When Casey sent us these almost unbelievable photos of his home’s exterior makeover we couldn’t wait to share the goods. Here’s his letter:
I’m a huge fan of your website and your remodeling. It’s simply awesome. I just bought my first house, and it was built in 1925. It’s in Dallas, Texas, and was completely remodeled in 2006. While I can’t take credit for everything that was done, I wanted to share the exterior before and after pictures. They’re pretty cool, I think. Urban Strong is the name of the company that did the renovations. They are based out of Dallas, TX. I’m just the lucky beneficiary of their fine work. Best regards and many thanks for keeping your readers so entertained with quality writing and insightful advice! -Casey
Is you mouth hanging open right now? Because ours is. Isn’t it amazing what a little love can do for a home that once appeared to be wayyy past its prime? Now it’s current and welcoming and oh so pristine. What do you guys think? Are you digging the light and airy color scheme as much as we are? Any ideas you’re going to steal for an impending exterior overhaul? Do tell. And thanks so much to Casey for sending the amazing before and after photos our way!
BEAUTIFUL!!! We’re going to spend this winter planning out our exterior overhaul. I’d love to know where he got the light hanging in the porch. Absolutely stunning.
WOW – this is a GREAT before and after. I love that color so much! This just shows that a little TLC truly goes a long way.
Beautiful home! Love the paint colors. I’m not surprised he snapped this place up quick!
Would you see if you can find the brand and colors used on t the exterior? We’re talking about repainting, and I love those colors! Thanks!
Hey Kaethe-
Hopefully Casey will drop in with that info. Stay tuned!
xo,
s
Wow that is pretty fantastic. Someone had great vision to inspire that change. Sun-yellow houses always cheer me…while that color would not be my first choice for my own home, it’s such a cheerful hue, and always reminds me of my best friend’s childhood house. Her mother loved it so much that she HAD to have the same color when they rebuilt…..20 years later (we were in college). Regardless of my whimsical story….kudos to Urban Strong, what a great renovation!
Looks really lovely, but doesn’t seem to fit with the DIY theme of your blog.
Hey Jennifer,
Good point! The reason we shared Casey’s inspirational exterior was because it can be DIY! In fact Kaethe (see above) asked for the paint colors so maybe there will be a crop of houses that are painted by their loving homeowners to mimic the look of Casey’s amazing casa!
xo,
s
I want to see the inside now!!
Love it! I especially love how they didn’t just repaint everything but added defining character to the front porch with the columns as well. Now its a place they can really enjoy! I want our next house to have a nice roomy front porch like that!
INSIDE!!!!!!
Now we must see the inside before and after too! :-)
I would definately say this redo fits in with your blog. One of the things you guys encourage so much of is “repurposing”. What better thing to repurpose than an entire house! As an urban planner that has experience in much of the eastern seaboard, I have seen over the last 5 years a huge increase in investors buying up developed property and demolishing whatever structures were on them. This has occurred especially in established residential neighborhoods generally because its cheaper (and trendy) to buy a lot with a home on it than it is to buy (or find) a virgin lot.
This being said, over the last two years I have also seen an increased interest in keeping the original structures and preserving the architecture. This is definately something to be proud of. Also, preserving historically significant architecture (not that this is for sure) is no joke and the homeowner should seriously consider leaving that one up to the professionals.
Good job Urban Strong and Casey! Thanks Sherry and John for the post!
It’s a beautiful transformation! I love the colors and the front porch is awesome!
Whoa…I thought the “before” was of *my* house at first glance! Whoever thought teal was a good accent color anyway?? Actually, we just finished a complete exterior renovation of our house too. Maybe we’re crazy, but we actually did do everything ourselves so…it can be done! See before and after pictures at: http://www.chezerbey.com.
Holy bananas! Everyone must click Lauren’s link above and check out her amazing exterior overhaul that she DIYed herself. We’re speechless. What a fantastic (and almost unrecognizable) makeover!
xo,
s
Love that bungalow! It looks so warm and welcoming. I would spend 99% of my time on that porch!
Looks like the new pillars were *meant* to be part of the original. Love it!
Beautiful makeover! I want to see the inside now :)
Wow…I never tire of seeing these kinds of before and afters! So inspirational! It has to be said that this kind of work not only is very fulfilling it changes neighborhoods—really. My before and after doesn’t really measure up but I’m happy to share it here.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/partfilipino/2728524656/
The paint alone would have been a great improvement, but the columns just go the extra step.
Not digging the sky blue porch/stairs though…hopefully that is just the camera playing tricks.
We just changed our house FROM yellow to a cheerful blue :) I initially wanted a brighter yellow than the existing, faded yellow it was, but I thought I would take the house a little more contemporary with the color choices.
From this:
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_tbxrVJTBfhY/SnCcWH4r_FI/AAAAAAAAAEU/ZJGvKHYS6lE/s320/5773_110577368435_781808435_2923623_4507530_n.jpeg
to this:
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_tbxrVJTBfhY/SnCc60Z96xI/AAAAAAAAAEc/KHfH7pZE1ZI/s320/6208_121261408435_781808435_3125670_2552032_n.jpeg
This was before we got up the shutters and new doors :P
Feature Lauren’s DIY project!!! It is an unbelievable amount of work and gorgeous!! Wow!!!
Holy cow! That’s beautiful! I’m not sure I would have been able to see past the original exterior to realize the potential – but I’m glad someone could! That porch looks so comfortable. I would definitely eat breakfast out there every morning, or hang out during a thunderstorm during the summer. Awesome! Thanks for sharing!
You’re right Sherry. It is definitely inspiring!
Beautiful!! I’d love to see the inside of the house too! And I’m with Jenny…I’m way jealous of their deep porch and I would definitely eat breakfast out there on Sunday mornings or spend lots of time out there with a good book. I tell my husband that my absolute qualification for our 2nd home is a big front porch where we can sit out on rainy days or that I can decorate for the holidays. We don’t have a porch and I feel so deprived sometimes!
Hey everyone,
Thanks for the comments. I love the house. And no, the porch is not sky blue. It’s just cement color…the camera just thinks it’s blue. :)
I wish I knew where some of the fixtures were from! Unfortunately, they were purchased before I bought the house. I’m going to try to track down Urban Strong and find out though. I’ll report back.
casey
Wow. What a transformation! It’s amazing to see a vision turned into reality for Casey. This is just proof that the right contractor, a lot of work, and a little patience can result in a truly wonderful place to call home. Kudos to this home remodeling project!
I love the pillars. They are so unique!
That’s CRAZY – Urban Strong did our house too in Dallas! This house is probably down the street from me!
I will be drinking heavily at this house on Friday night.
Beautiful renovation. People in Dallas must be qeueing up for the construction people.
Love the rich cream!
I’d really like to use it on the wood portion of the house that we’re buying: http://tearinguphouses.blogspot.com/2009/10/congratulations.html
This is the front of the house we’re working on now: http://tearinguphouses.blogspot.com/2009/09/before-and-progress-little-blue-house.html
Kelly
Oh, wow! Stunning! Now that’s what I call a facelift! Great job!
I just finished a year-long exterior project that involved tearing off dry, curling, icky cedar shingles from the exterior of my 1887 Queen Anne cottage to expose the original clapboard siding, which I repainted. You can see before-and-after photos and read about the whole long project at daintydigs.blogspot.com
The columns are my favorite part of this exterior. It’s really an unbelievable transformation, so cheery!
Gorgeous! I wonder if there were some pillars there once upon a time, because these do look like they always belonged.
And WOW, I love Lauren’s transformation. I can’t believe that’s a DIY project! More about how Lauren did that, please! Everything she did looks amazing. I love the wider front steps, the windows, the shingles, her colors. I could go on!
Holy cow! It looks so much better! I am glad they still kept the charm of the house
Our first home was a 1926 Sears bungalow. Ordered from the catalog! When we bought it, I was in grad school and my husband was a post-doc, we barely had the money to keep it functioning as is much less restore it to the full glory it deserved. We did what we could with it – it was in good shape. But, I still have dreams about buying it back and showering it with renovation love. This home got just the love it deserved, and it warms my heart.
Can’t WAIT to buy another bungalow and get out of subdivision-land!
What a difference some paint makes….
I’ve seen that house, it’s not too far from where my husband and I live! It looks great!!