Home Sweet Home - Part 1

Boy how time flies!

It has been 6 years since we moved into our house...now a home that we love...and there have been a lot of changes made possible by a lot of hard work of Handsome, the four dwarfs...and Me (of course)

So, I thought in honor of this momentous event, I would post some before and after pictures of the transformation. There is still a lot of work to be done...most of the initial changes we made were paint and flooring and now I would like to start adding some architectural details (board and batten, new doors, new fixtures/finishes, etc.). But I am a "project junkie" so the work will never be done...

We bought this house because it has great "bones" and had newer windows, roof, air conditioning unit (which in the 505 is a big bonus), etc. Plus the kitchen had been remodeled in 2000, so it was *newer*and they had done the bulk of the expensive stuff (or so we thought - ha).

The previous owners painted EVERYTHING white (except for the multiple rooms of wallpaper)...and Handsome was amazed that I wanted this house - because I don't really like white - or wallpaper. Little did he know that it looked like a blank canvas to me.

For a painting junkie, it had all been primed and

was waiting to be "colored" up.

In order not to overwhelm you - and to keep you coming back - we will start with the entry way, the living room (now trophy room) and the formal dining room.

So this shot is the corner - bad photo I KNOW - of the trophy room looking into the entry way, the kitchen and kind of the dining room. I didn't take a lot of before pictures - if only I had known then what I know now...

(see that lovely brass fixture - oh, how I hated it - but you'll see it again)

Here is the finished entry way - although that CD thing is no longer in there...my house is constantly changing so taking pictures is kind of silly. Anyway, there was a parquet floor in here and carpet down the hall...we tore it all out and put tile.

And here's the hallway that you walk down to get to all the bedrooms...

(still need to do something about that awful chandelier at the end of the hall)

And now, here is the living room - which we turned into a trophy room. Handsome is a big hunter...now he is a 'big game' hunter (ha ha). He went to South Africa the month after we moved into this house - the house was my "throw a dog a bone so she'll not complain" prize. Whoever said marriage isn't tit for tat was wrong...you just gotta know how to work it!

(ha, just kidding kind of)

If you are against dead animals and such...you will not want to view these pictures. I have tried very hard to make the room tasteful and beautiful...and non-offensive,

but some are offended either way.

(yes, that is a real zebra on the wall)

And here is our dining room...I am trying to find a narrow console to use as a buffet, one that has storage. In the end, we will probably end up pushing this back wall out some to give us more room in these two rooms...one day I'd like to get a bigger table.

Here is the before...check out that hideous chandelier in there - ugh...it was disgusting!

And the after...recognize that *new* light fixture? I took it from the dining room and freshened it up with some spray paint and then faux-ed it.

Thanks for stopping by on my walk down memory lane...tomorrow, I'll show you the kitchen...

~alicia