We love being able to look back at the empty photos of our first house, because while they’re definitely bittersweet, it’s so much fun to reminisce. They’re a great reminder that a house is only a house, and it’s the moments that you’ve shared with the people (and the chihuahuas) that you love that really make it a home. So we wasted no time snapping empty photos of our second house. And although I thought “without furniture all these rooms will pretty much look the same” the funny thing is that none of them do. So it’s nice to know that we left our mark on this sweet home of ours.
Here’s the dining room/office before:
And here’s the empty after.
Here’s the office all empty (wish I had a before picture from this angle).
Here’s the frame hallway all cleared out.
And we can’t forget what the kitchen looked like when we moved in.
A lot has changed in there for sure.
Here’s a before photo from the other side:
And a clean and empty after.
Here’s the laundry room before:
And the room as we left it.
A lot of people asked us what we sold with the house, so the short answer is “all the stuff you see in these pics.” Apparently it differs greatly by region, but in our area it’s typical for anything that’s “attached” (light fixtures, curtains, blinds, open shelving, bathroom mirrors) to stay with the house unless it’s otherwise outlined in your listing/contract from the start (for example, we indicated that we wanted to take the curtains in the playroom, guest room, and dining room with us in our flyer but everything else stays). We didn’t want to strip this house and leave it with a bunch of boob lights and naked windows, and every home has a different layout/number of windows anyway (so I’m sure if we took our blinds they wouldn’t fit our new windows anyway).
Even the light fixtures might not work as well since they were selected for the rooms/spaces in this house. For example, our new house’s laundry area doesn’t have an overhead light – so we’d much rather know that our clothespin chandelier lives on in this house’s laundry room. In our area it’s also typical for houses sold as “turn-key” or “move in ready” to come with all of the appliances. A fridge from one kitchen might not even fit into the nook in the next kitchen, so we don’t mind leaving them – especially because we love buying “fixer uppers” instead of “turn-key” homes for a lot less money (which means we can afford to upgrade the appliances there).
Anyway, back to the before and afters. Here’s the living room as it looked when we moved in.
And here’s how it looked when we left.
Here’s the sunroom before.
And the sunroom after.
Our bedroom changed a lot too. Wish I had a before photo from this angle.
We do have this before shot of the sink nook…
I wish we had a shot of the hallway as it looked on move-in day, but at least we snapped an after to remember it by.
Here’s Clara’s room as it looked when we got here.
And here it is as we left it (Clara came with us though).
And of course the guest room looked a little different…
… after the dark teal paint (and crown molding) came into play.
Our biggest regret was not refinishing all of that old orange oak and faded brown parquet in the same rich mocha color as the cork floors in the kitchen. Oh man, that would be delicious. I’d bet money that the new owners will do that… (fingers crossed for a house crash someday!).
Oh and here’s a closer shot of the frame hallway. Look ma, no holes.
All hail spackle, king of DIY!
We’re going to miss this house of ours. But we’ll never forget all of the amazing things that happened here (three Christmases, all three of Clara’s birthday parties, writing and shooting our entire book, watching Clara crawl and walk for the first time). Lots of memories to take with us for sure. Now somebody get me a tissue.
Psst- We have a pretty funny picture comparison on Young House Life today too. Holy cow, time flies.
How did previous occupants use the office space?
That was a dining room and the front room that we used as a dining room was a formal living room.
xo
s
Young House Life link is wonky! Love seeing these pictures tho!!
Sorry, I think if you refresh it’s all better :)
xo
s
My hub, brother-in-law, and I were talking about all of our moves the other day after we helped him move a mighty heavy kiln.
It was interesting to hear how some of the houses played a role in all of our memories or where they were located. For instance, my hub and his family spent a bit of time in Preston, Idaho- home to Napoleon Dynamite. The stories from their house and time there are legendary.
Yes, the hub even worked on the chicken farm.
While moving can take it’s toll at times, there are always those invaluable memories and lessons learned from them.
Did you leave the light in Clara’s room? Didn’t that travel with you from the first house?
Yup, that light is what taught us that things meant for a certain space are usually best in that space. In her first nursery it was cozy and worked well, but in her second nursery, which was a smidge bigger, it just looked long and skinny and not nearly as sweet as it did in her first one. So we learned our lesson. Haha!
xo
s
Is it weird I got teary like a nerd even though it’s not my house? I can’t imagine how I’m going to be when we finally leave this place. We watched it grow from a field of nothing to our home. Visits every week to see what they finished as we were getting ready to get married. 17 years! I will probably have the Mr pulling me at the ankles while I hold on to the door frame! HA!
Heading over to the family blog now…
Ok, no one can tell me if this makes them cry because I’ll start up again. Haha! Deal?
xo
s
Don’t worry – I teared up a bit too!
It’s fun to see the blank(ish) slate you left– it makes it easy to imagine other possibilities in the same place! Kinda makes me want to move everything out of my apt for the inspiration. ;)
I kept wishing you would pull out a floor re-do at the last minute too! I loved your house, but I think that would have been a major game-changer. In retrospect, do you wish you did that before moving in?
Yes! We were crazy to think that once we moved in we’d be able to clear all of the furniture out of huge sections of the house and redo the floors. We put it off because we had to move out of our first house and move into our second house on the same day (we didn’t have any overlap or a place to live/storage facility for all of our stuff) but we should have camped out in the front yard if we had to for the first 48 hours to get those floors done. Haha!
xo,
s
We did the floor re-do for the downstairs of our house when we moved in. It was a LOT of work, so we decided we would take time to move in and then do the upstairs when we feel up to it. It still isn’t refinished… sigh…
The rooms look amazing even empty as compared to how they looked before. You could have an amazing career as house flippers.
Also, link at the bottom will activate when that post goes up?
It’s up, so maybe if you refresh it’ll work?
xo
s
You guys made so many beautiful changes to that house! Looking forward to seeing all the great stuff you will do in the new place. Thanks for sharing, it is always inspiring!
This was a nice closure post for the house. I felt like we all needed. Jt’s as if we are all picking up and moving with you guys. We just need a little time I get settled in the new place too! I can’t wait to see what some of your first official projects will be.
So do the new owners love all paint colors, all the light fixtures and the curtains? I know I would love to have gotten all your colors & stuff. :)
They really seem to love the house. We don’t have contact with them since they have a seller’s agent, but they seemed thrilled we were leaving what we left, and they even asked us to leave the paint cans for touch ups down the line, so it sounds like they’ll keep the room colors as is :)
xo
s
I can’t believe you left the nursery lamp and curtains! I would build a room just to put those two items in they are so precious!
I was amazed you guys left the clothespin lamp and fishing basket lampshades, as well…not to mention both of YOUR line of lampshade lampshades! (Especially since you guys often point out that your style is just that–YOUR style–and not necessarily everyone else’s cup of tea) BUT I am so glad you brought the curtains from the guest room, the dining room, and Clara’s play room with you!!!! They were all my favorites :)
I’m also so glad you say the new owners are thrilled with what they inherited! I would be heartbroken to discover my left behind treasures curated over time and crafted with my own hands had been disposed of by the next occupants because they didn’t mean anything to them or match their style.
Where I live, we bring EVERYTHING along with us. We dig up our plants, pack up our lights, and take the curtain rods down with the curtains (you’re lucky if they leave you blinds! Not one of my RENTALS even came with curtains.) People take fancy doorknobs and towel bars and coat hooks (if you can screw it in you can screw it off!) Heck, my Brother-In-Law was even talking the other day about dismantling the railings from their low level deck to bring to the new house. HAHA–to each their own!
S,J & C (and B)
The echos must have been deafening, but you have a terrific attitude and an amazing new house. Good for you!
Smiles,
Suzanne in NW Illinois
I’m sure you’ve said this already and I missed it but are the new owners blog readers? If not, I hope someone sends them the link to these photos! Would make me feel like I got a great deal for all the work you guys did!
They didn’t know of our blog before they came to see our house but we disclosed it to them during their showing (we just want folks to know there are pics of it with our furniture on the internet and in mags, etc) so maybe they’re following along now? Not sure!
xo
s
Have you guys every house crashed the first house?
We’re actually working on that! There’s a new owner who seems game for a crash so here’s hoping once she gets settled we can do it!
xo
s
I think the empty frame wall makes me the saddest… it looks so strange to see it like that.
Me too!
Same here! Loved it!
Sniffle. This makes me a little sad. I might just be under caffeinated.
It’s so weird to see it empty. But it really does look different from the befores. It’s so cool to see. I can’t wait to see how you change this new house. :)
An empty house just feels so sad to me. It needs love and people to come alive again. Show us more pictures of piles of stuff in your new house so we turn our frowns upside down!
Haha, there’s going to be a whole lotta that next week!
xo
s
Empty rooms always choke me up.
This reminded me: did you ever watch Sarah’s House? Specifically the season when she did the back-split house? Well I stumbled on these pictures a few years ago of the house for sale again after it had been, ahem, redecorated.
http://carriagehouseantiques.blogspot.com/2010/04/sarahs-house-season-2-is-now-disaster.html?m=1
Woah! That’s a HUGE change!
xo
s
Did you have to paint over all the spackle in the frame hallway? The people who previously owned my house were nowhere near as nice as you at leaving the house in decent condition.
Oh yes, we always spackle and paint all of the nail holes (goodness knows we make a lot of them!). I think it’s a pretty common thing to do, and it seems right – especially when you’re selling a house as move in ready :)
xo
s
So nice of you guys to paint and spackle your holes! Random questions in all (3) of your homes…are/were the walls textured?
We have an early 80s ranch and ALL of our walls are orange-peel textured which proves a bit more difficult to patch. :( We always have a spray can of “touch up” orange peel ready for when we patch holes.
Nope, they’re all smooth. Anyone have tips for Alicia?
xo
s
Any reason you didn’t want to keep Clara’s nursery curtains and reuse them another way? You were so attached to those and her light fixture the last time you moved. :)
We asked Clara if she wanted to keep them but she wanted her playroom curtains so we followed her lead (she picked those out, so it was sweet to hear that she still likes them). As for her light, that light is what taught us that things meant for a certain space are usually best in that space. In her first nursery it was cozy and worked well, but in her second nursery, which was a smidge bigger, it just looked long and skinny and not nearly as sweet as it did in her first one. So we learned our lesson. Haha!
xo
s
That picture of the old nursery with the capiz light and the floral curtains was the only one so far that has made me sad about the move! But it was more of a “oh my gosh, where did that tiny little baby go?” nostalgia. *sniff* Sorry, sorry!! No tears! Happy face!
I wondered the same thing. Would totally have saved the curtains, if only to make a pillow or something for a keepsake! They’re so decor-specific, I doubt a second owner would keep them, anyway.
We kept the closet curtain panel (when we replaced the bi-fold door that used to be there). So we can make a pillow with that :)
xo
s
Okay, getting a bit chocked up looking at these photos. Not because of the changes, but because seeing things empty reiterates that it’s not the walls or the paint or the light fixtures that make a home — it’s the people that live there.
Wow! the new owners are inheriting some awesome spaces, drapes and light fixtures – one of a kind usable art. They may have paid more for a “turn-key” house, but they certainly got way more than they paid for.
it’s great that you will always have the pictures to look back on – your house is so well documented! It’s funny, although we lived in our condo for 5 years before moving to our house, I can barely remember certain little details (things I looked at EVERY day for 5 years!)
I’ll admit, the picture of Clara standing in her empty room got me choked up! *sniff*
I have to say I’m a little sad to see some of the curtains/light fixtures stay but then the other side of me is all excited to see what you find for the new house!
Ok so I have an empty feeling and it’s not even my house that I’m leaving. Heck, I’m still depressed about the original YHL that got butchered! :( BTW no pic of the tiny yellow bathroom .. or did I miss it above?
We had so many pics in this post we worried about crashing/load time so since all that changed from the after to the empty shot was the art and towels came out, we just skipped it :)
xo
s
“Look ma, no holes” just started my Friday off right! Love you guys!
Love you back.
xo
s
Very cool to see the transformation, even when its empty! Can’t wait to follow the transformation of your new house. :-) I’m surprised you didn’t take the light fixture from Clara’s nursery, like you did when you moved from your first house.
If you scroll back in the comments there’s a bit more about leaving that guy behind :)
xo
s
So excited for you guys! I’m curious, do you think you’ll keep a similar color scheme/decor style in the new place or try something in a totally different direction? I can’t wait to see how it all unfolds!!
I think it’ll be as different as our second and first house are (still with “us” in it, but maybe more classic since the house is a colonial this time?). Definitely still with pops of color and pattern though. And ceramic animals!
xo
s
Wow! I can’t believe all the goodies that the new owners get :) They are going to save a fortune on not upgrading the light fixtures and curtains alone!!!!
Sniffle sniffle…I guess it is real then :)
Are there any light fixtures you are sad to part with?
I think we love the basket light over the fireplace most, but that works so perfectly there, like it was made for that space, so we didn’t want to pillage it :)
xo
s
I can’t believe how much personality your house still has when it’s naked!! You guys did a great job! I can’t imagine how fun it would be to buy a house with all the work logged and recorded like you guys do!
So bittersweet to look at empty pictures of houses. I dread that day when we’re taking empty shots of ours just to remember it by considering we brought our son home from the hospital to our house. Hopefully we won’t be doing that anytime soon. Excited for your journey ahead though!
Gah, I’ve been reading since way back (before you were even pregnant with Clara!) and I remember when you came back with the floral curtains and how excited you were to use them in the nursery. It makes me so sad/nostalgic to see them hanging in that empty room. It’s all perspective, I suppose—they are probably there awaiting another little girl who will love them. (That’s what I’m going to tell myself at least.)
I cringed with each new pic that showed a great light fixture or a great pair of curtains you left behind. I’m sure you guys have great plans for the future, but that great clothespin fixture? Clara’s curtains? Clara’s capiz light fixture? sniff, sniff.
I can’t believe they would leave the capiz chandelier either. That went from house #1 to house #2, I assumed it’d be the first thing that would head off to house #3!
If you scroll back through the comments there’s a bit more explanation about why we were happy to leave that behind this time :)
xo
s
I first came to your blog 2008. What a long way you’ve come! I love the way you lovingly built your home, and how lovingly you depart. You love it, yet you are not attached. That’s just beautiful. Exciting to see what’s up next!
Man, I would love to buy a house you guys just move out of! :)
I am totally jealous of whoever purchased this from you guys! :)
What made you decide to remove the fans in the family room? I know aesthetically they aren’t the best, but so helpful in warm climates. Would love to know your thoughts on that one. :)
We lived with them for a while and never used them (we cracked the sliders for a nice breeze) and since they felt heavy but weren’t in use we opened things up by removing them and donating them to the restore. We did use the one in the sunroom and guest room so those stayed :)
xo,
s
Just curious…why did you leave your brand new washer and dryer behind? It seems like those are things that don’t typically transfer to a new owner.
Oh yes in our area they do (there’s an explanation about appliances in this post for ya). Basically when you sell a house as turn-key those items are expected in our area. But since we got the best deal ever (like $650 for both of them!) I’m sure we got that back and then some for selling the house as move in ready (that commands a higher price so it all works out) :)
xo,
s
In metro Chicago, it’s very very weird that washers, dryers, and other appliances don’t transfer. In fact, updated appliances are often a selling point, as in Sherry and John’s case. I find it odd that so many areas apparently leave empty niches behind where the washer was! Here, inspectors will check all appliances as part of the inspection process.
But, these before and after shots certainly show exactly why this house sold so quickly. The bathroom niche alone was probably a huge selling point.
And, lucky buyers – that house is certainly more than broom clean when they arrives with their packing boxes. I’m sure the new buyer will be blessing you both over and over as she/he unpacks.
I’ve never heard of an area where appliances and other “fixtures” (anything affixed to the walls, ceilings or floors) don’t convey. Where are these places? I need to know so that if I ever move there, I won’t be shocked by all the empty niches. I used to live in Washington DC, now live in New York – fixtures convey in both places unless explicitly stated otherwise in the contract of sale.
In the metro St. Louis area, washer/dryers are considered personal property and do not convey unless specified in the contact.
This LauraC ;) lives in Washington state, and I have never heard of leaving a washer and dryer in a house for sale. So it’s obviously a regional thing. It would make me not want to buy a nice w/d if I couldn’t take it with me . . .
In Oklahoma, the washer, dryer AND refrigerator are hardly ever included….renting or buying! Things like curtains or curtain rods and even shower rods aren’t included either….it can really make your house look naked!
Here in Australia, washers, dryers and fridges are personal property, but dishwashers go with the house. I’ve lived in a couple of houses where I wish dishwashers didn’t stay – they have been replaced pretty quickly.
Curtains, light fittings etc stay with the house unless specifically listed as not in the contract at the beginning of the listing period.
In Texas the only appliances that are expected to convey are the stove and dishwasher, and microwave (if it’s built in). The washer and dryer never do, and rarely the fridge. When we bought our house we wrote in into the contract that the fridge stayed since it matched the other appliances.
We have an extra fridge now in the garage for over flow storage since we bought one for our last rent house. So bonus.
Also I don’t think here that curtains and curtain rods are considered anymore permanently attached than art on walls.
When we bought our home here in MI in 2011 it came with a dishwasher–a huge luxury after years without, the gas stove, and the above-stove microwave. No washer/dryer. No fridge. I was happy they left the toilet paper roll holder. It felt like a gift.
We struggled to find a fridge to fit our teeny little fridge nook in our tiny little kitchen–especially since we weren’t living there yet when we were shopping around online. The model we bought was back-ordered so we had to get a stop-gap until it arrived. We found a “stainless steel” dorm fridge on Craigslist that we lived with for months while the wrong-hinged fridge kept getting delivered over and over. The ordeal ended up going on for 6 months–and we lived out of that mini-fridge almost the whole time!
Congratulations! I had never heard of your blog before but when I decided to paint my oak cabinets white, I found you guys! I followed your instructions step by step, watching how your husband sanded and playing over and over you puttying, priming and painting – your thorough explanations reassured me I could do this! My kitchen (still a work in progress) is turning out awesome! Thank you and I look forward to seeing what you do in your new house.
Aw so glad!
xo,
s
So sad you couldn’t take all the great light fixtures. Lighting is one of my favorite things in a home and I don’t know if I could part with it!
I love these pics but not because of the progress in your home. As a military family we have moved A LOT, and I never once thought to take pics of our empty houses to remember them by. I will definitely try to do this from now on! What a cool memory!
I was wondering if you used nail holes/hooks to put up the pictures on your walls or if you used the Command Strips. Do you ever hang any pictures with Command Strips to save holes in the walls? Just curious if so, and how well is works out. I’m about to do a gallery wall in my home.
A few of the lighter frames were hung that way! It works for not-too-heavy stuff :)
xo,
s
Wow – that kitchen before and after is so amazing…especially after I saw the budget you pulled it off with earlier this week!
Crazy, but, I have been following your blog about a year now and I never noticed so many different floor types in your house until I saw everything empty. Was their different wood in the master bedroom, family room and the rest of the rooms/hall?
Yup, there was wide pine in the bedroom and parquet in the living room and frame hall and oak everywhere else except for the mocha cork in the kitchen. We dreamed of refinishing everything in the same rich mocha color as the cork for a more seamless feeling.
xo,
s
Hey, guys! Congrats on finally being in your new home. I can’t wait to see what you do with it! Just a quick question – have you ever been able to crash your first house? (Did I just miss it?)
We’re actually working on it! There’s a new owner who seems down! Wahoo!
xo,
s
Woo Hoo! That’s exciting!
I think the transformation that is most striking is the kitchen. I can’t believe how much bigger the space looks in the after photos. It almost doesn’t even look like the same space!
You are SO nice for spackling/painting the walls! The previous owners of our house didn’t do that or leave any leftover paint (there was a ton of paint in the garage when we looked at the house). We had to fill holes and paint a bunch of the rooms before we moved in.
The only thing that makes me sad about this post are Clara’s curtains from her nursery because she’s making the transition to her big girl room!
OK, I’m gonna go out on a limb and say that the new house will be featured in book #2??
Love the empty house pics!
Are you guys feeling sentimental about leaving it behind? Or is everything excited and forward focused??
We’re always sentimental I think but we’re so excited about our new house that it’s hard to be sad. We feel like we’re meant to be there and Clara is already making little neighborhood friends. So cute! But as for the new house being book #2, no way! That would mean doing tons of stuff and not being able to show you guys for years. Can’t do it!
xo,
s
Goodbye YHL house number two! The new owners are so, so lucky.
You left the globe lights and the one over the sink. Nice for the new owners. Absolutely love those. I have been meaning to get some and wanted some advice on how to affix them since we have hidden ceiling lights, so will probably need to get a converter kit.
So nice of you!
Good bye old house! Though it’s cliche, in situations like this I say to myself: ‘One chapter ends; the next chapter begins.’ Best wishes, guys!
Someone has certainly purchased a beautiful home. You guys sure did leave it neat and tidy. And filling all the nail holes – unheard of!