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Our progress

katie8422
15 years ago

I made some before and after photos last night because I was feeling quite proud! We just have finishing touches left, like replacing the hand-me-down curtains, attaching the backsplash, and re-hanging crown moulding, chair and plate rails, etc.

Our house was built around 1900 and we're told that it's a transitional Victorian. It still has all the original floors, moulding, pocket doors, and wainscoting. We closed on Halloween and got a fabulous deal because the owner was in a tough situation. We're using a HUD rehab loan. It's our first house. We've learned a lot, and we're still learning!

The foyer is now my favorite part of the house, and I haven't even decorated it! I love the yellow (BM Honeywheat) with the woodwork.

In the dining room, looking into the living room:

Mantel:

Living room. The paint is BM Jack Pine. (I haven't put up the real curtains yet and the hand-me-down tv cabinet will be replaced asap!):

Dining room is BM Moroccan Red:

Bathroom is BM Victorian Trim. I have bronze accesories to hang and I'm hoping to find crystal sconces, but I can't find exactly what I want yet. My poor clawfoot tub is in the basement, waiting to be restored to it's former glory.

Kitchen, after taking out partition walls. These are taken from the same angle. Walls are Dorset Gold, cabinets are maple with cranberry-colored glaze, and the countertops are "tan soapstone."

These show the same wall in the kitchen, slightly different angle. Notice the drop ceiling in the before photo. The ceilings are 9' now.

This was the best surprise of the renovation. Our kitchen floor, sans laminate glue. WOW!

Our bedroom, after painting the paneling white, although you can't really see in this photo. There was no ceiling in this room when we bought the house. It was the easiest upstairs room to fix up, so we made it our bedroom for now. We'll move into another bedroom soon and ditch the paneling in here for good.

Comments (14)

  • lucy
    15 years ago

    That floor IS wow! Looks like you're doing a good job, but can't imagine how you're so happy right now - I'd be a total basket case :-)!

  • sarahandbray
    15 years ago

    Looks like you guys have put some real elbow-grease into it!! I know how that goes ;) It looks a thousand times better--and I love the bathroom color--so cute! And the floors really did turn out great! You're lucky they came out so well after the way they looked!

    Keep up the good work--and the positive attitude! It can get overwhelming at times!
    -Sarah from Albany, NY

  • mom2lilenj
    15 years ago

    Great job! I love that color in the hallway. It really brings out the woodwork! What an improvement and what progress in such a short time! Thanks for sharing your pictures, I was wondering what you desided to do with the room decor. Ebay is a good source for vintage light fixtures. However there are sooooo many it's hard to wade through.

  • kathleenca
    15 years ago

    Katie, you have made SUCH progress - I'm very impressed. Everything is looking wonderful, especially your kitchen floor. You two have a lot of courage & energy. :)

    Kathleen

  • Lori Billy
    15 years ago

    You have done a wonderful, impressive job! I LOVE the colors you chose for the walls. You have every right to be proud. Congrats!

  • katie8422
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    Thanks! :) But trust me that the positive attitute isn't constant, haha. I have to force myself to stop freaking out and take a moment to appreciate it all. All the dirty woodwork and unfinished things REALLY get under my skin, but I think I've been doing a decent job of controlling my urges to clean past midnight, etc.
    We hung up real curtains in the living room today!

  • clubcracker
    15 years ago

    It looks AMAZING! What a beautiful house. I think you should feel very proud. :)

  • autumngal
    15 years ago

    Yay Katie! I love love love it! Thank you so much for publishing updates, your house is amazing and you've just done a fantastic job with it. It's inspiring and fun to watch it change.

    Everything is wonderful, but I am in love with your floors, what a great job you both did-

    Ginnie

  • katie8422
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    One more update! We fulfilled the requirements of our rehab loan, so the first part of our journey is officially over. Every room in my house is now useful!
    Here's the back bedroom's transformation. It will soon be furnished as a guest room.
    {{!gwi}}From Rear Bedroom

    {{!gwi}}From Rear Bedroom

    And the other back bedroom is now our junk room, for the time being:

    From Future 2nd Lav

    From Future 2nd Lav

    The porch is painted:

    From Exterior

    The original crown is back up in the living room:

    From Living Room

    The dining room has real curtains:

    From Dining Room

    Our bedroom walls and wood trim are repaired:

    From Our Bedroom

    {{!gwi}}From Our Bedroom

    And there is officially no more bird wall paper in the foyer/hallway!

    From Foyer

    I'm so happy this week!

  • autumngal
    14 years ago

    Wow Katie, it looks really amazing, great job and thanks for keeping us updated. We've moved at a snail's pace compared to you, or kitchen is still in the works, hopefully I'll have something to post soon!

    Great job!

  • concretenprimroses
    14 years ago

    Wonderful!
    kathy

  • worthy
    14 years ago

    Lots of couples divorce while trying to reno the home they're living in. I did my first home while living in it and I wanted to divorce myself!

    So I've got a sense of the hard work you've done.

    Very nice job!

  • katie8422
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    Haha, then I guess Mike and I are gonna make it! I would love to divorce the voice in my head that wants everything about the house to be perfect, but Mike keeps me sane! He's fun to live with, even when the dog's covered in drywall dust or you don't have countertops or a real toilet, lol. If we were both as high-strung as me, that would be another story. :-P

  • blackcats13
    14 years ago

    Hahaha, worthy!

    Beautiful Katie, absolutely beautiful! I love before and after pictures. They give me hope =D