Before and afters of the house

I'll preface this by explaining that when I say "we" I mean "Ben". I picked out most of the paint and things that went in the house but Ben did the labor. We weren't fans of the golds and reds that were in several of the rooms. It didn't go with our things and we wanted a more neutral theme throughout so that when we decide to move the next time, we won't have to repaint. Again, in terms of doing work, "we" means "Ben".

the dining room before.

We put in a travertine tile floor, new chandelier (because the last family took most of the fans and fixtures), painted the walls light brown and the ceiling white and on the stairs, new patterned carpet.



the main floor bathroom before



We got rid of the gold walls and teal sink and went with green walls and a white sink.

As we were looking through our options of things to hang on the green walls, we decided to frame some of Georgia's watercolor paintings. We love her artwork and the stories that go along with them. Since we have so much oak in our house, I went to the local thrift store and found oak frames for $0.70 and bought various sizes so we can do a full wall collage as she paints more.



the living room before



The room had orange-ish brush painted walls that we changed to a neutral beige. Beige might equal blah for some but for us it just feels so clean and bright. Although it didn't bother anyone else who saw it, neither of us liked the slate tile on the fireplace. To me, it always looked dirty, like it was covered in soot even though we have a gas fireplace. For Ben, he felt like it didn't show off the oak well. So we went with a light travertine tile and got rid of the brass on the screen. New carpet was necessary due to the previous owner's pets and a ceiling fan to replace the one that was taken. Be prepared to invest time and money when you buy a short sale house or foreclosure. If I didn't have a contractor husband, I wouldn't have wanted to do this but I knew I'd be in good hands to get the jobs done the right way.



the master bedroom before

Yet another gold room with a red ceiling. This room now has a white ceiling and ivory walls, new ceiling fan since this one was missing as well and new carpet. 

The kitchen before was wall to wall floral wallpaper.

I kept with the blue, for now. I haven't totally committed to the blue so right now only 2 walls are blue and the rest match the dining room. We put in a new light because, yes, the old one was taken. 

So what's left on the list? The master bath is a construction zone with no toilet or shower, wallpaper and tile has been stripped and the whole room needs a makeover. The upstairs hall bath has a few finishing touches to be done and Ben plans to finish the basement. But this house has come a LONG way.