when shawnae came home with us after thanksgiving we were in full swing of packing and picking out paint chips! the beds were taken down and boxes surrounded us!
we took this picture the first week that we moved in with our "for sale" sign!
the first thing we did after unloading the truck was to knock down the old fence between our house and our neighbors. they couldn't wait to join in the fun too!
BEFORE we moved in there was lots of work to be done! I took a risk by ripping out all of the trim and painting 3 days before we even closed! Shawnae was a huge help! she watched the kids and spent hours scoring old trim, priming and hauling away trash bags of demo! priming the living room! bye-bye tanish/pinkish/grayish paint! (see the puny old trim?!?!)
my friend Tiff spent several hours painting and priming as well! glad i had a hand because painting an entire house was a huge undertaking!
we took a break for a bit one day and went shopping. shawnae found this very unique lamp!
I picked up brady from school a few afternoons and he helped to pick out his new bedroom paint color and paint it on! he did a great job and only stepped in the paint pan once!
the first week or so that we spent in the house it was a disaster! the kids all slept in the boys' room since it was painted, but i was still painting the inside of their closet so it was a mess. the master bedroom was mid-paint/bathroom demo. it took us about a week to get the bed set up and new bedding put together. one night chris fell asleep in our bedroom with olivia. i laughed so hard when i saw the "blanket" he chose to snuggle with (olivia's princess sleeping bag).
yes, honey- you are the drill master!
we have gotten quite adept at using power tools and doing all sorts of DIY projects thanks to friends, family and youtube!
here is chris cutting tile after a tutorial from his dad. i prepped the master bathroom floor by scarifying it with power sander, washing, drying, laying down a coat of thinset, and drying. dad and chris measured, cute and dry-laid the tile. the next day i laid the tile, dried, applied grout, dried and then a few weeks later chris applied the grout sealer. it was a process- thank goodness it was a small bathroom!
while the guys cut tile for the bathroom floor i painted the diningroom and kitchen. these walls were an AWFUL dark maroon before! ah. sunlight, welcome home.
the bottoms of my feet show how hard i worked, right?!
a previous week we had the new granite countertops laid in the kitchen, main bath and master bath. the laundry room will wait for now. what a huge difference! other than the remaining oak kitchen cabinetry, it took this place from dated 80's to updated and classy.
the kitchen before...notice dark maroon paint, awful 80's white countertop and backsplash, white appliances...
we updated all appliances to stainless steel, painted the walls a light green/gray ("dakota trail" by Valspar).
this is the old sink. it was a built-in, part of the corian countertops and was all cracked and stained. we also replaced the chrome faucet with a new oil-rubbed bronze.
putting in the granite countertops...
i was very proud of Chris- he put in all the new appliances and took out all of the old ones. there was a bit of a problem when he installed the dishwasher. i went down to the basement family room and heard "rain" in the ceiling when he ran the first load. i told him about it and he swore up and down that it was fine...oops the next day we had a nice hole in the ceiling and a major leak. all good though, we already had a guy coming over to put up a new wall and patch holes throughout the house...what was one more hole?! second time was a charm, and after a quick consult from our neighbor friend we figured out the problem and added an extra hose clamp just as a precaution.
new countertops, undermount stainless sink, backsplash and all new outlets put in by Chris throughout the entire house!
next BIG project? paint the oak cabinets. yes, that's right. i am painting the oak cabinets white with a simple distressing along the edges. not a fan of people painting oak? that's alright, i promise you'll love it. at least we will! it's going to look amazing. we're also adding oil-rubbed bronze knobs and pulls to all of the cabinets and drawers. i am also going to add a board and batten look to the underside of the bar...CAN'T WAIT to finish this project!!!
dad also helped us cut and tile the backsplash in the kitchen, main bathroom and master bathroom. it was actually a lot of fun and a good time working with dad. thanks for teaching us some new skills!
olivia loved helping grandpa smear the thinset on the tiles- "it's like making a sandwich!"
stay tuned for photos of before/after of rooms as we finish them. we've lived in this house for 7 months already, and although we have accomplished a ton in a short period of time there is still SO MUCH to be done! it has been very overwhelming but also very rewarding once a project is complete!!!
