The Before

Today is such a perfect day. Although it is July 30, there is a cool breeze coming in through the open windows, the air smells of the afternoon rain, and the warmth from my afternoon cup of coffee feels delightful. That cup of coffee tastes even richer than usual because I brewed it in the coffee maker that sits on countertops, using a k-cup that I pulled out of a drawer, with water that I got from a kitchen sink, and poured into a cup that I washed in the dishwasher. A year ago that would seem like a pretty normal (albeit odd) statement to make, but I'm not taking one bit of it for granted now!

We are close. I mean, really close. Close to being done with our renovation. Now "done" is a very relative term, so let me start off by defining it as being as complete as we are going to be for awhile. There is MUCH to be done, but almost all of the major projects and functional aspects are finished. I am hoping to paint in the next week or so while Daniel wraps the countertop and builds the open shelves, and then I think we'll be ready to share some "after" pictures. 

For now, I thought I would share the before pictures. These are from the realtor, so these are probably taken last summer, before we bought the house, but it looks pretty much how it did when we bought it, apart from the basement.

Entry

Lovely, isn't it? The front door and closet are really the only things that haven't changed about this part of the house, but don't worry... they're on the list. 

Living Room

This was the view from the entryway. 

And this was the view from the opposite corner. I can't wait to do an after shot of this view... it's dramatically different.

Kitchen

The kitchen wasn't in terrible shape, but it was small and dark and outdated.

This view may give you an idea of where it is located, next to the living room.

And here is the kitchenette.  While we were house-hunting, one of my priorities was a kitchen with a view of the backyard, so I could keep an eye on the girls while I cooked or cleaned. I LOVE this about our home! The light fixture was a different story. 

Dining Room

This was a rather odd, L-shaped room. The chandelier suggests that perhaps it was intended to serve as both a dining and formal living room. That box sticking out into the middle of the room was a laundry room. We moved the washer and dryer to the basement and used that valuable real estate to expand the kitchen. 

Here's the view of the dining room from the hallway you can see above. The back of the house faces south, so we get light in all the living spaces all day long. Another one of my favorite things!

Down the hallway are three bedrooms, a hall bathroom and a master bath. Apart from painting the walls, we haven't touched these spaces. Someday we plan on updating the bathrooms, but not for a good.long.time. I've kind of had my fill of renovations lately.

Hall Bath

Or, the "autumn gold" bathroom. :) This picture makes it not look so bad, but in reality, the counter is more of a chartreuse. 

Nursery

This is Charlie's room, the smallest of the three bedrooms.

Girls' Room

A fairly large room for our growing girlies.

Master

Master Bath

We bought this home from its original owners, who are now in their 90s. Our bathroom has several rails they installed. They were surprisingly useful at nine months pregnant. :)

Basement

The basement was another huge selling point for us on this house. There is a large living room, two smaller "bedrooms" and a bathroom, plus two unfinished storage areas. We feel blessed to have this extra space, especially for hosting.