Before and After

Progress is happening at the Smith house.

We are moved in, settled, and finally finding time and energy to tackle those not-absolutely-crucial projects like renovating bathrooms, painting kitchen cupboards, and starting to think about decor. The heat is a good excuse to stay indoors and work, too!

Here are some before and after's of rooms in our house--some are at a later stage of 'done-ness' than others....but hey, it's something!

Living Room
Before:
After:
This is one of my favorite rooms! The only thing we still really need to do is to make some nice heavy blinds to pull in front during hot sun (early morning/early evening) and move that darn stereo on top of the mantle downstairs...we've been saying we need to do that for months.

Dining Room
Before:
After:
This room needs some decor work on the mantle, as those pictures will eventually join lots of black and white pics on the red wall of our stairway...but for now--it works! I'm also going to eventually add one of those nice big framed magnetic 'task boards' so we can hang calendars, job charts, pictures, etc. It will go on the wall when you first come in (but you can't see that wall here...)

Kitchen
Before:
After:
This room is a work-in-progress. I've starting painting the cabinets this last week which brightens things up in a HUGE way! But the lighting needs work, and the trim needs another coat of paint. Along with new paint, we'll also replace all the hardware and hinges which should update things nicely.

Main-Floor Bathroom
Before:
After: (AND before!)
This bathroom is gross. We just couldn't get all that pesky wallpaper off, and had to dig into the wall to fix some plumbing issues upstairs--so the easiest way to fix it all is to just start over! That was Joel's project this weekend: to tear all the sheetrock out. Now, we'll re-sheetrock, tile, paint the vanity, and paint the vintage mirror that was in here. I'm thinking red. I'll post pictures of this one later!

Kids Bathroom
Before:
After:
Thanks to my dad and Joel--this room is finished! New floor, toilet, sink, countertop, and a coat of new paint sure made it bright! We love it--and so do the kids!

Master Bathroom
Before:
After:
(don't strain your eyes--this room is basically 'untouched')


Master Bedroom
Before:
After:We had to hang up a giant thick blanket over those beautiful new doors to the deck because the sun was so HOT in this room! It's helped tremendously--and now we can get dressed in our room! (I'll be adding blinds here, too!)

Office/Guest Room
Before:
After:
In this room, we added carpet and raised that light way up (you can't see it here). We'll be replacing that, along with many other 'trendy' light fixtures in the house. We closed in a wall so that there's only one opening, and we plan to add french doors in the future.

Kid's Room
Before:
After/After:
This was Oliver's room, and then, as of last week, became "their" room. We figured now was as good a time as any to transition Lily to a big-girl bed, and back into Oliver's room. So they share a space...and eventually, baby boy will sleep in the nursery.

Nursery
Before:
After:
Not much going on in here decor-wise. I have plans to add a white tree (below) above the crib, and make a curtain for the closet. I don't want to make it too boy-ish, because in a year or two, this will once again be Lily's room. Anything I do nursery-wise will be fairly neutral.
(I want to paint a white version of this tree above the crib--eventually, I can add pretty pink blossoms or something when Lily is in the room!)

Entryway
Before:
After:
Flooring made a HUGE difference here, as did the new banister. We need to replace the horribly outdated light fixture...but that will happen someday.

We are thrilled with our new home and are enjoying having projects to work on. The kids love the house, too--and we especially love our neighbors!!!