Painted the laundry room floor in July, and before we moved all the appliances back in, we took advantage of the big white space for some silly photos. 
Laundry Room Photo Booth? August 24, 2012
Gallery Wall April 19, 2012
I have seen and pinned so many beautiful examples of gallery walls that I decided to attempt my own in our stairwell. I stockpiled a bunch of frames and canvases I already owned and laid them out in a configuration that made sense on the floor, then started nailing them up on the wall. Most of them haven’t been filled with our own photos yet, and I need to paint the green ones a different color (or neutral), so someday I might post an “after” picture of this, too. It’s a start!
Since this photo was taken those patched portions have been re-painted, and I have some more things to hang, too.
Have you ever done a gallery wall? Or seen some ones online that you like?
Family Room Before-and-After April 18, 2012
This room was a LOT of work. It was very 1970s when we bought it. We thought about just painting over the paneling, but it was very grooved and porous and wouldn’t have worked well, so….
Before:
After:
The List:
- Took down ugly curtain thingy and patched the holes
- Painted ceiling
- Painted walls
- Painted and installed new wainscoting (ended up having to have that professionally sprayed…long story!), baseboards and trim
- Painted the top of the ledge around the room
- Installed new vent covers
- Installed new outlets, outlet covers and switch-plate covers, as well as door knobs
- Painted (professionally) and installed new doors
- Had some strong friends help us move the piano from our old place to here (thanks, Strong Friends!)
We didn’t really get to finish this room until after we had moved in because we used it as a main place to paint the trim we used in the rest of the house. It is SO nice to have a family room space to keep the TV (it used to be in a 3rd bedroom/office where only 2 or 3 people could watch at once). Having the couch in the middle of the room also creates a nice little “track” for the kids to run around during the long winter months. Gotta burn off all that energy somehow, right?
I still haven’t figured out what I’m putting on the mantel or some of the other walls, but it’s a work in progress.
Kitchen & Dining Before-and-After April 17, 2012
Though I didn’t get most of these shots from a similar angle, you can still kind of see what went on here. This is before spring cleaning the dining and kitchen area, too, so ignore the clutter you see on the kitchen counters.
Before:
After:
The List:
- Took out light fixtures and re-wired (It was a MESS in there! So thankful for my father-in-law’s skills. He was surprised the house was still standing with how fried the wires were.)
- Mudded walls that were not smooth
- Tore out linoleum and installed engineered hardwood floors
- Painted the walls
- Painted the ceilings
- Purchased and installed new light fixtures
- Bought a new fridge (thanks, Mom! The old one was a side-by-side, and when you opened the freezer door you could barely get anything in or out of it.)
- Painted and installed new baseboards and trim
- Took down the old curtains and installed new rods and curtains
- Installed new outlets, outlet covers and switch-plate covers
- Thrifted some letters for the “Rejoice” sign…I hope to hang some mis-matched plates and/or platters around it once I find enough to make it worthwhile
Living Room Before-and-After April 16, 2012
It’s been a long time since I’ve posted anything about the new house…mostly because this year has been one project after another. I took the month of March off for my business and did some spring purging and cleaning (thanks, Tsh! I still use your e-book!), and though I haven’t finished all the rooms yet, I don’t think I’ll ever get photos up if I wait until they are completely “finished.” So this week will include some before-and-after shots. Hooray!
Before:
After:
Just for reference here are two posts about the projects we did in the 6 months leading up to our move. It was a lot of work (thanks mostly to Husband and my father-in-law!), and there’s much left to do, but what I’m learning with home ownership is that there is always something to do. A list of what we did in the living room:
- Tore out trim and found mold
- Chunked out the wall and the floor and replaced dry wall and floor, then mudded and re-laid the carpet (thanks, Dustin!)
- Mudded more of the walls that were not smooth
- Painted the walls
- Built up a portion of the window sill where it didn’t match up with new trim and stained it
- Re-built the railings on the balustrade and installed a new handrail, stripped and stained the newel post (the old railings were so far apart the kids could get their bodies through them–NOT SAFE!)
- Painted the ceilings
- Painted and installed new baseboards and trim
- Bought a new couch
- Took down the old curtains and installed new rods and sewed together some IKEA curtains
- Cut old vent covers to fit
- Installed new outlets, outlet covers and switch-plate covers
There might be more I can’t remember…
Some photos December 5, 2011
Our yard after the first raking. There were about 7 subsequent rakings, since we have so many mature trees in our neighborhood, and they all drop their leaves at different times.
A loved princess.
A “store” set up on our coffee table. This is why I am so glad I switched to keeping our coffee table free of anything earlier this year. It encourages my kids so much in their creative play.
My boy reading books at the same coffee table. I fear I’m terribly biased, but I think he’s the most adorable little boy in the whole wide world.
August 2011 Highlights Reel November 7, 2011
We found (and continue to find) these stickers everywhere. They entertained Anja for weeks.
We kept unpacking.
We made crafts (his front leg used to be longer…).
I take photos of my kids sleeping all the time. Am I the only one?
We played. Rosie (the tiny dog in the tractor) was hired to cart around this stroller.
We also went on a little vacation and had Anja’s 4th birthday party, which I’ll feature later!
July 2011 Highlights Reel November 3, 2011
In July, we went to Family Camp. Yay! Our first time going since Anja was just a baby. Both kids loved it, and I dare say I had a fun couple of late nights chatting with friends, too.
Bad photos (I didn’t adjust my ISO or anything, so they’re blurry), but here are the kids waking up the first day.
I don’t know why, but I love this portrait of my mom.
First photo I took in the new house.
We had some popsicles. It was a hot summer, and I loved it.
Somebody had a tooth-brushing obsession. So much so that we now have to keep the bathroom door closed.
Sherman Deux got more and more worn in.
We drove some places.
We stayed home some.
June 2011 Highlights Reel November 1, 2011
Instead of completely ignoring our summer like last year, I decided to put up a few photos of each month for posterity.
Sherman Deux had a pool party with his friends. They learned Dead Man’s Float, apparently. And some of them just watched.
Preschool celebrated summer birthdays (probably a photo from May, actually).
Markus walked with his hands behind his back all the time for a couple of months. It was pretty funny.
Made sushi for the first time (though they were vegetarian, so whatever that makes them) in honor of my sis-in-law’s visit (excuse the moving boxes in the background!). Yummy! She was home for a short leave from teaching overseas, and it was great to have her here!
Moved! Though I don’t have any updated photos of the house to show, we continue to work on it every week. I’m hoping for some before-and-afters before Christmas! I took a couple shots of the kids sleeping their last night in the old house (sniff).
Anja somehow wove the monitor base into her bed, and told me in the morning they’d had a “campfire.”
House Sneak Peeks May 11, 2011
Dining:
Living:
Kids’ room (closet door unpainted, nail holes unfilled):
Master bedroom:
Kitchen:
Daylilies peeking up in the backyard.
Still not done, still not moved, but still working!
