When we purchased our home back in 2009, we were just babies - I was only 21 years old! The housing market was terrible & we couldn't afford much. When we found our little 1350 sq. ft. ranch, it was perfect for our needs at that time. It was our "five year plan" house. A perfect starter home, but not somewhere where we wanted to be forever.
Well, fast forward 10 years, and we are still in this same little humble abode. There's nothing wrong with it (other than it's getting small for our growing family), but it's just not "us", you know? It would need quite a bit of updating to be more my style.
If time & funds allowed, I'd love to gut the kitchen, open up a wall to the living room, add a master bathroom, put in new flooring and all new trim, doors, & fixtures. Ahhh, a girl can dream - right?!
Since it's still our hope to build one day, we don't want to stick a ton of money in this home -- but let's face it, we're not going anywhere soon. So meanwhile, we will continue to love this little abode that's become our home, and some inexpensive sprucing up will have to satisfy my decor desires for now.
It really is amazing how a few simple changes can completely transform a space. Being the good blogger I am, I COMPLETELY forgot to take before photos of each space... and I am so bummed, cuz I love a good Before & After. So I scrounged up previous photos that I had on my computer that will hopefully give you an idea of what we were working with.
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In our half bathroom, Zac patched dry wall & painted the area behind the mirror, to allow for this new light fixture & mirror. There is still SO much I want to do in here (wall treatment, shelving behind the toilet, possibly paint the vanity...) but this little change made quite the difference already.
I have zero pictures of the hideous mirror before, but below is a similar style... except ours was much smaller, built into the wall, and had this weird flip down cubby thing. Plus, it was installed way too high. I'm 5'7" and I couldn't even see myself in it when I was washing my hands. It was just weird.
Next, I added a new rug to our entryway from the garage. I finally found one that fills this whole space. We've just had a runner in the past, so this provides much more coverage. Next up for this little space, I want to replace that dry erase board with a peg rack so we can hang coats & bags.
The only Before pic I could find (and you can't even really see the rug, ha!):
Then Zac installed a new rod & patio door curtains for me... which required spackling and painting over where the other rod hung, because of course they were different attachments.
Before:
After that we replaced the metal wall art with new shelves in the dining area, made by Zac. They are not "styled" how I want them yet, but when you can't get out & shop (thanks COVID-19) -- you shop your house & make do with whatcha got.
The only Before pic I could find... don't focus on the jello.. focus on the wall BEHIND the jello :)
Next, it was time to update the ol' chandelier. Zac installed this new light fixture over the dining room table. This is a terrible picture, but you get the idea :)
Before:
And finally, I styled a little spring vignette in the living room, to remind us that sunshine, blooms, and better days ARE ahead!
Happy weekend eve!
Cheers to sunshine today, after a week of wind, rain, & gloom.
Let's get out & enjoy it!