Tuesday, September 02, 2008

Move over HGTV!

Now that our first house has become our "practice house" and we're gearing up to transform the house we're buying (which is the house I grew up in), I'm taking a hard look at the skills the Pretend Husband and I bring to the table. (Also? In packing up the office, I found a bunch of photos I never organized, so now seemed as good a time as any to show off our work).

When we moved into our current house, it had been vacated by a woman in her nineties... who loved that mauve carpeting, country style. Well, that and the strangest color combinations you've ever seen. Orange carpeting with lime green walls and doors? Check. Blood red carpet with gray walls and doors? Check. Purple carpet with tan wallpaper? Check.

And now? Well, I hope we're leaving this house looking a little less like a clown threw up in it and more like a couple of classy individuals lived here. But I'll let you decide. First, the kitchen. The before had that country wallpaper on the top, lime green paint on the bottom and the ugliest light fixture I've ever seen...



The after features green and white walls (green wasn't our first choice, but we needed to match the green floor since our budget did not allow for a new one) and a light fixture that isn't beautiful, but it was cheap and able to be installed by yours truly.



And now, the half bath. Ah, the half bath. It was the last room in the house that needed updating (you'll see why) and we finished it a few days after we put our house on the market. It just stuck out like a sore thumb after the work on the other rooms. But it was worth the rushed work. The before...


And the after... (the sides of the doorway are actually bright white and the walls are pale green, not pink and blue as they appear in the photo-- although ANYTHING is better than the wood paneling that was there!)




OK, one more for you before you decide if the PH and I are worthy of doing the work on our new house. Finally, the living room, where the mauve carpeting was at its finest. The before...

And, alas, the pink curtains did not make the cut in the after...

Looks pretty good, right? Just in time to move out!

5 comments:

Srg said...

Awesome job guys!! I especially remember thinking how odd the paneling was in that half bath. It's looks fantastic now!

Anonymous said...

Wow, you guys did a fantastic job! I wouldn't have known where to start. I'm so impressed! Want to come decorate my house? You know, when I have one?

sj said...

holy crap it looks clean in these pics. sorry. that was my first thought.

but it really does look awesome. it was neat to see the transformation. my favorite was your dining room, i think. i can't wait to see it all over again. and you, know i'm always willing to destroy stuff. so let me know when you're knocking down walls and stuff.

Anonymous said...

It looks like senior Barbie lived in your house before you moved in! You did a fantastic job - I would so move in there if you give it to me rent free for a year!

SouthernBelle said...

ooh inspiring. We are trying to do the same thing in our house, except without the planning to move out part. There were bitter arguments over paint colors when we moved in as the whole place was decked out in Renter's Beige, but now we have a cohesive design inspiration and are going to get completely different colors and start over. Hooray!