Friday Five: Home Reno Before & After Pix

Happy Friday y'all! We made it to a THREE DAY WEEKEND!! The house is almost where we want it- there are a few things to move/unpack/paint but other than that we're good, and despite not having everything 100% done I'm fine!

OH and miraculously we are surviving without an oven. We've had kale/mango/seed salad, crockpot green chicken, and crockpot ribs (recipes coming soon). To try next: crockpot meatballs, taco night via crockpot (thanks again, Meg!) and some veggie wraps (thanks Ursula for that idea!).

So here are my before and after pix of the finished downstairs areas (more pix coming next week- and soon tutorials on the stuff my mom and dad  we DIYed- I put a * next to things "we" DIYed. Shameless plug: My dad is a Virginia contractor. If you're in the DMV or Richmond area, he does a good job and finishes things- unlike certain contractors we had on this house- and gives honest prices).

Ok also, I know I'm a terrible photographer. I have no idea how to do this. Harrison majored in photography and is a realtor so I'll have him take some legit pictures to put up next week- I'm just too excited not to share!

Looking out from the kitchen (wall) before: 

Looking out from the kitchen BAR after:

What we did:

• Tore up the carpet, finished the wood floors
• Painted*
• Got new windows installed
• Installed a new door*
• New vents

To Do:

• Figure out a good way to store all our liquor (ideas anyone?) that takes up no room
• Learn how to take pictures of rooms
• Return the sad rug rolled up in the corner
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• 

I don't have a WAY before picture from this angle- aka before the carpet was torn up. Isn't it crazy how much bigger the house looks with that wall torn down?

To Do:

• Find a rug (Target one came in and looked like 70's colors on a nintendo screen)
• Throw away plastic cups and water bottles on the table haha
• Hang stuff on the walls
• Get a small side table- I don't think there's really room for a coffee table?
• PS how sweet is this couch? The top of the ottoman is actually a LID so we can store blankets and pillows in it. It also folds out into a bed. Who's coming to visit!?

RIP giant orange wall. And plastic black countertops.

Kitchen Corner After:

What we did

• Knocked down the wall (literally my mom did this by herself with a hammer while everyone was at Home Depot. Wonder freaking woman) and replaced it with a few cabinets to make a bar*
• Moved some cabinets around, bought a few extra cabinets, and painted the cabinets*
• New appliances (we got a serious hook up at Home Depot- seriously recommend)
• New sink in a new spot
• New counters (again- serious hook up. Let me know if you're in the DMV and need a granite guy- I've got one)
• Ripped up (what turned out to be 5 layers of) linoleum and replaced with tiles* 
• Added subway tile backsplash (thanks to the genius idea from Julie who is not only now my decorator but also doing my wedding invites)*
• Bought a step stool from Ikea so I can reach everything. Best $7 spent in this home reno so far.

Question: any space-saving liquor storage advice? Also: See that giant red grocery bag? That is full of about 50 spices/seasonings. Anyone have storage solutions for this? In the old place we kept them in a cabinet where I could never find what I was looking for.


Main Bathroom Before:

After:

QUESTION: I LOVE the ombre zebra shower print. Harrison doesn't. Can it stay or does it have to go? Is it tacky? Let me know thoughts in the comments!

still need to cover up that light switch... we ran out oopsies!

What We Did:

• Tore out that blue-gray tile and replaced with subway tile in the shower, dry wall everywhere else
• Replaced the floor with this strange faux-wood-floor-tile
• Put that nasty white shelf in the laundry room*
• Moved the sink to the basement bathroom (that will be finished someday in the far off future)
• Moved towel racks to back of the door (thanks Pinterest!)*
• Tore out the moldy medicine cabinet (almost threw up typing this) and replaced with a mirror from Ikea 
• Got rid of those random pants hanging from the door (like what?)
• Put the toilet seat down (new toilet has a "soft shutting" seat so gone are the days of a certain someone slamming down toilet seats and waking everyone else up when they get up to pee at 3 am)
• Put in a new toilet- look if you ever own a house you have to get a Toto. Every house my parents flip gets a Toto, every bar I worked in switched to Totos- never been a clog, leak anything. And think about what drunk girls are trying to flush down toilets in college bars. They aren't that much more expensive and they live forever. Really, the day our Totos came was Christmas morning for this girl. Also- I've got a Toto guy. E-mail me or comment or tweet or something me if you want a hookup on the Totos.

And here is one last question for everyone out there: what the heck should I do about this closet? The space isn't big enough for a door that opens out, and we despise accordian folding doors of any kind.