Our House

At the end of January 2011, we moved into our first house. It's a brick ranch with an eat in kitchen, living room, one and a half baths, three bedrooms upstairs, a finished basement with a laundry room, living area, and two additional bedrooms. We've saved for many years & try to be wise with the money God's blessed us with, so we purchased this house with the agreement that 1) if one of us loses our job or chooses to quit, we can afford to make our house payments and other living expenses on just one income and 2) we will fund all renovations using cash we've saved, not credit or loans. This is important to us, and when we found this house, we realized it was a great option for us to meet our two criteria. 

The house was a foreclosure, bank-owned that sat empty for 22 months. With a few major repairs {new septic & plumbing work...thanks to the seller and a new roof} and a load of cosmetic updates, we're excited to make our first house our home! Stay tuned as we turn these not-so-pretty "befores" into our happily ever "afters."


Here's a little house tour from when we purchased it and the updates we've tackled so far. {Sorry, Eugene's in so many of the pictures. There wasn't any electricity in the house during these pictures so he was my flashlight.} Okay, enough with the jabbering, here are the before & semi-after pics... 

Front of the house - removed front flower bed, removed bushes, landscaped, mulched, reseeded grass, new roof, new windows, painted door, new garage door, and the list goes on...

Kitchen - painted cabinets, removed wallpaper, painted walls & ceiling, new hardware, new curtains, new appliances, new lights, chalkboard wall, open shelving, painted floors, butcher block counters, glass mosaic backsplash, new peel & stick and grouted tile floor...

Dining area - new DIY curtains, removed wallpaper, painted walls, new light new floor, vintage plate wall...

Living room/kitchen doorway - opened up with a vintage plate wall...

Living room - gallery wall, new paint, painted over glitter on the ceiling {yes, glitter}, new window treatments, new rug, painted trim, new (or new to us) furniture...

Main Bathroom - painted tile, removed wall paper, DIY ruffle curtains, spray painted faucet & fixtures, new ceiling dry wall & paint, new shower curtain rod & DIY extra long shower curtain...

Bedroom #1 - before {aka brown room}

The current "after" with new paint, curtains, and just a hint of wall decor, lots still do do here...

And then to more "sellable" neutrals with new furniture and bed linens...

Bedroom #2 - carpet out, walls, ceiling, and trim painted, new fan, homemade vintage sheet quilt, diy valances/garlands...

Bedroom #3/nursery - painted ceiling, trim, wall, doors, new light, new shelf, diy decor...

 Half bath - beadboard wall coverings, new fixtures, new flooring, new light...

Basement - due to a lot of damp drywall issues, we actually ended up "unfinishing" the basement to have an $8k drainage system installed. System worked great, but it meant that the basement was pretty ugly from then on...

And the yard...

So there you have it! Our house, in it's honest-to-badness state of when we first bought it. For updates on where we are in our house reno, click here. Or, for before & after pics, click here.Yes, it's a state of constant transformation, but we think it's got great bones, and we're looking forward to seeing it become our home. :)