So, folks, the end of an era is drawing near with this new lawn ornament:

So, now seems a good a time as ever to go through the house with a summary before and after post. Starting with the first floor, which, like the rest of the house, was a bit rough when we first saw it.

As with most foreclosures, the former residents took some angst out on the house, and so drywall patching was a must. The top “before” picture is actually post-drywall patching, but you can still see evidence of the kicked in fireplace and log carnage. Otherwise, our changes were basically paint and fixtures. This color is called Sharkey Grey, and it’s such a nice, neutral griege that we used it through much of the house.

Next up was the dining room, again just basic paint and fixtures. One thing we love so much about this house is the ample natural light- oftentimes I don’t even need to use electricity to see, which is definitely a bonus.

Oh, the kitchen. Our biggest remodel in many ways. The absolute first thing to go was the hanging light in the nook, since the thing nearly decapitated us so many times and we simply didn’t feel the need for an eat-in kitchen table. Then the husband had the unfortunate task of taking down the wallpaper below the chair rail, an insanely tedious task that probably took over 6 hours to accomplish. Then fresh paint (Garden Shed by Martha Stewart), and new appliances. Following that we replaced the torn and dingy linoleum with hardwoods to match the rest of the house. Then those disgusting gold knobs got switched out for new hardware and we saved our pennies up for granite countertops. I can tell you how thrilled I was to replace that disgusting, stained ceramic sink! Finally, many, many man hours later, we finished painting the cabinets (White Duck by Sherwin Williams) and tada! Kitchen reno complete.

New paint, toilet, chrome fixtures, and black vanity

This one was also a total gut job (albeit much harder to photograph). We had to use two different professionals to take down the Mary Poppin’s carpet bag wallpaper, since the first one quit after 5 hours, saying he has never in his career seen wallpaper that hard to remove. The cabinet-style vanity got removed and a bit of drywall repaired, then we installed a new water-efficient toilet, vanity, and completed the bathroom with chrome hardware.

Out with the white, and in with the laminate!

Last but not least, the sunroom. The husband hated this room when we first got the house, and I understood why- more stained linoleum, dinky white fan, etc etc. When we put in hardwoods we opted to finish this room out with laminate wood, and completed the space with a funky fan and wicker furniture. Now the space is a fun and inviting outdoor living area that we definitely enjoy!

It’s fun to go back and look at how much has changed since that first walk-through 3 years ago. It’s so nice to finally say that our vision is complete, and I desperately hope some buyer will quickly fall in love with the remodel!