I can’t believe it but we’ve been in the new house now for just over FIVE MONTHS!
Sometimes I can’t believe we actually even bought this house to be honest – it definitely wasn’t planned.
The husband was in Amsterdam last October when I noticed that the house across the street (ie. the one we’re living in now and yes, it’s literally across the street from our old place) had a sale sign on the front lawn. After checking it out online, I called to make an appointment with the realtor, who coincidentally was also our realtor. The next day, my mom, my older sister and I went to check it out, and we all gave it the thumbs up. I knew it needed some work, but the size and the layout were there and a gorgeous backyard was an amazing bonus. So I emailed the husband, sent him links with pics and told him I wanted this house for us. The next day, I put in an offer and poof, I bought a house. Luckily, the sale of our house was a dream – we listed and sold it the same day. It was meant to be.
We got the new house three weeks before we had to be out of our old place, which allowed us to get most of our renos and all the painting done before we moved in. It was the best thing we could have done. We’ve accomplished and completed a TON since moving in, but there’s still tons to do yet. Sadly, the money tree eventually runs out and you need to slow down, which is where we are now. Boo.
A lot of people have asked that I share my before and after pics on the blog, after seeing some of my pics on my Instagram account. I appreciate all of your feedback and suggestions that I should be a decorator/interior designer. If only I had the talent to do so, but alas, I do not – but it sure is fun trying. Also, I don’t have a camera that is any good, so the pics leave much to be desired – I’ll apologize for that in advance. Become an amazing photographer is on my to-do list, after laundry and losing half my body weight.
THE FRONT HALL
The great thing about the front hall was it was nice and big, and the front door was in good shape but that’s about it. Here’s my ultimate to-do list for the front hall and what has been completed to date:
SHORT TERM TO DOs:
- Remove all the hideous crap all over the walls and patch. DONE
- Paint all the walls and trim. DONE
- Replace all three light fixtures. DONE
- Rip out closet organizer, paint inside closet and install new closet organizer. DONE
- Replace closet doors. DONE
- Move doorbell to another wall. DONE
- New front door lock. DONE
- Replace register cover. DONE
- Replace all outlets and light switches and covers. DONE
- Install Nest Thermometer. DONE
- Hang framed photos and art.
- Buy a piece of furniture and a mirror for the empty wall.
LONG TERM TO DOs:
- Replace ugly tile floor with dark grey porcelain tile. Because we could live with this for now, we decided to put our money on things that needed to be finished asap.
- Paint inside of both doors black – still undecided, so I’m waiting on this one.
Here is what our front hall looked like the day we got the house:
I think the design esthetic they were going for was a whole lot of brown and beige and hideous – mission accomplished!
And here is what we’ve done so far:
Again, my photos aren’t great, but you get the idea. I’m a big fan of clean, minimal, and grey so I think we’ve accomplished that. Of course, we still need to hang art on the walls, and we need a table or cabinet and a mirror for the empty wall with the two round lights. I’d love an area rug or two to hide the tile, at some point as well.
And some side by sides to compare:
So what do you think? If you have any questions or what any source info, let me know below! The powder room is up next!!
