Before and After

When we first signed our lease and moved into our new place, I was a bit worried at all the work that would have to go into making it feel like home. Sure, in our last place I didn't worry as much because I knew we would only be there a year. However, it is my hope to stay here for a few years (hopefully until we have enough saved for a decent down payment on a house).

As I'm sitting here watching Sister Act, I figure this is a great time to do a Before and After post.

Kitchen

Before

The kitchen was pretty disgusting - very dirty, with caked on dirt and grease. So, after a couple hours of attempting to clean, I decided to try something that I had seen on design shows and magazines. I also wanted to add some color (the entire house was white and off-white, and if you know me, you know I don't do bland). So, I removed the doors from the cabinets, painted the insides white and the outsides "Guacamole" (just for you, Dad!). I then put the doors back over the stove (to hide all my plastic containers); bought baskets to hold my spices, baking supplies, and pantry goods; and purchased fabric and curtain rods to make curtains to cover the bottom cabinets instead of putting the doors back on. The kitchen is probably the room I'm most proud of because it has made a 180 degree turn from where it started.

After

Dining Room

Before

The dining room was our "I-don't-really-know-what-to-do-with-this-stuff" area. Once I was able to find a home for all of the random things, I put our china in the hutch that matches our dining room table. I also painted the long, back wall of the dining room/living room blue. The hutch also makes a great place to display some of our wedding photos.

After

Living Room

Before

The living room started off just as bland as the rest of the house.  However, it wasn't anything that a coat of paint, new curtains, and our furniture couldn't take care of! As a birthday gift, Davis bought me frames for my black and white photos that I took in Sicily, and they are now hanging on the wall above the couch.

 After

Bedroom/Bathroom

Before

 

I already had a pretty good idea what I wanted to do with our bedroom since it was the one room I had worked on in our old apartment. My mother-in-law bought me matching lamps for my birthday. We bought a dresser off Craigslist for $50, and I refinished it for Davis; it's very similar to the other dresser we already have. Black-out and gauzy curtains were hung, and a nice coat of green paint on the wall behind the bed gave me the pop of color I was looking for.

In the bathroom, (after bleaching everything) I de-glossed and re-stained the cabinets and fixtures to bring some life back into them. A bright shower curtain, corner shower caddy, and some bathmats finished off our bathroom.

After

My Library

Now on to my favorite room in the house... It started off as the second closet in our guest bedroom. I took down one shelf to stand up my taller bookcase. My shorter bookcase went on the adjacent wall, and my sewing box fits nicely in the corner. Oh, and my shoes are hanging on the back of the door instead of in our bedroom closet.

Guest Bedroom

There's not a whole lot in this room at the moment - I'm not really sure what I want to do with it in terms of decorating. Right now there's a bed frame and a couch that I want to recover at some point.