Thursday, June 04, 2009

Before and After

Well, we did it (almost). The house is done! Little trumpet sound. Actually that's not entirely true. I still have two door frames to paint and the trim in the kitchen and bathroom. And Jason has kickboards to install under the counters, two doors to hang, and the bathroom window to trim out. But overall, we'll call it done.

Kudos to Jesse and Anna for picking out a gorgeous house with great bones and doing so much planning and work.

And I could not have had the house ready for the realtor's open house without Amaanda and Corinne - a HUGE thank you to them for watching Hazel and helping me reorganize our stuff and cleaning for me!

So the house is on the market and I'm feeling very conflicted about that! On the one hand, I hope Jesse and Anna sell it this summer so they don't have to hang onto this place forever. But I would like to be able to live here a bit longer yet so I can enjoy white trim and doors in all the doorways.

It's amazing to think that even when we moved in last July, the walls were painted, but there was...
  • no baseboards
  • just subfloor in the bathroom
  • a 30-year old paint job on the exterior
  • no toilet for several days (while I was 8.9 months pregnant)
  • just a little sheetrock in the laundry room
  • no back door
  • no hung doors to the bedrooms or closets
  • a 3-inch gap under the front door
  • the cutouts of little deer on the front door
  • no lawn
  • a falling down garage
  • no countertops
  • and other little foibles, that I might have just blocked from my memory
So here are a few before and after pictures!


This was taken before we moved in, but when we did move in the only differences were that there was a new roof, the chimneys had been taken down, and there were new steps and the siding under the porch was removed.

Now: new roof, new paint, new windows, new porch, new steps, a lawn, and a new front door (no silly deer).

Front porch before.

Front porch after. I want to put our big round chair out here with some fun pillows or something. Just to make it look nicer and more festive.
Hallway before.

Hallway after. I think I'm going to paint the window frame with the pictures a robin's egg blue. Now that the trim is painted a glorious white, the shabby old window looks, well, shabby.

Our room before.
Our room after. Jason has promised to work on our bed frame soon (hallelujah!). And I need to decide what to hang on the wall above our bed. Not too sure yet.

Baby Girl's room before.

And after! We still need to buy the babe a real bed. Just need to pick one out. I'm pretty happy with her room. Very fun and vintage, thanks to some old prints Jason's sister Liz gave us, an embroidered handkercheif from my mom, and an embroidered wall hanging by Jason's grandmother. And I still love the orange and green crazy quilt.

Dining nook before.

Dining nook after. This definitely needs some decoration. I have a bunch of plates I could use to add some spice. Even though the house is on the market and may sell any day, I just hate having the solid white walls.

5 comments:

Mary and Jim said...

Wow! Ever consider working as a home stager for real estate agents?

Janae said...

I second your mom! You guys did such an awesome job. And, super cute decorating, Liz. I love all of it!

Anonymous said...

You did such a lovely job on this house! Do you know where you are moving to?
I wish Jill and I lived close enough to tour your darling home. It's absolutely perfect. :)

---Kari

Jason said...

Thanks! We don't know where we're going yet...somewhere in Moscow, but we haven't found the perfect house yet. Still looking!

-Liz

Aunt Cheryl said...

all I can say is "wow"--you guys are awesome. I can understand your feelings b/c you have put so much love and work into this house to make it a "home". Our prayers are with you and your friends.