Back in September 2017, just a month or so after we moved in, I did a blog post showing how we were starting to make our new house into our HOME. I realized as I was painting our bathroom floor yesterday that we have done a TON of work on our house since that time, but only a few haphazard house updates. And even though we are still in the middle of some projects, and still have several additional projects planned, I figured now was as good a time as any for long photo update!
Outside of the house
This hasn't changed at all, other than some wear and tear. So here's the (relatively unchanged) photos from 2017.
 |
| from the "front" driveway, looking northwest |
 |
| from the "back" driveway, looking southeast |
Wait a minute! I just realized one change we did on the exterior is we replaced the little Juliet balcony with a greenhouse!
Oh, and we also added a chicken coop!
Eventually we plan to:
* paint the house and quonset white
* add decorative shutters to the windows
* replace the shoddily constructed deck
*
somehow make the house seem more welcoming from the outside - upon
arrival from either direction, I think it's hard to tell which door to
use. So I would like to find a way to make that more obvious.
Main living space (living room/dining room)
Since we all spend so much time here, this is where most of the work has taken place. As you can see, we replaced the dining room light fixture, replaced the yellowing sheers with grey curtains, added a ceiling fan, painted the yellowy walls a crisper white (with slight blue undertones), removed the wall to the basement and replaced it with an open railing, added a floor rug (to muffle the sound down in Mike's bedroom), got a temporary "new" (used) table, built a small bookshelf for under the far window, and moved the wood stove to the basement for better heat circulation.
 |
| 8/2017 |
9/17
1/21
The reverse view of the main living space, looking back at the front door:
8/17
 |
| 1/21 |
Eventually we plan to:
* replace the new ceiling fan, which is already starting to die :(
* get a new living room couch (we've had this one for almost 20 years!)
* replace the dining room table
* spray paint the new chimney so it's all the same color
Kitchen
This is an area where we have big plans, but haven't done a lot so far other than fill it up ;)
8/2017
 |
| 9/2017 |
 |
| 1/2021 |
Eventually we plan to:
* replace the ugly track lighting
* get a bigger fridge (that doesn't have to be manually defrosted every month or so!!!)
*
open the space up so it's no longer a u-shaped kitchen, which means at
least moving the stove and replacing the countertops, at which point we
might as well redo the whole thing (especially since we need a new
fridge anyway). And if we do all that, we're going to have to redo the
flooring of the entire main floor as well, so this step is going to be a
ways out into the future, unfortunately.
Bathroom/Laundry Room
This is the space that has gotten under my skin the most since we moved in. Nothing was centered, everything was yellow or brown, and nothing coordinated. Not to mention the wooden toilet seat, which triggers such a strong disgust response in me!
So far I replaced the toilet seat (hallelujah), got rid of the valence (and replaced it with thermal curtains to keep the hot summer sun from beating in), painted all the walls (including the wood wainscotting) the same crisp white as the main living area, replaced the ugly tri-fold medicine cabinet with a simple mirror, removed the off-center shelf above the washer/dryer, removed the fake silver panels around the off-center shelf, removed the leaking utility sink (which will eventually go into the basement bathroom, whenever we get to tackling that project), replaced the crappy old washer with a larger and more energy efficient one, added a "ladder" to hang dry clothes inside, replaced the curtain rod and shower curtain, and also painted the ugly tile floors!
We'll do some more updates once we replace the bathtub (since this one only holds about 8" of water, making it the most disappointing bath EVER for anyone over the age of 10), but until then I can actually say that I'm super happy with how this space has turned out!!
 |
| 8/2017 | |
| | Close-up of the yellowy pink tile (AFTER having JUST been cleaned), in case the first photo didn't fully convey its heinousness:
|
Ta-da!
 | |
| 1/2021 |
 |
| 8/2017 |
The "eventually" list here only includes:
* replace the bathtub (which will also require redoing the floors too)
* move the old utility sink pipes so they are in the wall rather than sticking out of the middle of the floor
The Back Hallway
This is another space where we haven't done a ton other than fill it in :) We did remove the cabinet that kept nailing us in the forehead as we came around the corner (and replaced it with a pan rack), and Mike added a bottom shelf on the right.
 |
| 8/2017 |
 |
| 9/2017 |
2021 photo is pending, once all the
bathroom stuff is returned from my
floor painting project....
The Back Pantry (aka "Bart's room")
Again, all we've done is fill it up! We also discovered that this is a great place for seasonal storage, as it can be used as a back-up fridge or freezer at least 6 months out of the year.
 |
| 8/2017 |
 |
| 9/2017 |
 |
1/2021 (due for another cleaning/organizing - LOL)
|
Rose's bedroom
Rose has been busy transforming her space into her own....
 |
| 8/2017 |
 |
| 9/2017 |
 |
| 1/2021 |
She wants to paint her walls, but I told her she needs to have everything taken down from the walls and the floors cleared in order to paint. So we are at an impasse. (Maybe some day she'll want to be more clean/organized?)
Upstairs
Now we move into "my" domain :)
Let's start with the stairs up to the loft. As mentioned before, we took out the old basement wall and replaced it with a railing. This allowed us to add a "gallery wall" of photos that we can see from the living room. Mike also removed the spindles to the upstairs (at my request) and replaced them with the more chic wires.
 |
| 8/2017 |
 |
| 2/2021 |
We're still in the middle of finishing the new upstairs walls, so we haven't fully removed the weird open shelves at the top of the stairs. We added the double French doors, and eventually the wall to the left of the new doors will be all bookshelves.
Here's another look at the beautiful (IMHO) open stairs:
Okay, so in my loft, the biggest thing (other than adding the wall that the bookcase will be on) has been removing the interior walls that used to divide the loft into 4 small areas. The loft still has "zones" (for exercise, my closet, my bed, and for sewing), but it's now a very spacious - yet still cozy - space that I absolutely adore. Seriously, my bedroom is just perfect for me - I am thankful for it every day.
8/2017
9/2017
 |
| 1/2021 |
Here's another look at the 4 "zones" that used to be separated by walls:
The sleeping zone:
 |
| 8/2017 | | |
 |
| 1/2021 |
The closet zone:
 |
| 8/2017 |
 |
| 9/2017 |
 |
| 1/2021 |
The sewing zone:
(sorry these photos are not from the same angle)
 |
9/2017
|
 |
1/2021
|
The exercise zone:
(also not all from the same angle, sorry)
 |
| 8/2017 | |
 |
| 9/2017 |
 |
| 1/2021 |
The things yet to be done upstairs:
* finish the bookshelves on the outside wall of the loft
* paint the French doors (they just came primed and I think I want them white, but I'm going to wait to paint them until I'm definite
*hang the curtains to cover the French doors when I want to block out the summer sunlight at night
*paint the wood floor so it won't keep giving me splinters when I walk around where there's no rug
BASEMENT
From here on out, there are no "after" (i.e., 2021) photos, because this entire floor is a work in process. Every area is currently "under construction" as we try to make the space more livable from both an aesthetic as well as a functional perspective. So, more to come on this entire level at some unknown future time...
Basement - entryway
 |
| 8/2017 |
 |
| 9/2017 |
Basement - Mike's bathroom
 |
| 9/2017 |
Basement - TV area
 |
| 8/2017 |
 |
| 9/2017 |
Basement - Mike's bedroom
 |
| 8/2017 |
 |
| 9/2017 |
The end! :)
