Before & After: Nursery Construction

This is how the previous owners had the living room set up:

With all of their stuff gone this is what it looked like the day we moved in:

 

And then we added baseboards, took down shelving and put a new coat of paint on the walls and it looked like this:

Now, it looks like this:

Lewie built a small 6'x7' room off the kitchen that will someday be our walk in pantry but for the next few years will act as our daughters nursery.  You can see some of the construction progress here.  We moved our living room to a different area and although it was different at first, I love how it turned out.  The stairwell is more defined now and we took down the track lighting that we couldn't stand - the look, not to mention the waste of energy - and replaced it with a small light at the bottom of the stairs.  We continued the baseboards around the pantry to match with the rest of the house and painted it the same color as the kitchen walls.  On the inside I choose the color Pooh Corner which is a light green and because I cried in Home Depot when I saw it, we added the cutest, smallest fan in the whole world (it measures only 20" across!).

Back wall taken from front wall

Front wall with door taken from back wall

Cute fan!

We were lucky to have a vent in the area of the floor and an outlet so all Lewie had to add was a light switch for the fan.  Now the fun part begins, decorating and nesting!

Before & After: Bathroom

One of the many things we've updated since living in our new house is the bathroom. The bathroom seemed somewhat unfinished when we moved in. The whole room had no baseboards, it had patched holes in the walls and the door was painted in a patriotic red, white and blue complete with stars. I don't mind that, I just didn't want it on our bathroom door. So, we did a little sanding, painting and rearranging and ended up with a nice space that I now love.  Here are the before pictures:

Before:  bathroom door with wild colors and no baseboards

Before: Sink with no baseboards and wall that needed painted to right

Before: commode area, no baseboards

And here are the after pictures:

After:  Added shelf with towel rack and newly painted door

After:  Sink with added towel rack and baseboards

After:  commode area with baseboards

After:  wall art, South Carolina basket weavers

After:  South Carolina basket being used as a wash cloth holder

I love our bathroom sink which was an antique dresser that the previous owner turned into a sink and I think it really stands out now that it's not competing with the red, white and blue door.  The door was painted the same color as the baseboards and having those up along with a fresh coat of paint on the door and walls really makes a difference.  We bought a small 'floating' shelf that we got for under $15 at a home improvement store that we put on the wall opposite of the commode.  It's a nice area to put our wedding pictures and a few neat stones we've collected.  Under it we added a towel bar.  We didn't do much to the commode area besides a sand job to the walls and fresh paint.  I added two pictures above it that were a gift from my Mother-in-law of South Carolina basket weavers, along with a South Carolina basket below that I keep clean wash cloths in.  All in all the bathroom redo was a success and I'm enjoying the new space. 

Before & After: Gutters/Soffit/Fascia

Before & After front

One of our goals this year was fix our roof.  When we moved in our house didn't have gutters or fascia and the soffit was falling apart.  With spring around the corner we knew it was something we had to take care of soon so that bees, wasps, birds, bats etc. didn't find a new home in our attic.  I know that it's not exciting for most people, but for us, with it being our first big home improvement project we tackled, it was so nice to see our house transform from looking like a barn to starting to look like a real house.  They finished up the work last week and we couldn't be happier.  We allowed for the gutters to come down on one side of the house near our garden so my next big project will be building a rain barrel.  It will be so nice to use water we collect from our roof to water our plants and use for the chickens.

Before & After gutter

Before & After side

Before & After back

With moving into a new house there are so many projects to work on; things to change and things to fix.  It's so satisfying to have something completed!

Before & After: Living room

Before: The living room when we moved in

After: Living room

It took a lot of work but in the living room it paid off.  We took down the bookshelves that the previous owner put up because although we liked them, we wanted a more open feeling and I was worried they would create clutter.  Then we painted the walls Gliddens Smooth Stone, added baseboards, hung artwork and then moved our stuff.  My favorite part are our national park posters that my mom has been getting us for our anniversary's and our coffee table that we made from wood that was on the bench Lewie proposed to me at.

Before & After: Walkway and outdoor stairs

The house had really nice stone stairs that went up to the old dog house when we moved in but they were in bad shape.  They needed weeding really bad and at the top of the stone steps it turned into a walkway that was made from 1' x 1' red brick.  The problem was most of the red bricks were crushed and the yard was growing over them.  So, one of my big projects that I've been working on since we moved in was collecting all the stones from around our property, digging up the red brick and continuing the stone up to the now chicken coop.  The stone stairs were all found on the land so were the ones I used to continue it.  Because of this we didn't have enough stone, so I ended up stopping the stone at the coop and continuing to the coop door with red brick.  We cleaned up some solar lights that were also on the property and gave them a new home along the stone walkway.  It is really nice to do improvements like this and use what you have.  The whole project didn't cost a dime.  I couldn't be happier with the way it turned out.  Now, I can walk up to the coop at night and I have some direction with the paths and lights.  I still have a few red bricks left over which I plan to add next to the coop around our future compost bins.  

Before: Walkway when we moved in

 

 After: New stone walkway

Before: Red brick's leading to chicken coop

After: New red brick path leading to chicken coop door

Before & After: Chicken coop

Before: as it was when we moved in

I think it's finally done!  We successfully transformed an old potting bench and dog shelter into a chicken coop.  I finished up painting it last week and Lewie finished the nesting boxes which still needed a little work.  Here is a picture during construction:

Before: during construction

And here is the after:

After: Chicken coop

And here are the doors during construction:

And the doors after:

After: Door on chicken coop

And lastly, here is a picture of the side before:

Before:  Chicken coop side as it was when we moved in

After: Chicken coop side

The chickens really seem to enjoy their new home.  They are pretty funny animals.  They each have their own personalty and although we haven't gotten any eggs yet, I'm really glad we decided to get chickens.

I have a few more Before & After's I'd like to post this week if I can get my act together.  Keep your eye out for them!