After a lot of house hunting with our real estate agent, Bob, we landed on this Cape Cod, or "The Capers" as I call it in my head. The house is still undergoing a bit of a face lift, but over the past couple years, we've managed to add some of our own style into the mix and are pleased with the way things are going.
So without further ado, I invite you to tour our house:
FRONT YARD - BEFORE
As you can see, the aluminum siding isn't the greatest. The yellow color has faded and some of the upper portions are covered in oxidation. We'd love to get the house resided with vinyl, or perhaps even buff out the oxidation and repaint, but so far I've had to content myself with working on the landscaping.
FRONT YARD - PROGRESS
The kitchen is long and narrow, but overall a pretty decent size for us. When we moved in, we were greated with wood cabinets on top of wood paneling. Yikes! The lacy curtains didn't exactly suit our style either.
KITCHEN - BEFORE
KITCHEN - PROGRESS
KITCHEN - BEFORE
We added some cafe style by painting the paneling with light green and white stripes in a glossy finish. Eventually, I'd like to update the hardware with something a little more sleek, and maybe replace the countertop or at least fix the large seam that cuts the counter in half next to the sink.
KITCHEN - PROGRESS
KITCHEN - BEFORE
My dad helped us replace the overhead fluorescent light with these tiered pendant lamps with frosted shades for a softer, cleaner look. We also replaced one of the two ceiling fans with a industrial stainless-steel hanging pendant lamp (not pictured).
KITCHEN - PROGRESS
The far end of the kitchen made the refrigerator and oversize pantry seem completely sectioned off from the rest of the kitchen. Retrieving food from either was awkward and cumbersome and the whole space felt crowded.
KITCHEN - BEFORE
While unconventional, I have a tendancy to put furniture at an angle in corners of the room. Perhaps not the best solution, but it works for now. The refrigerator is now much more easily accessible, and the paired-down white cabinet is a welcome replacement for the hulking wood pantry. We added some shelves for decorative storage and a little color. I also hung a three-tiered basket from the corner (not pictured).
KITCHEN - PROGRESS
FULL BATHROOM - BEFORE
With the help of our parents and a skilled handyman, we gave the bathroom a complete facelift without undertaking any serious construction. We decided that blocking access to the house's only shower for any extended period of time simply wasn't feasible, so we worked within the same footprint and focused on making it pretty and functional.
The biggest change was that we tore out the old tiles and added drywall throughout the bathroom. We hired a handyman to put up natural stone tile in the tub surround. The effect was amazing. Now this room has the feel of a Tuscan villa, rather than a bathroom in a 70s horror film. We bought the stone at Grossman's Bargain Outlet, saving hundreds on the tiles compared to Lowes or Home Depot. The compass rose-like medallion you see in the center of the shower was a ready-made piece that was backed on wire mesh so our handyman just had to cement it onto the wall all at once. I painted the built-in to have a little more flair and match up with the new tile.
FULL BATHROOM - PROGRESS
FULL BATHROOM - BEFORE
BATHROOM - PROGRESS
FULL BATHROOM - BEFORE
We replaced the old medicine cabinet with one from Pottery Barn that fit in the same size nook as the old one, but had a much larger, more decorative mirror on the front. We also replaced the boxy old sink with a sleek pedestal sink with a tall, low-flow faucet with a single handle and a brushed nickel finish for a higher-end look. We installed a ceiling vent to keep the moisture out of the room. It's whisper quiet but works like a charm, eliminating any potential for mold (well, that and several coats of Perma-White paint).
FULL BATHROOM - PROGRESS
Before we moved in, the dining room had a dropped ceiling, out-of-style ceiling fan, grey faux-wood paneling and a large green rug covering up most of the hardwood floor. With the exception of the rug, all of those things are still there. haha
DINING ROOM - BEFORE
We painted the paneling in a deeper grey and replaced the rug with a smaller one, which has changed several times. The furniture layout is still constantly changing, as is the wall of frames up the staircase. Here it is recently.
DINING ROOM - PROGRESS
DINING ROOM - PROGRESS
I'd like to replace the ceiling fan with a chic chandelier, maybe one made of capez shells. Someday we're hoping to refinish all of the hardwood flooring throughout the house, but that's still a long way off, if it ever comes at all.
LIVING ROOM - BEFORE
We painted the trim a glossy white and painted three of the walls peach with one wall a darker orange/peach color. We replaced the vertical blinds with mocha-colored curtains with a nice sheen and a thin blue and green circle pattern. Ideally, we would have wanted to hang the curtains from above the window to make the room seem taller, but we got things for an incredible discount at Christmas Tree Shop and couldn't complain too much when we couldn't find anything longer. The desk pictured is Chris's "starter desk." He's on his thrid desk now and it seems like we've finally found one he likes.
LIVING ROOM - PROGRESS
The living room leads to the front porch and a small bedroom, which are both pictured later.
LIVING ROOM - BEFORE
Here you can see the two wall colors in the living room. The difference is subtle. The color behind Chris was originally a brighter orange but we ended up mixing it with the peach color to tone it down a little. We purchased this gorgeous coffee table from the Raymour & Flanigan discount center. It was a discontinued item, so we got it for a steal. The top is set with slate and the whole top lifts up and toward the couch to provide an additional surface for a laptop or a dinner plate. Sadly, the couch is a little too small for the coffee table. It would be more useful and comfortable if the couch were just a bit higher up. But as a normal coffee table it works just fine and provides a large surface for collecting junk (sigh...)
LIVING ROOM - PROGRESS
The front porch has a distinct hunting-cabin-in-the-woods feel to it. A scary number of mini blinds boxed the room in, and the dark beaded board adds warmth and texture but keeps it feeling very dark.
FRONT PORCH - BEFORE
For a while the porch was just used for storage, but we've since converted it into an extra three-season guest room with a twin bed the kitties love to perch on. I made curtains for all of the windows with a pretty fabric I bought at Christmas Tree Shop, and we're in the process of taking down the rest of the mini blinds. The porch gets closed off in winter, though, so most progress halts until spring. I'd eventually like to eitehr resurface the floor or paint it. I've also toyed with the idea of painting the ceiling (which is also covered in beaded board) light blue. I'm also considering painting the front door, though I haven't landed on a color yet.
FRONT PORCH - BEFORE
FRONT PORCH - PROGRESS
FRONT PORCH - PROGRESS
The upstairs bedroom in this Cape Cod was painted with a metallic bronze color on the lower walls and parts of the ceiling. It felt dark and cold up there. The bare faux-parcade vinyl floor was uneven and stained with paint. The two dormers in the room featured custom built-in dressers, but they were dingy with cheap hardware and in desperate need of new paint.
MASTER BEDROOM - BEFORE
I've repainted this room twice, painted the built-in dressers, added wall-to-wall carpeting, replaced the curtains with white roman shades, caulked cracks and gaps along the baseboards, and repainted the trim.
MASTER BEDROOM - PROGRESS
MASTER BEDROOM - PROGRESS
Just outside the master bedroom, there was a small nook that had a three-door cabinet that was bulky and not very practical. This cabinet also blocked off the only access to the unfinished attic space on that side of the house, so it had to go (we had to get in there in order to install the ceiling vent in the full bathroom).
CALLIE'S CLOSET - BEFORE
We created a closet for me out of this nook, leaving a small ledge for storage and adding a clothing bar. I later removed the ledge and added in two shelving units which look suspiciously like the cabinet we removed. haha Oh well. I maintain these shelves are easier to access than cabinets would have been.
CALLIE'S CLOSET - PROGRESS
CHRIS'S CLOSET - BEFORE
A quick paint job gave the closet the facelift it needed to be serviceable, although it's still not exactly packed with function. Luckily for us, Chris is a man of few shoes and casual style, so the closet is working just fine for now.
CHRIS'S CLOSET - PROGRESS
Upstairs everything got a coat of Benjamin Moore's Moonshine and we replaced the brass and glass light fixtures with these pretty white ones.
UPSTAIRS HALLWAY - PROGRESS
The half bathroom upstairs is very small but had plenty of potential. I painted a pretty birch tree forest on the back wall and it completely transformed the space. The small wall-mounted lamp is pretty ugly, but we've left it in place so far because it has an outlet on it's base and that's the only electrical outlet in the bathroom. Going to upgrade this soon! We did have the old drafty window replaced and I made pretty curtains to go with the clean, bright white theme in this room.
HALF BATHROOM - BEFORE
HALF BATHROOM - BEFORE
HALF BATHROOM - AFTER
HALF BATHROOM - AFTER
The staircase hallway was a mess. The former owners had wallpapered directly onto drywall, then painted, then wallpapered again, and then painted a few more times. It was a mess. The hardened, painty paper was peeling off just a tad, but it was too much for me to bear. I took the steamer and some vinegar to it and got to work.
STAIRCASE HALLWAY - BEFORE
The results of the great wallpaper peel are far from perfect, but still far better than they were. I covered the wall in pictures, mainly to hide the blemishes, and then reworked the collage with all-white frames for a more unified look. Still in the process of adding art and pictures to the frames.
We also had the drafty old window at the top of the stairs replaced.
STAIRCASE HALLWAY - PROGRESS
The guest room featured old lady-style wallpaper that was peeling off the walls (there was actually clear packing tape holding some of the seams together), dingy trim and a rug with a hole cut into it to accommodate a floor vent. It didn't exactly scream hospitality.
GUEST ROOM - BEFORE
With much complaining and sore fingers, we removed every inch of the wallpaper ... sort of. The paper backing stayed glued to the walls when we peeled away the textured surface. This left the walls with a fuzzy feel. So we primed the walls with some sealant and then slathered on several coats of soft lilac paint. We found a section of fence in the backyard and turned it into the headboard for the bed, and my dad made a matching bench out of old barn wood. I also replaced the shiny tan curtains with grey roman shades.
GUEST BEDROOM - PROGRESS
SPARE ROOM - BEFORE
We strayed a bit away from the usual pastel colors and painted this room with a bold Pyramid Gold color by Behr. It's a gorgeous, mustardy yellow that's just the right amount of masculine. We use the spare room for storing most everything, and it also doubles as a gym with Chris's treadmill, so we're trying to maximize the room's function while adding some much-needed energy.
On chance, we found three huge wooden bookcases at a garage sale, which we purchased for $30. We planned on using them for extra storage in the basement, but as it turns out they were just a smidge too tall for the ceilings down there. So after much cursing on my end, we hauled the bookcases into the spare room and I spent a ridiculous number of hours making them presentable enough for the main floor of the house. It's a lot of work, but I'm hoping this is the first step in finally getting our house organized and picked up after the whirlwind that was our wedding.
SPARE BEDROOM - PROGRESS
The tiny porch off of our back door was cluttered and half the ceiling was missing. The ceiling-mounted light was nothing more than an exposed bulb. I patched the ceiling with leftover drywall materials from our bathroom makeover, then added a light purchased from Wayfair.com. I painted the walls Colonial Woodlawn Gray by Valspar, and the door we painted Yellow Lettuce by Olympic. We also upgraded the door hardware after the break-in, so the knob and lock now sports a nice oil rubbed bronze finish.
BACK PORCH - BEFORE
BACK PORCH - PROGRESS
BACK PORCH - BEFORE
BACK PORCH - PROGRESS
We're just starting to upgrade the exterior of the house. The siding needs work, but the house protects us from wind and rain, so we're happy. The orange roof is fun and colorful, and I'm trying to find ways to work in more brick landscaping to highlight the color. The trim was in bad shape when we moved in, so after a few bouts of repainting, we finally decided to splurge and get ventilated soffits and flashing installed.
BACK DOOR - BEFORE
BACK DOOR - BEFORE
BACK DOOR - PROGRESS
The previous owners left the wooden swing in the backyard, which offers a nice spot to sit in the shade. I've been working on planting ferns for a nice little shade garden back there, but it's a lot of work to keep the weeds out. Still, it's probably nicer than patchy grass and the potential for Chris to run over a tree root with the lawn mower.
BACKYARD - BEFORE
I spent most of my summer of 2012 down in the depths of the basement, throwing out anything the cats had destroyed and sorting through old mementos Chris and I have saved over the years. I repackaged everything from cardboard boxes to plastic tubs with lids to keep items protected. I also patched the floor and painted the walls and floor. I even made some curtains to add a pop of color down there.
BASEMENT - BEFORE
BASEMENT - PROGRESS
BASEMENT - PROGRESS
LAUNDRY ROOM - BEFORE
LAUNDRY ROOM - PROGRESS
LAUNDRY ROOM - PROGRESS
LAUNDRY ROOM - PROGRESS
LAUNDRY ROOM - PROGRESS
