be found here and here.
And here is the upstairs hall:
And here’s a source list for what we’ve done so far in the upstairs hall here. We actually just added a piece of furniture this weekend to the part of the hall you can’t see in any of these photos. I will hopefully take some photos of that and a few other changes we’ve added upstairs in the next week or so.
And
next we have our gray guest bedroom. This room is pretty close to being
done.
A full source list and more details can be found here and here.
And
next we have our other guest bedroom that also functions sort of as an office. I’ve played around quite a bit in here with
some accent colors for pillows (did gray and also tried red at Christmas) then pink at Valentine’s (those are now in our playroom) and some tan but those are now in our den.
A full source list for this room can be found here.
And
then here is Lillie and Lola’s room. We did their room right after we
move in. I still have a couple more projects I plan on doing in here
including doing some kind of upholstered headboard (I’ve considered
several things including kind of making a slipcover for their current
headboards) and adding a bench or trunk to the end of their beds. I actually moved the rug into the playroom a couple of days ago and added some buffalo check quilts to the ends of their beds. (If you’ve been reading most of this text in this post you can see I was doing quite a bit of switching things around this last week or so. I had planned on taking a bunch of new photos for this post but it was a bit of a rough week with some sick kiddos so that went out the window. Hopefully I will get some photos taken soon though).
A full source list with lots more photos and details can be found here.
And here is our master bedroom. We just recently finished this. Well, it’s not completely finished, but it’s getting there.
More details about what we’ve done in there and a source list for what we’ve done so far can be found here.
And
here is the progress we’ve made in our upstairs hall bathroom so far. I
still haven’t found any mirrors although I have been searching! Once I find the correct mirrors (right now we are using one that we had in our attic but I’d really like to bring this up to Jason’s and use two mirrors in here – one over each sink) then I will add some artwork to the walls which will help keep the wallpaper from feeling so busy.
More details and a source list for what we’ve done so far can be found here.
And then here are the quick and inexpensive updates we did in laundry room until someday when we do a proper makeover in here.
You can read a little about those updates here.
And
then here is our playroom. Although this was not the look I was originally going for in here (the girls helped make most of the design decisions) I have to say despite the fact that I don’t like pink nearly as much as they do, this has turned into one of my favorite rooms and we spend so much time in here reading, coloring, doing puzzles, putting on “performances”, playing kitchen and dolls and horses…and well pretty much everything you can imagine that a 3 and 5 year old girl likes to do.
You can read more about our porch here.
And well that pretty much covers everything except our master bathroom. It’s the one room we haven’t touched. We plan on having it completely gutted and so we are still saving up for that. I have to say I am so relieved to have the majority of the painting behind me! I am not going to lie – I hated doing the painting but I am so glad we did because I think it really helped lighten the house up and make it feel so much more updated. And now I can focus on more of the fun decorating type things I love doing. I’m excited to show you the sideboard in the kitchen and some other projects we’ve been working on. But I think this is more than a long enough post. Ha! So I’ll sign off for now.
I hope you all have a wonderful Wednesday!
You're home is beautiful! I can't believe you did all that work in one year! Love reading your blog . . . thanks for sharing all your projects.
Your cabinets look fabulous!! LOVE the French Country look. How is the Annie Sloan chalk paint holding up in the kitchen? I thought about painting my daughter's bathroom cabinets with ASCP but i didn't know how it would hold up in a high moisture area. I also want to paint my dark kitchen cabinets as well and i love the fact that the only prep is to wipe down the cabinets.
gorgeous-kitchen-design
Thanks, Laura! We actually used Benjamin Moore on our cabinets, and it is holding up really well! You can read more about how we painted our cabinets (as well as my brother's) here: http://dearlillieblog.blogspot.com/2013/09/how-i-painted-kitchen-cabinets-two.html
AMAZING! You have done a wonderful job Jennifer. Cannot believe how much you have accomplished in just one year. Beautiful.
Such a beautiful transformation. Stunning!!
Your cabinets look fabulous!! LOVE the French Country look. How is the Annie Sloan chalk paint holding up in the kitchen? I thought about painting my daughter's bathroom cabinets with ASCP but i didn't know how it would hold up in a high moisture area. I also want to paint my dark kitchen cabinets as well and i love the fact that the only prep is to wipe down the cabinets.
gorgeous-kitchen-design
WOW!!! I would love for you to come into my home and do your magic!!! Beautiful!!
Stacy
I have loved watching you transform your house over the past year. I really can't believe how much you've done in only one year. I'd love to hear about your design process. Did you plan the whole house at once? Do you just plan each room as you go? What do you start with in each room? I guess I'm just in awe with how much you've done in such a short time. It's beautiful.
Thanks so much! I think about the house as a whole first so that hopefully things flow nicely but then generally start room by room. I plan a room in my head for a while first and then once I have it mostly figured out I start with the painting.
Your house is amazing!! I am speechless! And you've done it all yourself–with 2 little girls!! It's one of my favorite houses of all time and I love everything about it!
Happy Home Anniversary!! !I must say this is an amazing transformation…Even more remarkable is that it has been done in a years time… For the last few years I check in daily for inspiration! I love seeing what you & the family have been working on in your homes… Congratulations again… I look forward to seeing the further tweaking of your lovely home!
Love love love your home! And I found these mirrors at Grandin Road that might be nice in your bathroom. http://www.grandinroad.com/brayden-arch-mirror/551608
Absolutely AMAZING! I would have never given this house a 2nd thought! Next time I go house shopping, I will think of what could be! The kitchen is my favorite transformation! Hubby and I were just talking the other day about the fact that wallpaper was out, but I will take that back. What a difference it makes on the girls' walls, the bathroom and playroom. You are so talented!
I am thinking that you all must have some sort of superpowers to have gotten that much done in one year. It is simply beautiful! I can only imagine how much time was spent doing all that painting, but it really was worth it. Such a wonderful transformation.
Enjoy all your hard work,
Suzanne
Pieced Pastimes
You are absolutely amazing. Your determination, hard work and sense of style are incredible. It's very impressive that you have accomplished so much, especially with two (adorable) little girls.
It's also very impressive how you have built or transformed so many pieces of furniture. Have you ever seen the site 55 Downing Street ? Some of their furniture is modern, etc., but they also have collections that you might enjoy looking at. Their collections change constantly, and the one in today's e-mail that you might like looking at is called "Refined Organic." Their products are low-priced and sometimes look very interesting. I've never ordered from them, so I have no idea of the quality. But you might enjoy looking at it.
You don't need to publish this comment, since it could look like an ad for the company. Like I said, I've never ordered from them, I just thought that you might like seeing what they have and since their prices are so low, you might find something worth looking into.
Thank you so much, Mary! I have heard of them before but I had forgotten about them and haven't checked their site for some time. I'll have to go check it out! Thanks for the reminder! Maybe they will have some mirrors!
I just luv seeing the transformation. I look forward to your before and after on this new house venture. Still amazed that you did all that painting yourself… my hero. 🙂 Just beautiful Jennifer.
Hugs, Gee
It is just lovely – well done! I love the you have decided not to paint the woodwork in the study. While I am almost always a fan of painted wood work and trim, I think that in the specific case of you study it feels unexpected (in a good way) and does add a bit of masculine touch to that room. And it is balanced so well by all the other pale colors in the room.
Erica
http://www.thedecorina.com
Your home is lovely! You've inspired me to buy a couple of cans of paint and tackle all the woodwork in my home. I've always been hesitant to paint it but after seeing these photos I'm ready to try.
Hey Jenni, Have you seen the beaded oval mirror at Rejuvenation??? It would be beautiful in that bathroom (well, I guess you'd need two of them..)
Can't believe the transformation of your home after only one year!!!
Leah: )
Thanks, Leah! And no, I haven't seen that. Thanks for the tip! I will definitely have to check it out!
Jennifer it is all so lovely! What a gorgeous and warm home!
Marcy
Your house is gorgeous! You've done more in one year than we've done in 24, lol.
So beautiful Jenni! What a warm and welcoming backdrop you've created for your sweet family. And as everyone else has commented… the fact you did all of this in one year is AMAZING! You are an artist! : )
I love seeing all the rooms together! Just beautiful and very impressive that all that was done in one year!
Cheers! – Shelley
Jennifer, what y'all have done in one year is amazing. It is all so beautiful.
Your house look beautiful. We have been in ours for thirteen months and I did the same thing… painted all the trim, doors and stairway. And, I have to agree…. I'm tired of painting trim/doors and especially windows. However, we had a flood last month and lost all the paint, and other things, that was stored in our basement. I miss not being able to go down there and just grabbing a couple of containers of paint and painting whatever at the moment I feel needs a paint job.
Can't wait to see your next projects.
Jennifer: I am always in awe of the beautiful work you do. Cindy
Your home is simply gorgeous and your style is just beautiful. I do have to ask, do you do all the painting or do you hire a painter? I love all the white trim and the total transformation.
Couldn't be lovelier! I love your style…so casual, yet elegant.
I like very very Beautiful very very Beautiful
I'm really impressed by the makeover You have made. Your house or rather home 😉 looks fabulous 🙂
Greetings from Poland.
super,super,super,:)
Always enjoy your creations! I am inspired! Your go long and hard with little sleep! All of your ideas are just wonderful! I look forward to every post!
Your home is just beautiful! And, I loved reading your thought processes throughout this post. I love your consistency in your decor choices, and the fact that you can have such a beautiful home with little ones. You encourage me 🙂
Wow! You have done so much in just a year! Truly a beautiful home. I loved this before & after tour. x
love. love. love! I would move right into this home in a heartbeat! I just love how simple yet elegant everything looks! This is one of my absolute favorite before/after homes!!
I love your home and your decorating style! I'm a regular follower of your blog but I don't usually say much… just sit and drool over all your lovely projects and rooms! :o) Soon I am planning on putting my house up for sale and my dream is to find something like you've found… something that I love the layout, that nothing major needs to be changed, but it's dated and needs updating. You are a great inspiration, keep up the good work!
Tania
Just beautiful! Everything!
I love that garland on your stairs that you had up during the Holidays! Do you remember where you got it? It's so pretty!
Thanks! I the garland at Hobby Lobby about 7 years ago and then added the hydrangeas myself.
You've done such a beautiful job. What a transformation!! I've looked all over your blog and can't find any details about how you tackled your woodwork. You've inspired me to take the plunge in our "new" old farmhouse from stained trim to white and I'm wondering where I even start. Did you sand or just prime? Do you have brush marks? Is it holding up after a year? It looks like your windows turned out beautifully. I'm especially nervous about those… all the grids and of course, wanting them to still open smoothly when I'm finished :)…
Thanks!!
Thanks, Sara! We didn't do any sanding with our trim–just went straight to the priming, and it seems to be holding up well a year later! I'm sure there are brush marks here and there if you were to look closely, but nothing too noticeable. Good luck with your update! It can be a TON of work, but also very rewarding!
Have loved your before and after photos so much your very inspirational! loved all your choices of fabrics and colors they just look wonderful, you and your husband should be very proud quite the accomplishment!! Diane B. Tinley pk. Il
Jennifer your home is just beautiful!!! I love your style and your commitment to providing a home full of design for your family. Karla
You have done so much in just a years time. It really is beautiful.
Amazing and oh so inspirational. We are currently in the deciding stage of building a new home or finding a fixer-upper. This gives me hope!
What a pretty home you've made! I just love all your wallpaper.
Too bad my husband hates wallpaper. He had to remove too much of it once and he is scarred for life. ha
And I love pink, so your play room is just perfect, in my opinion. 😉 I have 3 boys, by the way….
I am amazed at all you've accomplished in a year. It's simply beautiful!
Absolutely gorgeous! You're very talented and you've accomplished so much in such a short time. I might add that you're very lucky to have a husband who thinks it's O.K. to paint wood!!
It looks great! i tried to order the evercor counter at lowes yesterday for a 71'x21' counter and it stil cost about 1600 (double sinks). DOes that sound right?
Ours was fairly expensive. I think $600 or so, but the quote they gave us for marble was $1200 so it was a much better alternative for us that still gave us the look we were going for!
Perfectly lovely! Every. Single. Inch.
Found your blog on pinterest. It took us 10yrs to completely gut & reno our 2300sq ft house. It was a disgusting mess when we bought it, but we got it at a good price. I'd say we did 85% of the work ourselves, the big stuff – we had to contract it out. Now our son & his girlfriend are taking possession of their first house next weds., it's also a fixer-upper. I'm going to show them your reno…it's important to see someone else's before & after..they're already feeling overwhelmed with the work that has to be done…but they've got lots of help & i think inspiration from your's and other's stories. Thanks & good luck with your bathroom reno…nice to see the light at the end of the reno tunnel 🙂