Dude, we’ve been here over three months! On one hand it feels like we’ve lived here forever, and on the other hand it feels like we just moved in last week (wasn’t it last week?!). We’re definitely surprised by how much we’ve knocked out since moving in (new flooring upstairs, a bunch of exterior upgrades, a half bathroom and a foyer facelift, some fresh paint in the bedroom, and a freshly lofted sunroom) yet some of the completely untouched rooms have us itching to bounce around to them soon. But enough chatter, let’s get to the photos. Here’s a time capsule of how our house looks three months in:
– The Front –
We’ve had some dangerous trees removed, replaced the old leaky roof, got a new coat of paint on the repaired siding/trim, and painted the front door a happy color. The yard is still spotty and weed-riddled – and we’d love to add some garden beds and more plantings to make things feel less bare, so we have a lot more to do out there.
Here’s a before just for fun (we thought we’d toss those in for areas that have changed the most).
– The Portico –
We removed the old slatted screen door and painted the cream-colored sidelights white (like the trim) along with painting the door. We’d still love to get a bigger doormat, a new light fixture, and add interest to the flat triangle of plywood on the front (we think framing it out with chunkier molding might help).
– The Garage –
The side of the house’s siding got repaired and repainted, and we’d like to paint the cream garage doors a darker color – either charcoal like the roof or black like the shutters.
– The Foyer –
We took down the dark wooden doors that blocked access to the kitchen, removed the wallpaper, painted all of that formerly blue trim white, and updated the walls with a fresh coat of paint. Then we hung a new light fixture and some art. We still have the staircase railing to redo (the spindles are blue)… not to mention some old carpeting on the stairs that we hope to replace with a fresh new runner. We’re also thinking about painting a subtle color on the ceiling in here.
Here’s a foyer before shot for old time’s sake.
– The Half Bathroom –
In here we’ve stripped the wallpaper, painted the walls and the trim along with hanging a new mirror, primed & painted the vanity, and hung a secondhand light and some art as well as upgrading the faucet. We’re planning a more intense makeover down the line once we save our pennies (maybe with some grasscloth wallpaper or a tiled accent wall?) but we liked that we could make a few cheap upgrades for the meantime.
Here’s a half bathroom before shot.
– The Dining Room –
The dining room is still full of blue trim and wallpaper galore. All we’ve done is drag in our furniture, but we’d love to update everything from the walls and light fixture to those built-ins in each corner.
– The Living Room –
So far we’ve primed and painted the walls and whitewashed the brick fireplace. We loved our first house’s den after all the brick, wood paneling, and trim was painted – and this room reminds us so much of that space – so next on the agenda is to paint all of the wood trim a glossy white. Coffering the ceilings and adding a soft blue tone up there is on our wish-list too.
It’s far from finished, but it feels a lot more like home than the salmon pink living room that we started with.
– The Office –
We’ve really only plopped some furniture down in here and organized our bookcase, but we’re planning to paint the blue trim, and we’d love to add some built-ins and maybe even a floating desk. Perhaps something like this?
– The Kitchen –
Before doing any major kitchen or bathroom gut-jobs, we like to live in a house for at least a year – just to see how we use a space instead of rushing into anything. We’re definitely taking notes about how we use this room and what’s in the way in the hopes of a makeover that’s open and bright along with being a lot more functional.
– Our Bedroom –
All of the rooms upstairs had old threadbare carpeting so in the bedroom we painted the cream doors/trim, laid hardwoods right before we moved in, and later painted the walls. We can’t wait to add some built-ins behind the bed (we think it’ll make those windows look centered), hang some window treatments, and shuffle some furniture around along with hanging art.
Here’s a before shot from back when we bought the house.
– Our En-suite Bathroom –
We haven’t done a thing to the sink nook, but we did take down the old glass shower doors and then we hung a nice high shower curtain in the bathroom to make it feel less closed in. Eventually we’d love to do a huge remodel to combine the sink nook and the rest of the bathroom for a more spacious and less chopped-up feeling with a double sink instead of a single sink in each space, separated by a wall.
– Our Closet –
Our closet is now packed with stuff and in desperate need of some organization. We’d love to add some built-in drawers and shelves to pack it with function and that old carpet has got to go! We’re planning to carry the tile from the bathroom reno in there so the whole “off-the-bedroom wing” has seamless flooring and feels less choppy.
-Upstairs Hallway –
We ripped up the old carpeting, painted all the blue doors/trim, and laid new hardwood floors in a mad dash before moving day. Still need to paint those blue spokes on the bannister along with the walls and ceiling in the hallway.
This is one of the areas that has come the furthest so far, so here’s the before.
– Clara’s Room –
We painted all of the blue trim in here and then we laid new hardwood floors and moved in Clara’s furniture from the last house. We can’t wait to paint the walls, get an overhead light fixture, and hang some art. We also have a feeling that a few things in here will get tweaked and shifted around, so it’ll be fun to see where everything lands. We’re still in that switching-stuff-around phase for sure…
Clara’s bedroom originally had old carpeting like our bedroom, but this before photo was taken after we ripped it up.
– Spare Room / Possible Someday Nursery –
We painted all the mauve trim and then we laid new hardwood floors. After that not much has happened – we just plopped down a few random objects in here and called it a day. We’re not planning to do anything in here until we’re sure how we’ll use this room (so if we have a baby on the way, it may jump onto the to-do list at that point – but for now it’ll just stay like this).
This room started out with more old carpeting and pink trim and doors.
– The Guest Bedroom / Craft Room –
Once again we painted the trim and laid new hardwood floors and then just dragged our furniture in here. We did hang the curtains from our last house’s dining room in here, just to make it feel a little more finished, but we still have to paint those stripey walls and figure out some long-term furniture things.
Here’s the before.
– The Hall Bathroom –
So far we’ve only hung some faux wood blinds for privacy and dragged in some bright accessories to happy things up. We also hung the shower curtain nice and high, which helps to cover up some of the broken shower tile.
– Laundry Nook –
The blue trim is now white and the old carpet is hardwood flooring but that’s as far as we’ve gotten. We’re saving up for some new appliances and down the line we’d love to add cabinetry to the nook and maybe even bring in some sort of frosted doors to block the sound (and then maybe even add a tiled accent wall in the back?).
– The Sunroom –
Since moving in, we’ve stripped the old carpet away and we’ve taken down the old broken doors to create an indoor-outdoor space that no longer fogs up and seals us off from the deck. We also lofted the ceiling and got some electrical work done (more on that soon!) and we can’t wait to add light blue beadboard on the ceiling and tile the floor to create a room with this vibe. Maybe even with an outdoor fireplace…
Here’s the before shot from when we moved in.
– The Back Deck –
We got the dangerous tree outta there (we thought it was charming and sweet but the inspector and an arborist friend of ours said it had to go) and got the siding/trim painted. Then we patched the hole left by the tree and stripped and re-stained the deck.
It was in rough shape when we bought the house, so it’s really nice to have reclaimed such a great outdoor space.
So there you go. We’ve stopped doing monthly recaps (woops, we fell off that train when we moved) but it’s definitely nice to have posts like this to freeze time for a second and capture exactly how crazy (and exciting) it was after 90 or so days of getting settled. Do you guys ever snap photos or write blog posts or make Flickr albums to remind you how your house looked at a certain moment in time? Our House Tour page is always getting updated with new “progress” photos, so posts like these are the ones that we look back at and say “holy cow, remember that?”
Lisa E says
I’m blown away on how much you’ve gotten accomplished in just a mere 90 days. Can you bottle up some of that energy and send some my way?! Everything is looking fab!
Pat S says
So what do you do in your spare time? LOL
Seriously, the changes you’ve made are wonderful and it is so much fun to watch what you are doing.
kara says
My bf and I are remodeling our charming 1950’s brick ranch and I get frustrated when it feels like the space doesn’t reflect us during those “down-times” of progress. How do you guys get over those frustrations? For instance, what are you doing to make your kitchen feel like it’s your style during this year that you patiently feel out functionality?
YoungHouseLove says
I think we just try to focus on the rooms that are changing and how much we love them while we have come to accept that some others just sit stagnant for a while since we can’t do everything at once. When we moved into our first house we thought “this should be done in a month” and then were hugely upset when it took us years. It was THE BEST learning experience for us though, because we loved the end result of that house and it took us 4.5 years so it was a great lesson in “this stuff takes time.” Now we don’t move into a house expecting it to be done in a week or a month or even a year – we’ve learned that for us to end up with something we love, it has to evolve over time. So it helps us enjoy the process more when we lower our expectations and don’t get down on ourselves if something takes a while. We definitely get impatient and frustrated when a project snafu pops up out of nowhere, but I think that’s par for the DIY course. Haha!
xo
s
Kate says
I love the way things are changing in your house…reminds me of the house that my husband I bought about 10 years ago. Hello 70s! We painted everything including a few floors. Will you be painting the mantel white in your family room? I am kinda digging the darker wood of it with the whitewashed brick and white stuff on the mantel.
YoungHouseLove says
Not sure where we’ll end up with that mantel. A few others recommended taking it down and replacing it with something that doesn’t cut the room in half as much so we’re percolating over here. Haha!
xo
s
Julia says
Everything you’ve done looks fantastic! I wouldn’t have expected anything less from you two! It’s amazing what you can accomplish in three short months. So inspiring to watch everything coming together.
Emily @ Love, Pasta and a Tool Belt says
Love the recap. I have to remember to do this for our new house when we move in. I’ve already gathered a couple ideas from this post for our new house and I can’t wait to get in and get stuff done!
Emily
http://lovepastatoolbelt.com
Caryn says
Love the changes! Random question – where did you get those storage/sweater boxes in your closet? I have been searching for that exact style and can not find them! Please help! Thanks
YoungHouseLove says
Those were from Ikea!
xo
s
Joan says
The house looks so great! I know you guys have no intention of moving anytime soon, but I can’t stop myself from thinking about the profit you could make on this house from all of the improvements you’ve made already. LOL
YoungHouseLove says
Nevahh! Haha! I want to be 100 years old and sitting out on the deck…
xo
s
Needle little Balance says
On the first picture and the pictures of the deck it is clearly visible that those trees – as charming as they were- had to go. Your house gets so much more sunlight.
To me it also seems you don´t really need/use the formal dining room? So maybe opening up the wall to your kitchen (I think you mentioned that once) might really make more sense for your family.
YoungHouseLove says
Yeah we’re definitely thinking about how we can open that room up or at least make it feel more attached. We do use it when we have bigger gatherings that can’t fit in the kitchen (especially when it’s not nice weather to be out on the deck) but we’re not sure what we’ll end up doing.
xo
s
Kristin @ bliss-athome.com says
so many changes so fast :) It’s looking great and I love the railing and your front door. xo Kristin
Amy Beam says
I am totally impressed in what you guys can get done in a few months. That entry way is a clear example of how awesome this house is going to be!
Megan says
I’ve been reading for a couple months and decided I was going to go way back to the start and read from then til now (stalker tendencies maybe?)…so over the past few weeks I’ve been reading a few pages a day and I just came across this post https://www.younghouselove.com/2012/07/house-crashing-breezy-bright/ and realized your star-ish entry light looks just like the entry light you were drooling over at her house :) It must have stuck with you how much you liked it, too funny! (And sorry if someone already pointed this out.) :)
YoungHouseLove says
Holy cow that’s so funny! I love that! Her colored door and white sidelights and star light are totally speaking my language! I bet they wormed their way into my heart then and there and I just forgot all about it until now. Thanks for jogging my memory!
xo
s
Stacey says
I’m a stalker then too! After reading for a few months I went back and started at the beginning too – still have a lot to go though, but it’s so much fun!
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks guys. You’re so sweet (and very brave to go back through those early posts- the pics are so small they make us laugh!).
xo
s
Krista says
I can’t believe how far you guys have come in such a short amount of time. Well done! I especially love the new master bedroom color. We just painted ours in April (BJ Pale Smoke), but now I wish we’d waited. I like the Black Pepper more. Oh well. Ideas for next time. Also, where did you get that chair in your bedroom? I didn’t see it on the source lists for the other houses. Keep up the great work!
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Krista! That’s from Joss and Main a while back (it was in our last house’s bedroom as well).
xo
s
Caroline says
Hi…quick question- do you notice a glare from your windows while watching tv since it is right across? Do you have to close the curtains every time? We are considering a similar layout but were concerned about that aspect…thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
The sunroom is about 12′ deep and that’s behind our living room (with a fully covered roof) so we don’t get any glare on the TV since there’s sort of this giant awning of the back of the house that blocks it.
xo
s
Amy@TheBlissfulBee says
Wow y’all have tackled SO much!! Looks like y’all have been busy. Loving all of the updates to far! Totally having house project envy right now;)
xo, amy
Laurie says
Dang you guys! You’ve done a TON of work in just three months. I know, technically it is your job now but still, I’m impressed!
Your recaps are such a great way to look back at what you got done. I think it is a good goal for anyone so they can keep things realistic and pat themselves on the back for what they have completed.
It is too easy to read all these lovely DIY and craft blogs, see the fabulous projects you WANT to do and just heap the work on, losing visibility to what has already been accomplished.
I’m going to follow your example or I’ll just keep beating myself up for not being done with everything yesterday.
Thank you S and J!
Necole@seriouslysassymama says
That tree is so random in the middle of the deck. I would have cut it down before the deck was even built. All those leaves to rake up. No thanks! I am most excited about the outdoor space.
Lisa says
Love all the changes, you both work so hard it’s incredible. I had to laugh at all the progress at only “three months in”, if I did a post for “three years in” it wouldn’t be half as impressive. But I love living vicariously through you guys! :))
Catherine says
Love this post, love your progress, and mostly I love the picture of Clara playing with the big pink ball on the porch! Such a sweet moment you captured.
kelly says
Wow! You have been busy! We moved at the same time and you really put me to shame! Love your blog, very inspirational! Would love to find a similar light fixture to the one you have in the front entry way. Any chance you have seen it around anywhere (nationally, of course) for cheaper?
YoungHouseLove says
We’ve seen it in a bunch of places (shades of light, ballard designs I think, on ebay) but the price is usually $150+. Hope it helps!
xo
s
Stacey says
Beautiful transformation and I can’t wait to see how things change! I was wondering how it feels working in a “before” kitchen again? We updated our kitchen 3 years ago (complete gut job) and will need to move to a house with more room soon(ish), but most homes have older kitchens and I can’t imagine going back to an old/non-updated (is that a word?) kitchen and starting over again! It’s the one luxury I don’t want to do without going forward now that we have a new kitchen.
YoungHouseLove says
I think it’s surprisingly doable! Haha! At first I was thinking “I’m going to hate that room so much” but I think we’re just so grateful this house is ours and we see so many exciting changes in other rooms (sunroom, foyer, bedroom, etc) that it makes the kitchen not so bad for some reason. I definitely still lust after gorgeous counters and non-faux-brick floors, but I think I also see “possibility” when I look around, so it’s not all doom and gloom!
xo
s
Olivia says
I don’t miss the monthly recaps so no worries here. Congrats on getting so much stuff done already!
Laurie says
Love everything so far. I am really looking forward to what you do to the kitchen. The way it looks right now very much reminds me of our old kitchen before we gutted it. As for photos, I am fantastic at the “after”….not so much with the “before.” So I don’t have much photographic evidence of just how ugly things were but I sure do have a lot of fabulous after shots! I should work on that.
Sarah says
When you string all the renos together in one post, it definitely illustrates how busy you have been!
I absolutely LOVE the re-imagined enclosed porch…I’ve seen so many houses with screened in porches and I find them depressing (despite the function of keeping bugs OUT!). Can’t wait to see what you do next in this space!
Jodi says
Hi! NICE JOB! I was wondering if you knew what color you plan on painting the hallway upstairs? The same as your foyer? We are getting ready to do ours and it is very long with not nuch natural light. Thanks – keep up the great work!
YoungHouseLove says
Yes, we’re planning to carry that color up there too!
xo
s
lisa says
someone might have already asked but how will you prevent birds and bees from nesting in the sunroom now that the rafters are exposed?
YoungHouseLove says
They’re going to be covered with beadboard – hopefully soon!
xo
s
Mary | Lemon Grove Blog says
I absolutely LOVE your guy’s house! So. Much. Potential. Love to see these snapshots of how far you’ve come. :)
Ashley A. says
Any plans for new flooring in the foyer/hall bath?
YoungHouseLove says
We like to work with what we have but there’s some damage we’re not sure if we can remedy, so we are also considering running new flooring from the foyer and bath into the kitchen when we do that reno down the line (maybe even heated tile floors).
xo
s
Linnea says
I still can’t get over what a great match this house is for you and John!
Your progress so far is fantastic — keep on keepin’ on!
Bailey says
So many amazing changes!!! It’s so fun to see what you’ve done and hear your vision for the future :)
xox
Bailey
http://akabailey.blogspot.com
Kristi@Chatfield Court says
Wow. You have made a lot of progress. We just moved into our house 2 months ago and have a long to do list too. Doesn’t it seem a little overwhelming sometimes, or are you guys calm, cool and collected about all of that?
Kristi
YoungHouseLove says
It definitely can get overwhelming! I think we learned with our first house that this stuff just takes time for us (that house took us 4.5 years to finish!) so we try not to put much pressure on things and just take things one day at a time. Feels more doable that way!
xo
s
Karin K says
Everything you guys have done is a HUGE improvement. My personal three faves are the foyer, upstairs hall and uncovered porch. I know I keep saying this, but this house has SO MUCH in common with my house. In fact, I wish I had the slate floors you have in the foyer -oh wait, I do! Only they were covered up by some hideous beige tile, and I’m afraid busting up the tile will damage the slate. I also have the same window issues in multiple rooms that you have in your bedroom, only in my case, the window is off center AND it butts right up to the wall, making window treatments a challenge. Anyway, I’m really enjoying this ride!
YoungHouseLove says
So funny that we’re house twins! I love it!
xo
s
Julia @ Hooked on Houses says
You guys are amazing! I think you’ve accomplished more on your house in 3 months than I have in 10 years with mine. Ha. Love seeing the progress and updates. It’s looking great!! :-)
Amy says
Amazing how much better it all looks!
Megan says
Wow, what a transformation. I’m slowly falling in love with your blue door, my husband is pushing for us to paint ours a similar color. The house looks great!
Lynnette says
Beautiful job!!!! Where did the picture of the awesome white chandelier go and is it in your house?
YoungHouseLove says
I’m totally blanking here. We had a picture of a white chandelier?! How come I don’t remember this? All of our art came with us so it’s most likely in the storage room above the garage.
xo
s
Jennie says
Maybe Lynette is referencing your bathroom mirror that often showed the reflection of your master bedroom light? Just a thought!
YoungHouseLove says
Oohhhhh! That makes sense! That mirror conveyed with the house since it was a sink mirror (just like medicine cabinets convey, bathroom mirrors do too).
xo
s
Shannon [Our Home Notebook] says
So amazing how far its come in three months! I love what you’ve done to the outside spaces.
Since starting our blog and documenting projects I find that I love looking back and seeing what we’ve done. We’re far from finished but I find usually I’m so focused on what’s next that I too quickly forget what we’ve done. I love our blog for reminding me of that!
Kaleigh says
I LOVE watching you transform this house. You make it look so easy! And it’s amazing how far you have come in such a short time! Well done!
Shauna says
Thank you so much for this…as someone who bought a new house at roughly the same time, I love comparing and contrasting. This makes me feel okay about how far we haven’t gotten. In other words, y’all are professionals (at DIYing and personalizing your home to your liking) and it takes you a while…so as a newb, we’re doing okay. :) Thanks, $herdog.
Alice H says
You guys are so amazing at making a house a home! I love all the changes. The house has come along way in 3 short months!!! Great job!
Feel free to come to Oklahoma and fix my house up anytime!!
Alice H says
You guys are amazing at making a house a home!! It has come a long way in three short months. And everything you guys have done looks great. Wonderful job!! Feel free to come to Oklahoma and makeover my house anytime!!
Anne says
Sherry –
I’m curious why you decided to switch your master bedroom and living room rugs? Do you have a vision for the living room that incorporates the darker colored rug?
YoungHouseLove says
They just fit better in those rooms – our living room is smaller here and our bedroom’s bigger, so it’s like they flip flopped so switching the rugs seemed to make sense.
xo
s
Andrea Worley says
you guys are always so inspiring as to how much you guys accomplish in such a short amount of time. I’ve lived in our home almost 10 months and i need some motivation.
Megan says
Everyone is always astonished at how much YHL gets done in a certain amount if time. Does everyone realize this is their full time job? I don’t want this to sound snotty, but I just don’t think that people should get down on themselves for not getting things done as quickly as YHL. This blog is TWO people’s FULL time jobs! So let’s just remember that before fawning over how much they get done.
YoungHouseLove says
Amen! We never want anyone to feel bad when they read our blog! We love sharing our tips and photos and random ridiculousness in the hopes of being helpful and encouraging to you guys. Even if you have no idea what you’re doing (that was totally us when we started), just take it one day and one small bite-sized project at a time. Heck that’s still how we get things done!
xo,
s
GreenInOC says
I cannot get over the foyer. The slate looks so amazing with the door color, the trim, the paint and that delicious light fixture.
I’m seriously in love – do you think Mr. Foyer and I could get married?!
YoungHouseLove says
Come on over! I’ll play “here comes the bride” on my recorder.
xo
s
Lindsay Hutchins says
I know the curtains in your living room aren’t a new purchase – but do you remember where they’re from? I love the white & blue together (is it navy blue?), and I’m thinking those would look great in my living room too. Thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
They’re polka dot white and navy curtains from Ikea a while back. Maybe try ebay?
xo
s
Emily @ Life on Food says
Oh man you have done so much. This post is so helpful to me. We close on our first house next week. Hi ball of nerves! We have a ton to do but this reminded me that one a little paint does a lot and two slow down, it won’t all happen in one day.
karen says
You guys are amazing – love the work you’ve done so far. If you end up going with a floating desk in the office I’m excited to see your solution for cords (for laptops, lamps etc). I so wanted to do this in our office but I couldn’t find a good solution that would not involve cords strung across the floor! Of course a nice outlet in the ground would be nice – but I’m not that handy. :)
Donald says
Looks great! On the portico, what if you added some of the matching chinese chippendale style to the big triangle that is on the railings?
YoungHouseLove says
We wondered about that too but didn’t want it to be too busy since the facade is brick (which is a bit busy sometimes just due to all of the grout and lines) so we’ll have to see what we come up with!
xo
s
Randi says
Hi John and Sherry – What an inspiration to see your house and the changes you’ve made so far! I know you’ve said several times that the square footage of this house is roughly the same as your old house, but for some reason it looks so much larger! I particularly adore the outside space – when I first saw that sunroom just sitting on the deck I couldn’t imagine what you’d wind up doing with it, but now it’s my favorite part of your lovely home. Keep up the good work – you’re doing everything so beautifully!
Joanna says
So, I have a super random question/request for you guys. Do you have any tips/advice on how to repair the door thresholds once you remove doors? You know, where the hinges were cut into the moldings? We live in a very similar house to you guys built around the same time and just across the river in Richmond and we also removed four sets of doors that divided up the foyer from the kitchen, the family room from the kitchen, etc., but it left us with all of the divots in the moldings where the hinges were attached. Wondering what tool/technique you guys used to repair?
YoungHouseLove says
I use Dap Crackshot (it’s spackle) to fill those divots and then sand it smooth and paint it to match the trim so it’s pretty seamless in the end. I have a bunch to do here so when I tackle it it I’m planning to make a video and take pics since a bunch of people have asked about that! Hope it helps!
xo
s