07.09
2013

Our New House – The Downstairs BEFORE Pictures
Whew! What a crazy few weeks it has been! We did not end up getting our internet up and running Sunday afternoon as I had hoped which is why I didn’t post yesterday but we did finally get it running yesterday so I could finally upload a bunch of my photos into blogger last night!
We moved into our new home two weeks ago. The move itself was much more overwhelming than we anticipated and I am so relieved to finally have it completely behind us. We moved in on a Monday and Tuesday night my parents arrived. I don’t know if I have ever been so excited to see them in my entire life as I was that night! Wednesday and Thursday they helped with the unpacking and cleaning (my poor mom scoured the oh so very disgusting kitchen cabinets!), removing light fixtures and they even took several loads of laundry to the laundromat for us seeing how first our washer and then our dryer decided to call it quits on us right after we got them moved into the house (as I mentioned the other day we ran into quite a few hiccups…haha!). Then on Friday we headed out of town to Robert and Maggie’s wedding. After a wonderful weekend with all my extended family we headed back home and got back to work Monday morning unpacking. We were able to get most of the unpacking done by Monday evening and then Tuesday Jon’s parents arrived and we got right to work. They helped with things like taking down doors and ceiling fans, mowing the lawn and then endless hours of painting. My mother-in-law and I painted for four straight days from sunup to long past sundown and were able to get pretty much all of the kitchen and adjoining family room painted! I can’t imagine having had to do that whole space myself. I think I would have thrown in the towel mid-way through. I am so so so very grateful for both my parents and Jon’s parents coming down and helping us so much! Along with them all being more help than we ever could have asked for I know that Lillie and Lola loved getting to spend time with both their Mimi and Papa and their Grammy and Coach and getting to show them around our new neighborhood. We can’t wait for them to all come back so they can actually enjoy it and not be working non-stop! 
The family room/kitchen room is now about 80% done. We are just waiting on two or three more things and then I’ll share pictures of the transformation. For today though, I want to show you all the before photos. 
Before I show you them though, I want to tell you about the overall house and what we fell in love with. First, and foremost we love the neighborhood. It is an older neighborhood with a great sense of community and so much for the girls to do outdoors! We love the overall feel of the exterior of the home – it’s a two-story brick home. We do plan on painting the trim, shutters and front doors different colors eventually. The doors and shutters hopefully this fall) We LOVED the yard (I’ll try to show some photos of that at some point) and absolutely loved the floorplan and flow of the house. We also were thrilled with the fact that there were wood floors throughout the entire house. Cosmetically speaking though, the house needs a good amount of updating. There is nothing wrong with it – I just want to update things and brighten it up and make it feel lighter and happier for our family.
So, here are the BEFORE shots. They are all cell phone pictures they are not very good. I am going to try to remember to take “real” before shots here soon before I get everything changed! 
When you first walk in there is a staircase on the right leading up to the second floor and a hallway on the left that leads back to the family room/kitchen. There are also a few doorways leading to other rooms. The projects in the entryway involve replacing the runner, painting the trim and removing (or possibly priming over) the wallpaper and painting the walls .
 
At the bottom right of the stairway is a doorway leading into the den. This is the one room I am going to leave pretty much as is for now. We’ve got our furniture in there and I’ve decided I want to live with the dark trim in here for a while and see if I like the cozy feel it has or if I want to go ahead and paint it all Simply White like the rest of the house. I am going to be painting the walls though. It’s hard to tell in these photos but they are actually a light peach color. I started painting them yesterday in Benjamin Moore’s Soft Chamois and am hoping to get that finished up today in time to hang up the curtains and hang some things on the walls! 

If you go into the room to the left of the front door you are in the dining room. In here I am going to be painting all of the trim Simply White and adding some wainscoting below the chair rail and then possibly wallpapering the upper portion of the wall. Then I am going to replace the chandelier and start adding furniture.

If you head through the door Lola’s about to go through you are in the kitchen (you can also get there through the front hall). 

All of this has already been painted – YAY!!!! Although we are using Simply White in the whole rest of the house we mixed it up a little and used Benjamin Moore’s London Fog for all of the trim and cabinets in here and left the walls white. 

The scalloped valance is now gone. 
 
And these upper cabinets above the peninsula are long gone! Whew! That was probably the item that was driving me the most crazy!

This lovely light fixture also came done a few minutes after these pictures were taken. 

Off the kitchen is a family room. This has quickly turned into my favorite room by far! Although we painted all of the trim and the fireplace London Fog we left the beams wood.

AHHHHHH! MOVING DAY! 
And there is also a little laundry room. I have some projects in mind for here! 

and for in this little powder room too!

And here’s a quick cell phone shot of the girls baking in our kitchen for the first time this weekend! You can get a little peek and see the space lightened up and and if you notice there aren’t any upper cabinets above their heads! YAY! This now give us much more usable counter space.

Well, that’s it for today! Next I’ll show you the upstairs. And if you are waiting on an e-mail response I will hopefully be able to properly start attacking my inbox tomorrow!

Our New House - The Upstairs BEFORE Pictures
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57 thoughts on “Our New House – The Downstairs BEFORE Pictures”

  1. Moving is such HARD work. We have lived in 5 houses over the course of our marriage and each move is so much work!!! But I know you will love you new home. I am impressed with all you have accomplished in such short time. You are SO BLESSED to have such wonderful involved parents. Dave's parents have passed away and my Mom could not help us when we moved so we were on our own. Congratulations…may this hime be filled with laughter and joy!!!

    ❤
    Kim

  2. You have already painted the kitchen cabinets and walls. Wow, you are fast. I knew you would remove the ones above the island as soon as I saw them. I think the powder room paper is what we used to have in our kitchen. Hello, 90's.

  6. Jennifer, your home is beautiful, how blessed you are to have such a wonderful support of family. I know you guys are loving the new home, in spite of all of the work, thank you for sharing!

  7. It is such a great home! What fantastic features, and character. It reminds me of an English cottage. With all your updates, and your special touches, it will be amazing! Love, love, love. Ps I vote wallpaper in the dining room-I already miss the fabulous wallpaper from your last home lol

  8. Oh WOW! I can see so much potential in your new home…and totally see why you bought it. Good luck in making it your own…what FUN!!
    I'm such a decor nerd and could not stop studying that pic of your beautiful girls baking, that sneak peak of your family room was such a tease!!;) Can't wait to see the rest!! ~Kim

  10. I can see that the "bones" of your new home are awesome. The peek at the much lighter space makes me know that your home is going to be BEAUTIFUL!

  15. Over joyed and excited for you all! The anticipation… love the sneak peak. Where is your painter Jason? 😉
    Congratulations on your new home.

    1. Thank you! And I know! Seriously! Where is he when you need him? Haha! I think he's given up even painting his own house. I have a feeling I'll be back to painting again up there in a couple of weeks! =)

  16. Love the new house. My last rental also had those upper cabinets and I hated them. I love how much bigger and brighter your kitchen looks. Looking forward to more pictures. Don't you just hate wall paper?

    Donna

  17. You are amazing! I know this is going to be an exciting endeavor and I can't wait to see the beautiful changes you make to this already extraordinary home. Blessings on a wonderful summer of paint brushes, toes in the grass and all things new and adventurous.

  19. Oh my gosh, so exciting! The house obviously has great bones. Just look at all the amazing hardwood floors, wow. I know you are itching to start your projects and recreate the amazing "Dear Lillie" style in your new house!!! Your family is just awesome support, I know you are soooo happy to have their help right now. It is so cool how they have come through for you guys…

    Cindy

  22. Your home is beautiful! Can't wait to see all the changes:). I have been trying to convince my husband to paint our wood cabinets for so long, I should him the before and after of yours and think I might have actually gotten the go ahead!! So thank you:)

  23. Beautiful! Love hearing how your families joined in to help- sounds just like mine:-) I am so eager to see all the beautiful changes you have in this home. I know it will be beautiful, and best of all, filled with love.

  24. I am so looking forward to what you do with this house. We are awaiting a 1930, 2 story on the historic registry in Fargo, ND very similar to yours. All original wood floors, baseboards & crown molding. I too will take lots of pictures. You are the best decorator in all of the blogs, and I have seen a gazillion.

  25. Firstly, the girls look so happy in their new home, and wow, Lola's hair is so blond! Your house has so much potential, I can see why you fell in love with it. I cannot wait to see all of the transformations you are doing to it. It will truly be a beautiful home once you are done.

  27. Congrats on the new home & move. Love the sneak peek!! 🙂 Can't wait to see what you have planed. I'm sure it will be Beautiful once you add all your great style! Happy Decorating… P.s can't get over how similar your girls are to mine. Cuties 🙂

  28. Congratulations your new home it's full of potential. I am sure it will be a beautiful place to be because you are gifted with such a wonderful talent. Wishing you all the best. Can not wait to see your new decor. Another home sweet home.

  31. Congratulations on your new home!! It is a beautiful home with the wood floors and wooden beams and you will have so much fun fixing it up. I can't believe you've already gotten so much painting done! It'll be fun to follow along. You have exquisite taste and it will be gorgeous…I know. The girls look so happy.

  32. The transformation is amazing. Can't wait to see the rest Will you be doing a tutorial on cabinet painting? What finish did you use on the BM London Fog? Satin?

    1. I do plan on showing the steps we took to paint the cabinets eventually. I really wanted a glossier look than I normally prefer to help make the kitchen feel a little more modern so we went with a semi-gloss.

  33. Congratulations on your new home!! t is going to be amazing when you are done:) Can't wait for more pictures!!!

  34. Moving is a chore indeed. I remember moving with a 7 year old and a 2 year old. No fun!!! We also had the help of both sets of parents and I know we would have been lost without them.
    Luving the wood floors and beams. That is a def score 🙂 The last picture of the girls sure shows the transformation. Bright and beautiful! Congratulations once again!
    Hugs, Gee

  35. The new home has a great layout and lots of space.I feel my finance and and I have almost outgrown our town home so I can't what it would be like with two little. Excited to see your transformations unfold. Congrats!lots of great memories for you family are being created.

  36. Wow! Wow! Wow!!! You have already made such a difference in the few sneak peeks we can see! I moved a year ago and am nowhere near what I would like! I love that you absolutely know your style and can transform your house into your home! You are amazing!!! I also can't get over how much older Lola looks with her hair down! I am so used to seeing her with her piggy tails! Beautiful home and family! I can't wait to see what you do!

  37. So excited to see how you transform your beautiful new home. The hardwood floors are gorgeous, love what you have already done. Looking forward to watching all your changes. Elisa Havens

  43. Wow! I can't believe the transformation in the last picture! Amazing! You have been working hard since moving in! It seems like it is never ending becoming homeowners. The work never ends but it is so worth it!

  44. It is going to be fabulous. Your home reminds me of my home when we first moved it. Yours is more open and seems a little bigger. It is hard to tell from the pictures, I just love the detail and character but with your new twist it is going to be amazing.

  45. oh Jenny!! I think this new house is absolutely perfect! It has great bones and flow and that is so important! Congratulations to you and Jon and the girls! So excited for you all to get to create memories here. I can't believe everything you've done in 2 weeks, you're a machine!! It will be fun to follow you designing the house to make it your own! Love the house!
    xxojoan

  46. Congratulations on the house, it's a great house! I love the peek at the family room through the kitchen. Do you plan on using white (or what I call whitewash) for walls and a neutral color on the trim work throughout the house? I've done that in our house and used some of the historical colors in Benjamin Moores line. Light Neutral colors, and the rooms are light an airy, and furnishings pop. I've always loved that look. Can't wait to see what you do to the rest of the house, love your style, so I know it's going to be great! Donna 🙂

    1. Thanks, Donna! For the rest of the rooms we will be using Simply White on the trim and painting the walls different shades of neutrals.

  47. So awesome! I cannot believe you did all that yourself w/2 little ones!!! We have a colonial that was loaded with dark, dated wood everywhere. We had the entire house -all the crown, base, doors, window casings, etc. by a painter who charged us $4000 …. It was worth every cent and that was 7 yrs ago so now it all needs touch ups…:( one thing I have to tackle is the kitchen cabs. I'm so scared of the process and mess and don't want to sand…. We have soffits that are hideous – I know removing those would help so much but all the lighting is up there, not sure about HVAC either?! Anyhoo, I would love you to share all that info on your process there…. I want to take uppers all down and do open shelving and then paint the bottoms. So excited to follow along with you:)

  48. So awesome! I cannot believe you did all that yourself w/2 little ones!!! We have a colonial that was loaded with dark, dated wood everywhere. We had the entire house -all the crown, base, doors, window casings, etc. by a painter who charged us $4000 …. It was worth every cent and that was 7 yrs ago so now it all needs touch ups…:( one thing I have to tackle is the kitchen cabs. I'm so scared of the process and mess and don't want to sand…. We have soffits that are hideous – I know removing those would help so much but all the lighting is up there, not sure about HVAC either?! Anyhoo, I would love you to share all that info on your process there…. I want to take uppers all down and do open shelving and then paint the bottoms. So excited to follow along with you:)

  50. First of all, you have two very pretty darlings. 🙂 Can't wait to see your fully-furnished house in the future. Good luck to you in your new neighbourhood. Would certainly love to hear your stories with regards to you moving in. Ciao!

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