Read about how I came to purchase my parents’ house here.
If you’re already up to speed then let’s roll up our sleeves and get to the good stuff!
EXTERIOR
The exterior really just needed a tiny bit of cosmetic work. We gave the house a good power washing, and that shined things up dramatically. My painters painted the trim around the big bay window a medium to dark gray. This update alone brought the house up into this decade. Take off those bell bottoms and stay a while, why don’t you. Girl, you look good in those skinny jeans.
I built and stained shutters for the house out of cedar. I DID THAT! My original plan was to have these beautiful cedar accents on the shutters and also to wrap the porch column with cedar to make a cedar post. It was going to look so cool. A little masculine. Very now. Very modern. Very cool. But when I went to hang the shutters on the windows the cedar color blended right in with the brick. It was completely camouflaged. SWAT teams, listen up: cedar colored uniforms when you enter ranch style homes built in the 60’s, kay? UNDETECTABLE YOU WILL BE. You’re welcome.
(Full disclosure: this is a shot of me building shutters for a different house because I don’t have one from this house)
I was so sad.
So I decided to rethink my plans and paint the shutters a dark brown (Sherwin Williams French Roast) so that they would pop against the brick color, and it worked. So, ever adaptable me- look at me being so cool and rolling with the punches- I had my painters paint the front porch column French Roast to match. Ah, much better.
A new front door was a must. Not only was the current one not working for my eyeballs, but it also sat 2 inches off the ground and an audible breeze whistled its way into the house on blustery days, and we couldn’t have that. In came this adorable door and this adorable blue green paint which my painter told me was ugly. *Shhh, Negib, you talk too much.*
And LOOOOOOOK at how cute it came out!!!!! I’m in love with this entry. We don’t even need to go inside. Just sit here beside me and admire it. Let’s pretend it’s Fall and grab some coffee (is it too early for wine in this fantasy?) and just sit here on the stoop and ogle this cute door while we sip in silence. While we’re here, look at that doorbell. Really check out that sexy devil. I watched a seven minute YouTube tutorial on rewiring doorbells, and I took it apart and rewired it myself and then I gave myself ALL THE PATS ON THE BACK for being so handy. Please don’t mistake this for a humble brag- it’s a good old fashioned open brag. I basically figured out the cure for cancer.
Alright, let’s go inside. Wipe your feet.
ENTRY AND STUDY
The entryway was brought way up to date with a new light fixture and by removing the built-in that really only served to obstruct traffic and to, once a year, host the Halloween candy bowl. The once titled “formal living room” underwent a legal name change and emerged as “The Study” (doesn’t it sound so mature and sophisticated now? The room equivalent of going from Matt to Matthew after completing law school) and had those heavy accent posts removed to match the upgraded name. The space leftover from the post removal was sheetrocked in and double sliding barn doors were installed on a track. I love the big bay window in this room. I love this room altogether. It’s so big and bright. Maybe the new owners will let me rent it as office space to blog. *Siri, make a note to remind me to stop by and ask the new owners about this. NO, Siri, it actually WON’T be weird. You’re weird. Eyeroll.*
LIVING ROOM
Moving into the living room, check this change out! Lots and lots of change happened in here! As planned, I removed the big sliding doors to the right of the fireplace that led into the sunroom but were no longer in use. I had the pass through wall that divided the living and dining spaced removed so that the space opened up and seemed much larger and much more welcoming. A support beam was added to take on the load of the bigger opening. I removed the half wall of wainscoting and had the walls retextured and painted a light gray (Sherwin Williams Repose Gray), and all of the trim was painted white (Sherwin Williams Snowbound). I had the fireplace painted the same white also, though a specialized masonry grade paint was used, and I replaced the mantel for a more current, very lightly distressed cedar mantel.
Kevin and I hung shiplap on both sides of the fireplace, and it somehow all turned out straight and even and good looking despite this being our first time to delve in the ‘lap. I had crown molding hung at the ceiling and the vaulted tray ceiling painted a darker gray for emphasis at the suggestion of my painter (I mildly wish I wouldn’t have listened to this advice and would have painted it a lighter color). The finishing touch was a modern farmhouse style ceiling fan.
SUNROOM
Passing through the now large and airy opening from the living room into the sunroom you are greeted with all the sunlight on the planet. Plants could photosynthesize like maniacs in here. I had trim added around the windows to make them look pretty and proper. These windows are no longer ladies of the night- they have been reformed. They are now proper, fancy ladies. I had the ceiling planked, and to be honest, I’m a little disappointed with how it turned out. Due to a miscommunication on my part (completely my fault), the planks were hung the opposite direction from which I had precisely measured and accounted for and so there had to be a trim piece added over the seam, thus killing the look, in my opinion. Sigh. It’s still a large improvement from before though. And that plank work sure is eye candy.
I unfortunatley didn’t get an after shot of the pretty exposed brick wall. I wanted to keep the original, natural brick color and avoid painting it, but there was a large round hole (WHY?!) that ruined those plans. I had a brick mason come out to professionally patch the hole, but it looked pretty horrible and made the white paint job inevitable. I still love you though, brick wall. We cool.
KITCHEN AND DINING
In the kitchen I kept the half wall of wainscoting, and just painted it white along with all of the trim and cabinetry (Sherwin Williams Snowbound). I removed all of the wallpaper and border and had the walls textured. I chose white 3×6 subway tile with a 1/8” charcoal gray grout line for the backsplash.
I took a risk and ordered these very inexpensive cabinet pulls from Amazon after sweating through the hundreds of reviews on them online, and I am so glad I did! I think they look amazing and the quality is insane for the price. I will use them again and again in future houses.
I worked with the existing granite countertops because they were in great condition. I added this cute caged light over the sink and it’s one of my favorite fixtures in the house. I replaced the dishwasher and ultimately the stove. I tried hard to salvage that stove but I just couldn’t get it cleaned up and looking decent, and it was killing my vibe. I wasn’t going to let it bring down this kitchen remodel. You’re only as weak as your weakest link, right, kitchen? See yourself to the door, greasy stove. Take your cornbread crumbs with you.
I love this built in desk in the kitchen and decided to keep it, both for aesthetic and sentimental reasons. I used to sit here for hours when I was a kid playing secretary and teacher. I was a very important and busy, well-respected secretary slash teacher.
The big bay window in the dining room is begging for a pretty round table so I added a lantern style chandelier that would look cute over many family dinners served here.
LAUNDRY/MUDROOM
This was my mom’s sewing room. I’m actually tearing up a little reflecting and preparing to write this paragraph. My mom would spend hours in here. This was her happy place. When I think of her this is where I picture her- here in this room, creating something or repairing a hole in something for someone she loved. We had the best Halloween costumes on the planet because they were homemade, here in this room.
My mom is still alive, but she has advanced Alzheimer’s disease, and she doesn’t recognize me much any more. It’s a heartbreaking disease because her body is still here, but she is not. It’s a strange thing to mourn for someone whose body is still on this Earth. But I mourn because she doesn’t call me Courty anymore, and because her face doesn’t light up with recognition when she sees me, and mostly because she doesn’t get to be a Nana to my kids when being a Nana was her favorite thing on this Earth. I don’t get to tell her about my joys and my losses. Or maybe in fact I could, because her hugs are still just as warm and rich and full and she still smells the same- like the perfect mix of Beautiful by Estee Lauder with just the tiniest hint of Aquanet hairspray somewhere in the background. But maybe I’m just afraid to try, because when she looks at me politely like I’m just another woman chatting with her about my life it breaks me into a million pieces. I miss her so, so terribly. I hope that she would be proud of the work I put into this house.
I poured extra love into this room for her, her favorite room.
On that note, I wanted to pay tribute to my family and our original home somehow, and I was able to do that in this room. I found the original front door to the house in the garage, buried deep under some scrap wood (because my parents threw NOTHING away. Thank you for that, said I, when I had to clean the entire house out and prepare it for Estate Sale. Thanks again for keeping my baby teeth. I sure do treasure them). The door, replaced years ago by the current front door, was missing a diamond glass pane, but I was able to get that easily repaired by a local glass company for under $50, and after cleaning it up and restaining it I had Negib hang it from a barn door track so that you can close off the door to the laundry room when you don’t want to hear the dryer reminding you that you’re about to have to fold nine loads of towels. I looooove how this turned out. Not only is it cool looking, but it’s also a little wink to my family. I see you, Doyles. A part of us will always be here in the house that built us.
HALL BATH
The first stop down the hallway is the hall bath. Easily my favorite “after” in this whole house. I loooooove how this room turned out! I had my guys raise the dropped down ceiling up to normal human height and also remove the fur down over the vanity. The room got all dressed up with shiplap and it couldn’t look any better on her!!!
Look how pretty she looks now! I die.
I had planned to save and paint the existing vanity, but it fell apart when the counterop was being removed, and I’m so glad it did because I found this beautiful vanity with the attached marble couterop on major discount (at Builder’s Warehouse, if you’re local!). It was already painted this moody gray color and I love how it, along with the black granite, contrast against the all white walls and white floor tile and white subway tiled shower. I added the black vintage pharmacy mirrors and the farmhouse inspired vanity lights above to complete the look. The final touch were some cute chalkboard towel hooks that I found at Target. Be still my heart.
GUEST BEDROOMS
The three guest bedrooms are down the hallway a little. They didn’t need much to update them. They received paint, new closet doors, door hardware, baseboards, carpet, and ceiling fans. Le voila.
MASTER BEDROOM
We addressed this in my last post, but again I say WHY DID THIS FLOOPLAN EXIST? I won’t beat a dead horse here, but I just need you to know how I feel about this. Sinks do not belong in bedrooms. This is not a Super 8 motel. The end. Period. Amen forever.
And so the bathroom was made into a real deal bathroom and separated from the bedroom. Glory be, hallelujah.
I had a pocket door placed here to conserve space but to accommodate for privacy. I removed the bathroom vanity and was able to fit two smaller vanities side by side after having a plumber split the line to house two sinks. I had the fur downs removed above the vanity and also in the shower. I chose white 3×6 subway tile with charcoal colored grout for the surround, and I love how it all turned out. This master bedroom and bath gets the award for most improved.
UPSTAIRS BONUS ROOM
After much debate I elected not to have the bonus room included in the square footage of this home. But why? More square footage is always better! Not always though. Gather round, my children, let me tell you why it was not better in this case.
This house already exceeded the average home size in the neighborhood by 400-600 square feet. The upstairs bonus room was well over 700 square feet. If I were to have added that into the measured square footage 1) I would have out-priced my neighborhood 2) the home would have to sell for a greatly reduced price per square foot, thus lowering comps and property values in the neighborhood. I fancy myself the Santa Clause of property values, not the Grinch. I giveth, I don’t taketh away.
So, the homeowners have a nice, huge bonus room upstairs where they can send their kids up to play. Because I wasn’t including this room in the square footage I put the bare minimum into it: paint and carpet only. It truly is just free bonus space for the home owners to do what they choose with.
THROUGHOUT THE HOUSE
Throughout the house all of the popcorn ceilings were scraped and textured, because that crap is gross. If I have one mission in this life it is to eradicate all the popcorn ceilings from this planet. DEATH WILL FIND YOU.
Wood look tile floors were added in all of the main areas and hallways (This floor tile from Lowe’s is so affordable and of GREAT quality. It looks much more expensive than it was!).
All of the walls and ceilings were painted Repose Gray by Sherwin Williams, and all of the trim and cabinetry was painted SW Snowbound.
When the house was complete I sat back and breathed a sigh of relief. So much had changed in me throughout the course of this project. From beginning to end, the remodel took a total of six weeks, but in many ways I felt like I had lived 6 lifetimes in that span. So much of me had changed and healed, and I had discovered a passion that I didn’t know existed. I felt good about what I had done, but I felt nervous and shy about bringing my family here to see the end product. I had an overwhelming need to make them proud of the changes I had made in our family home before I passed it on to the next family. I felt like the home spoke for us.
I visited Paris when I was eighteen, and I was surprised to see that at a metro stop outside of the Palace Versailles people had graffiti-ed their names all over the walls. It was a beautiful, messy hodge podge of cultures of people crying out “I WAS HERE. SEE ME. REMEMBER ME.” They needed the world to know that they had been here, to be seen and to be remembered at a place that meant something to them. They knew that others would come after them, and that, as long as these walls were standing, they would forever have an imprint that would be seen. The wrapping of my childhood home felt much like that. Our family was here. For over forty years our family loved here and we nursed our hurts here and we grew together and we made a legacy, and now it was time for us to go. It was someone else’s turn to build a life here, but we were here.
