Our Home Transformation: A 3-Month Journey Through Renovation and Dream Planning
Welcome to our new home! It feels like just yesterday we were sharing our initial thoughts on Day One and a quick peek at Day Fifteen. Now, a little over three months in (roughly Day 101), we’re thrilled to pull back the curtain and show you the significant progress we’ve made, alongside our ambitious visions for the future. We’ve been diligently updating our main House Tour page with fresh progress pictures, and it’s dawned on us that it’s high time for a comprehensive report. Get ready for a room-by-room “before and after” spectacle that highlights our DIY triumphs, current states of delightful chaos, and exciting plans to truly make this house our forever home.
Reimagining Our Core Living Spaces: From Formal to Functional
The Evolving Entryway & Dining Room
On moving day, the house presented a traditional layout: a formal living room that flowed directly into an equally formal dining room. While charming, this configuration didn’t align with our modern lifestyle. Our vision was to transform this area into a more inviting and practical entryway/dining room combo that seamlessly transitions into a dedicated home office – a setup that better suits the way we live and entertain.
Here’s a glimpse of the original formal living room, peering into what was then the formal dining room:
Fast forward to today, and you’ll see a dramatic shift. The formal dining room has been smartly converted into our home office, offering a productive sanctuary. We achieved this transformation with surprising ease – simply by arranging those versatile shelves and applying a fresh coat of paint to the built-ins. It’s incredible how an $11 change can make such a profound difference in a space! We’ve also introduced a majestic 70-inch dining table into the new entryway/dining space, which promises to comfortably seat eight – once we&ve acquired the chairs, of course! (A common DIYer tale, isn’t it?)
Let’s take a step back and view our future dining room/entryway from the opposite direction, as it appeared on day one:
And here’s how this evolving space looks now, already feeling more welcoming and purposeful:
Beyond placing our new dining table, the most significant changes in this area are still on the horizon. Our next major undertaking involves creating a grand 6-foot opening in the wall to the right, which will seamlessly connect this vibrant new dining area to the kitchen. This strategic modification will foster an open, airy flow, ideal for both daily living and entertaining. Furthermore, we plan to design a distinct, welcoming entryway behind the dining table, ensuring that guests don’t feel as though they’re stepping directly into a dining space upon entering our front door. This thoughtful planning will enhance both aesthetics and functionality.
The Heart of the Home: Our Kitchen Transformation Blueprint
The kitchen, often considered the heart of any home, was a spacious, long eat-in area when we first moved in. It possessed good bones but lacked modern flair and efficient use of space. Our ambitious plans for this room include priming and painting the existing paneling and cabinets – a cost-effective way to refresh the entire look. We also envision adding a substantial island to maximize the room’s potential and cleverly integrate the existing fireplace into a more functional layout. The planned 6-foot pass-through to the new dining room, located on the right wall in the images below, will undoubtedly create an expansive and inviting atmosphere. We’re aiming for at least a 6-foot opening to ensure it feels truly airy and connected.
Currently, the kitchen remains largely untouched, a testament to the fact that renovations often happen in phases. It’s perhaps a bit messier than on day one, now hosting a temporary, slightly-too-small table where our magnificent island will one day stand. As mentioned, we have grand aspirations for this space. However, these transformations require both capital and energy – resources we&re steadily building up before diving into this extensive project. It’s all part of the fun, or so we tell ourselves!
Crafting Cozy Corridors and Relaxing Retreats
A Hallway Reborn: Adding Personality to Passageways
Hallways are often overlooked, yet they are crucial arteries connecting the different zones of a home. Ours, on move-in day, was a blank canvas, perfectly illustrating its potential. Below, you’ll see two “before” views: one with my back to the master bedroom, facing the front door, and another from the front door looking towards the master suite. These images highlight the pristine, yet somewhat uninspired, state of the hallway awaiting its personal touch.
Today, our hallway is well on its way to becoming a personalized gallery. We’ve made significant progress hanging a diverse collection of frames on the left side (as you face the master bedroom), transforming a once bare wall into a dynamic visual narrative. You’ll notice the paper templates still adorning the right side – a clear indication that the gallery wall is an ongoing project, but one we’re eager to complete soon. The transformation is already making the space feel more connected and inviting.
The hallway is also accessible via a wide doorway from the kitchen, offering another perspective on its evolution. Here’s how this view appeared when we first moved in:
And here’s the view of the hallway through the kitchen doorway now, with our newly hung frames and a charming console table adding character. Please disregard the illusion that the kitchen floor has changed – that’s simply the warm wood tabletop of the console in the foreground, creating a beautiful contrast and adding depth to the space. The hallway now feels like a curated extension of our living areas, rather than just a pass-through.
The Living Room: A Hub for Comfort and Style
The living room, the central gathering space of our home, held immense potential on move-in day. Its generous proportions and inherent charm were undeniable, but it also offered a blank canvas for our creative vision. While we’ve already made significant strides in transforming this room, one monumental project that we eagerly anticipate tackling in the future is making the fireplace a double-sided feature, enhancing both its aesthetic appeal and its functionality as a focal point.
Today, this living room has undergone a remarkable transformation, showcasing our dedication to DIY excellence. We’ve meticulously painted the walls, giving the room a fresh, updated feel. The trim has been revitalized with new paint, and even the ceiling beams received a fresh coat, enhancing their architectural charm. We’ve removed the outdated ceiling fans, opting for a cleaner look, and hung carefully selected art pieces that add personality and color. A plush, larger area rug now anchors the seating arrangement, providing warmth and comfort. Yet, our vision for this space is far from complete. Future projects include constructing a custom console table for behind the sectional, installing elegant curtains on the windows and sliding doors, introducing ambient table lamps, and perhaps updating the ceiling fixtures. We also plan to acquire a larger and deeper media cabinet for enhanced storage and aesthetics, and one day, we aspire to refinish the exquisite wooden parquet floors in a deep, rich tone, restoring their original grandeur. This journey promises to be both challenging and incredibly rewarding!
Integrating the Sunroom: Bridging Decades of Design
The sunroom, a beautiful addition to the house approximately 15 years ago, presented a unique design challenge upon our arrival. Its distinctly modern aesthetic stood in stark contrast to the rest of the rooms, which boast a history dating back half a century earlier. Our primary goal for this bright and airy space is to integrate it more cohesively with the original charm of the house, making it feel less like a separate entity and more like an organic extension of our living environment. The challenge lies in harmonizing two distinct architectural eras into a unified, inviting whole.
Presently, the sunroom has seen only minimal updates, primarily consisting of moving in some of our existing furniture. However, our comprehensive plans for this space are quite transformative. We intend to paint the entire room – including the bricks, the ceiling, and the existing off-white walls – to create a unified color palette that instantly makes the area feel less disjointed and significantly more airy and open. Introducing breezy window treatments will soften the light and enhance the ambiance, while strategically placed art on the prominent brick wall will help to visually balance the awkwardly off-centered window that looks into the kitchen. These changes are designed to bridge the aesthetic gap between the old and the new, creating a truly integrated and harmonious sun-filled retreat.
Personal Sanctuaries: Bedrooms & Bathrooms Unveiled
The Master Bedroom Oasis: A Work in Progress
Our master bedroom, a significant space for rest and rejuvenation, was a blank canvas on move-in day. While it possessed ample space and natural light, it lacked the personal touches and refined comforts that truly transform a room into an oasis. The potential was clear, waiting for our creative intervention to bring warmth and character to this essential retreat.
Today, the master bedroom is rapidly evolving into the serene sanctuary we envisioned. We’ve introduced a stylish new bed and a luxurious duvet, immediately elevating the room’s comfort and aesthetic. Demonstrating our DIY prowess, I personally crafted some elegant no-sew curtains from discount fabric, proving that beautiful window treatments don’t have to break the bank. We also swapped out the original light fixture for a more contemporary one and welcomed a cozy new rug, which grounds the space and adds warmth underfoot. While significant progress has been made, there’s still much on our to-do list: we’re still contemplating the perfect art piece for above the bed, plan to incorporate functional and stylish built-ins into the nook on the left, and envision a elegant bench at the foot of the bed, complemented by additional art to complete the desired ambiance. This ongoing journey is truly transforming our master suite into a personalized haven.
The Master Sink Nook: Blending Function and Aesthetics
The sink nook, situated on the far side of the master bedroom, presented a distinct design conundrum. With a shower and toilet in an adjacent room to the right and a walk-in closet to the left, the sink was undeniably visible from the bed. Integrating a sink into a bedroom space – and making it feel both functional and aesthetically pleasing, let alone romantic – is certainly a unique challenge. However, we thrive on such creative puzzles, seeing it as an opportunity to innovate and personalize our home.
Our sink nook has seen a remarkable transformation, significantly enhancing both its functionality and visual appeal. We began by removing the cumbersome bi-fold doors, which instantly opened up the space and allowed for a more seamless transition. Next, we boldly demo’d the existing backsplash around the sink, a deliberate choice to make the vanity appear more like a sophisticated piece of furniture rather than a traditional, utilitarian bathroom fixture. The awkward medicine cabinet to the right of the sink, which practically induced neck cramps, was replaced with a sleek mirror that now hangs perfectly right over the window. This simple yet impactful change means we can now brush our teeth or style our hair while looking straight ahead – a truly amazing improvement in daily comfort! While these changes have already made a world of difference, we still have exciting plans to further transform the vanity, ensuring this nook is both beautiful and highly functional.
Master Bathroom: Dreams Awaiting Execution
Conveniently located directly off the master sink nook, the master bathroom presented itself as another canvas for future improvements. While functional on move-in day, it was clear that this space held significant potential for a luxurious transformation.
Currently, the master bathroom retains much of its original appearance, with the most notable change being a higher-hung shower curtain, creating an illusion of greater height. This room is unequivocally on our “big plans” list, earmarked for a comprehensive renovation. We envision a complete overhaul that will introduce modern fixtures, updated tiling, and a refreshed aesthetic to truly elevate it into a spa-like retreat. However, for now, these ambitious plans remain in the dreaming phase, awaiting the opportune moment – and budget – to bring them to fruition.
The Hall Bathroom: Embracing Vintage Charm
The hall bathroom, as it appeared on move-in day, brought a sense of nostalgic delight. Its original features bore a striking resemblance to the full bath in our very first house. What’s even more fortunate is that the vintage tile in this bathroom is in remarkably better shape than what we encountered previously, sparking our excitement to embrace and work with its inherent charm rather than embarking on a full tear-out.
Presently, the hall bathroom has already received some thoughtful updates, notably captured in a much brighter photograph thanks to our conscious effort to white balance the camera! We’ve successfully removed the quirky, off-centered bar beneath the window, which instantly streamlined the space. To restore visual harmony, we added new window trim, ensuring a more balanced aesthetic. Elevating the shower curtain has created a sense of added drama and height, making the room feel more expansive and refined. Our immediate future plans include introducing a vibrant color to the walls, incorporating some carefully selected art, DIYing a custom window shade for privacy and style, and accessorizing to complete its charming transformation. This space is steadily evolving into a delightful blend of vintage character and fresh appeal.
Kids’ Spaces & Guest Comforts
Clara’s Nursery: A Soft Haven Takes Shape
Clara’s nursery, upon our arrival, was a blank canvas, almost exactly mirroring the dimensions of her previous room. This provided a comforting familiarity, allowing us to envision a tranquil and whimsical space tailored for her. The room awaited its transformation into a cozy, personal haven where she could grow and play.
Clara’s room has blossomed into a truly enchanting space! We meticulously painted the walls a delicate, soft lavender-pinky-gray tone, creating a serene and inviting atmosphere that is both playful and calming. Following this, we meticulously hung all of her cherished art pieces, carefully arranging them to stimulate her imagination and add personal charm to every corner. The room now feels wonderfully curated, reflecting her blossoming personality and providing a delightful backdrop for her daily adventures and sweet dreams. It’s a testament to how thoughtful color choices and personal touches can transform a simple room into a magical sanctuary.
The Playroom: A Temporary Storage Zone
The middle bedroom, currently designated as “the playroom,” held a promising future as another children’s bedroom when our family eventually expands. On move-in day, it presented itself as a relatively empty and unassuming space, awaiting its purpose.
And here’s the playroom now – a true testament to the realities of home renovation and family life! It has, quite candidly, become the designated “dumping ground” for an eclectic mix of items, ranging from extra bedding and pillows to various art supplies and even broken ceramic animals. This overflowing repository of belongings highlights the constant balancing act of DIY projects and daily living. It’s a stark reminder that not every room can be pristine all the time. Our long-term goal is to meticulously pare down and organize everything within this space, eventually reclaiming the floor. Until then, we’ve adopted a simple strategy: we happily choose to close the door and live in blissful denial. This temporary chaos is a necessary step on the path to a fully organized and functional playroom, and eventually, another cozy children’s bedroom.
The Welcoming Guest Bedroom: A Pop of Color
The guest bedroom, a crucial space for hosting visitors, was noticeably incomplete on move-in day – conspicuously missing a bed, among other essentials. It was a blank slate, inviting us to infuse it with comfort, style, and a welcoming atmosphere for anyone staying over.
The guest room has undergone a vibrant transformation, now exuding a bold and inviting personality! We introduced a striking peacock blue paint on the walls, instantly adding depth and character to the space. Complementing this dramatic hue, we’ve hung elegant curtains, added a comfortable bed complete with inviting bedding, and thoughtfully integrated colorful accessories that tie the room together. A particularly charming touch is the DIYed luggage rack side table, which adds both functionality and a unique, personal flair (you can find more details on that project here). While the room is already incredibly welcoming, our future agenda includes adding crown molding for a touch of architectural elegance and hanging carefully selected art pieces to complete its sophisticated and comfortable ambiance.
The Vintage Guest Bathroom: Preserving Character
Connected directly to the guest bedroom is the charming, albeit dated, yellow-beige guest bathroom. This space holds a piece of history, as it originally served as the master bathroom before the new master suite and the spacious living room behind the kitchen were added as an extension in the 1970s. This historical context means it retains its own private bathroom access. Our primary objective for this unique space is to honor and work with its distinctive vintage tile, which possesses undeniable character, while simultaneously shedding its dated and dingy appearance to bring it into the modern era with respect for its past.
Our guest bathroom has already received a series of thoughtful updates that have significantly brightened and modernized its vintage charm. We began by swapping out the cumbersome old medicine cabinet for a stylish new mirror, which immediately opened up the space. Practicality met aesthetics as we installed towel hooks on the back of the door, replacing a large, awkwardly placed mirror that once reflected anyone using the toilet – a definite “ack” moment we were keen to rectify! We’ve also introduced some carefully selected art pieces that add personality, and a bright, vibrant shower curtain now ties beautifully into the adjacent guest bedroom’s color scheme. A graphic, hotel-inspired bath mat completes the refreshed look, adding a touch of contemporary flair. While there are still more updates on our list to truly perfect this space, it is now wonderfully functional and far more inviting for our guests.
Practical Spaces: Laundry & Basement
The Laundry Room: Maximizing Efficiency and Storage
The little laundry room, a compact yet essential space, stood largely empty on move-in day. Its modest dimensions presented both a challenge and an opportunity: our goal is to meticulously plan and execute a design that maximizes its storage capabilities and functional utility, ultimately transforming it into a highly efficient mini mudroom combined with a dedicated laundry area.
Our laundry room has already received a significant upgrade with the installation of brand new energy-efficient front loaders. We were incredibly fortunate to score these at one of the deepest discounts we’ve ever encountered, proving that patience and savvy shopping can pay off handsomely in a home renovation! While these appliances are a fantastic start, there’s still a wealth of work to be done. Our immediate plans involve adding custom, storage-friendly built-ins to meticulously fill the gap between the washer/dryer units and the wall. This will not only maximize every inch of available space but also create a streamlined, integrated look. This functional enhancement is just one of many steps in transforming this room into a truly efficient and organized mini mudroom and laundry hub.
The Basement: From Empty Canvas to Storage Central
The separate entry basement, located beneath the living room, presented itself as a spacious and almost entirely empty canvas on move-in day. Its clean, open expanse offered a tantalizing vision of future potential, whether for organized storage, a recreational area, or even a future finished space.
Here’s the basement now – a perfect example of renovation reality: it’s absolutely brimming with “junk”! This space has quickly become our primary storage zone, holding everything from seasonal decor to tools and project materials. We’re even storing some items for John’s parents, who are currently downsizing now that their nest is empty. Consequently, transforming this room into an organized, functional space promises to be quite the undertaking. Fortunately, its location means I’ve only ventured down there three times in the past three months, making it a delightfully easy mess to ignore for now. This massive organizational project will undoubtedly require considerable time and effort, but for now, it serves its purpose as a convenient holding area.
The Unpredictable Journey of Home Renovation: Our Ongoing Story
Looking back at just a little over three months, we’re genuinely surprised by the sheer volume of tasks we’ve managed to accomplish. It feels as though we sprinted out of the starting gate, and only now, as the dust begins to settle around us, are we taking a moment to survey the incredible progress we’ve made. It’s been an exhausting yet undeniably exciting period, full of learning and unexpected twists.
As any seasoned DIY enthusiast knows, home renovation is a journey that unfolds in waves. There are exhilarating periods when you’re flying along, ticking off items from your to-do list left and right, fueled by boundless energy and inspiration. Then, inevitably, there are times when momentum slows, you hit a creative wall, or simply experience burnout. Financial constraints often play a role too, necessitating pauses while reserves are built back up. Progress, in essence, happens in fits and starts – it’s rarely a linear path. This fluctuating experience, swinging from “renovating rockstar” to feeling like a “lazy, uninspired, tired, broke, crazy person” (and back again), is completely normal. And yes, it absolutely happens to us too, because – spoiler alert – we’re not robots!
So, while we’ve shot through an impressive amount of work since moving in, it’s entirely possible, indeed probable, that this initial frantic pace isn’t sustainable in the long run. There will undoubtedly be weeks when our progress moves as slowly as molasses, and that’s perfectly fine. It’s crucial to catch your breath from time to time, to recharge and regroup. All we know for certain is that our to-do list still boasts a thousand things, and based on our experience with our first house, which took us four and a half years to transform, this current renovation will likely span several more years. It’s guaranteed to be an unpredictable, crazy, boring, exciting, goofy, and insanely fun journey, depending on the particular day. And honestly, we wouldn’t have it any other way! We’re incredibly glad to have you along for this “oh-what-the-heck-let’s-just-see-what-happens” ride, sharing in all its glorious imperfections and ultimate triumphs.
Essential Resources for Your Home Journey
Psst – For those who appreciate a good visual layout, here’s a floor plan that might help you better visualize the home’s arrangement after scrolling through all the images. And if you’re curious for another perspective, you can find an older video house tour here; it might just help orient you – or perhaps delightfully confuse you even further!