Before & After

Taming the Lion House

by Susan on January 17, 2012

in Before & After,Decorating

One home in need, 17 rooms (spaces) to makeover, $25,000 total budget (which include flooring, renovation, paint, furniture, window treatments, accessories etc.), and one year to get it done. Can this lion house be tamed?

We moved in exactly one year ago today, rolled up our sleeves, did some strategic shopping and went for it. It was a fun challenge, and has resulted in a house that now feels like a home.

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Mom’s Laundry Room: Keep Out

by Susan on December 26, 2011

in Before & After,Laundry/Halls/Foyers,Organizing

I miss my old laundry closet in my last house. It was 2nd floor, and it’s only purpose was providing clean clothes.

Now I have a laundry room off the kitchen, which forces certain mudroom functionality on a space overwhelmed by needs, especially since I no longer even have a mudroom. There is great temptation to overwork this little space.

Here’s how the room looked when we moved in.

laundry room before

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Refinishing a Finished Basement

by Susan on December 22, 2011

in Before & After,Kids & Play Rooms,Room by Room

Basements rarely get top priority when you move into a house. This was the case for us.  It was already finished when we bought it a year ago. Finished, but not particularly inviting. Dark gray walls, gray berber carpet, and mismatched furniture. We had other rooms to focus on.

But that all changed on a random August night – hurricane Irene was not kind to us.

But after adding a second sump pump with a battery backup, we fearlessly set out to refinish the finished basement. One catch – most of the furniture and many toys were lost in the great flood of 2011. So we started with a refreshingly clean slate.

We had the walls redone and carpet replaced, then we (meaning us, ourselves) painted the whole darn thing DIY style (whew). We opted for a lighter, neutral palate. While there is good height and many pot lights down there, it’s still a basement with only a few windows.

Below are some before and after pictures. But first, a few things to look for:

  • We added a yoga space.
  • We moved the TV to the former art nook, and move the art area to a more open space.
  • There is remarkably little furniture. But we did reuse the old mirrors we took out of upstairs bathrooms to create a fun dance area. Zumba, anyone?
  • Can you pick out the few pieces of furniture that made it?

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My New-ish Kitchen

by Susan on October 2, 2011

in Before & After,Kitchen & Dining

ugly kitchen when we moved inIt’s no secret that we bought a house with some design challenges. We’ve been attacking each room with resourceful fervor in hopes of a grand finale dream kitchen. We’re talking new appliances, flooring, cabinets, countertops, backsplash, and lighting – the works!

Then I read this:

On average, a midrange (meaning not upscale) minor kitchen remodeling project costs $21,695, according to Remodeling Magazine. While expensive, it’s cheaper than the average major kitchen renovation, which runs $58,367 on average. ~smartmoney.com

Want to see my new $58,367 kitchen? I would too. But sadly, that will have to wait. How about my $21,695 kitchen? Ummm – not yet. BUT – I can show you my under $200 kitchen.

I hesitated doing anything in this room because often, if a room gets to “good enough” or “ok for now” then now becomes forever.

But I couldn’t take the yellow walls, taupe trim, sunflower/butterfly border, teal plastic chair rail, and (my biggest gripe of all) no knobs on the cabinets any longer.

So we set out to see what a little paint, cabinet hardware, some DIY and creative accessorizing can do for a kitchen, for under $200. First, the plan (be patient – oodles of before and after pics further down!)

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Placeholder Redesign: Master Bathroom

by Susan on September 3, 2011

in Bathrooms,Before & After

We’ve all been there.  You want to make a big change in your home, but now is not the time to be spending.  Whatever your situation, you still want to improve your room’s form and function NOW.

Here’s a case study of an ugly master bathroom that needed some interim love.

Dark green-ish walls, tan trim, yellow-ish ceiling, floral border, grimy shower door and dark rose shade made this master bathroom feel like it was from another era. And did you notice there are no knobs on the cabinets? A functional no-no!

master bathroom before

The Plan: hit the low-lying fruit with a budget of just $300. Here’s what we did.

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Improving Small Closet Functionality

Ok, this is going to be a relatively boring post. There are no flashy design ideas, splashy colors or totally room makeovers here. Even the title is boring. But if you’d like to see how you can make your small closet work harder for you for just $36, read on. First of all, here is [...]

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Picking the Right Front Door Color: Before and After Case Studies

We bought a house with a pink front door. Seriously! While our real estate agent fiddled with the lock box, we couldn’t help but notice the pink paint, worn out welcome mat and the dirty lights. We were skeptical of the house before we even step foot inside. And yes, the inside of the door [...]

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Use What You Have Porch Design

There is something romantic about a porch. Writing A Pretty Porch with a Purpose post got me inspired to get my own porch spruced up. But after updating eight rooms inside over the past four months, I’m low on funds and energy for this project. So I did what any sensible girl would do…I shopped [...]

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A Blue Tween Room for Girls

Got a tween girl in the house? Then you know how hard it is to please her. “Too old for toys, and too young for boys.” If you want her to take (some) responsibility for keeping her room manageable, you’ve got to include her in the design process.  My daughter’s latest room (yes, there have been many [...]

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Making a Small Kids Bathroom Work

There are always concessions made when picking your next home. In our case, it was the smaller kids bathroom, which also has to serve as a guest bathroom at times. Not only was it functionally-challenged, it was just darn ugly. There. I said it. The challenges: Small 31” vanity with precious little countertop space and [...]

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