Wednesday, September 22, 2010

House Before and Afters

We put our house up for sale almost two months ago, and boy, this market is rough!  We don't have a lot of equity, so we decided to make some changes that would be low budget but hopefully high impact.  I thought you might like to see my two biggest projects!

Project #1 -- The Master Bathroom
I really wish I had taken a true before picture, while the walls were still a gross hospital-gown-green color.  I painted that back when we first moved in and hated in ever since, but I was always too lazy to repaint (plus I could never trust myself to pick the right color!).  Before we listed the house I painted it the same tan as our bedroom, but then it was SOOOOO boring.  It actually made our boring ugly we-had-no-money-for-upgrades-when-we-built-this-house cabinets look even worse, probably because now you had nowhere else to look...

Before:


After:


Biggest impact is definitely painting the cabinetry.  It seriously looks like a million bucks compared to what was there before.  I also framed out the mirror, following the tutorial here.  We replaced the ugly mini-blinds with pretty honeycomb shades, and I made super basic toile valances.  My favorite score?  The light fixture was $17.49 at NPS Store, a big overstock/scratch-and-dent warehouse place in Salt Lake City.  The shades were ugly and one of them was broken, so I spent another $12 to replace them with these pretty seeded glass shades.  I even got the lightbulbs at IKEA for 29 cents a box.  Oh, how I love a deal. 

Project #2 -- Repainting the Kitchen Cabinets
I have been wanting to do this for YEARS, but the hubs was not a fan of the idea until he saw the impact in our master bathroom.  Then he realized that yes, I was right and we did, in fact need to transform the ugly cabinets downstairs as well. 

Before:


After:


Since we wanted light cabinets and the walls were white, I first had to repaint our whole main floor.  Let me tell you -- the color "Harmonious Tan" from Behr is decidedly green, but it's a very nice green!  It's what I would have picked as a green had I not been completely scared away from green by my disastrous previous experience (see bathroom history above...).  I then scrubbed up the cupboards really well, gave them a light sanding, and went to town on the refinishing.  I LOVED the look of this kitchen redo, so I followed her instructions for adding the beadboard wallpaper to the insets.  I'm not in love with the color of my cabinets -- I think the "Bleached Linen" (Behr) color I picked is too bright white, but it's definitely a huge improvement over what we had before.  I am in love with the stuff up above my cabinets, but that's another post for another day...

I think these projects make the house look a lot more "custom," so hopefully the buyers out there will realize they are just dying to move right in!

10 comments:

Amy C said...

Wow Tomi!! These are some fabulous improvements!! I love the look that the fresh coat of paint gives as well as the wonderful little touches you have added. Awesome job!!

Hugs,
Amy ♥

Brooke S said...

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE all your changes... We have been in a redo frenzy over her as well.. Don't you love the changes so much that you don't want to move now :(

Hugs
BROOKE

Melissa said...

WOW! It's amazing what a little paint can do! I think you did an awesome job and if I were in the area I would definitely give your home a second look! Good luck!!!

Ramona said...

So fabulous! I LOVE those kitchen cabinets! You have so inspired me! Maybe I'll start with my bathroom ones first! It's amazing the difference it makes! You are awesome!

Tonya said...

WOW! I am impressed with both makeovers! They really make a dramatic difference in appearances of the room, and POSITIVE at that! Now, take some time to work on some scrapbook pages --- you deserve it!!! ;)

My Serendipity said...

Wow..I can't believe the transformation. It was beautiful before but wow..amazing what a difference paint can make! What color did you paint the bathroom cabinet? It looks black but not jet black and not shiny..I really like!

hf said...

Seriously amazing! I love the projects you do and how creative they are and how quickly you finish them! Very inspiring.

Halaulani

AShu93 said...

Wow! I am so impressed at how beautiful a little paint can make something. I was thinking that I needed to get a new vanity like you did & then I kept reading that all it was is paint!? Wow is all I can say! It looks beautiful & good luck selling your house.

Jen said...

Fantastic improvement! I've been wanting to do something to my cabinets for a VERY long time. (They look identical to your before pics cabinets...bleh!... Functional? Yes. Pretty? NOT!) You may have inspired me to get off my thinking chair and get it done.
THANKS for sharing!! And good luck selling your house.

kim.mom said...

AWESOME JOB!!! Love the changes!!