House reno's

Not only am I lucky to have my other half be an outstanding father and partner, but he is also a fantastic handyman and a fellow DIYer. We really are a great team!

He bought a home in April and quickly got to work on it. It had had only one owner and had been decorated about the time the home was built -- around 60 years ago. This was the upstairs washroom before he got started on it:

Dated floors, wallpaper and wood panelling walls. We spent an entire weekend, with the help of his parents, stripping wallpaper, tearing up the floors, painting, painting and more painting. We also wallpapered a bit, but with a more classic design that will hopefully stand the test of time.

 

This is the wallpaper that we ended up using. The original plan had been to paint, but once we stripped the other paper off, we quickly realized that there would be no way to get the glue completely off from the old stuff, so we opted to cover it instead. This paper was easy to hang and is actually textured. Isn't it gorgeous?!

 

 

 

We love the new bathroom. It was fairly easy and relatively inexpensive to redo.

 

The next room that he did was our daughters room. The before was plain, dated and not fit for a little girl.

 

 

 

We also had a condo on the other side of town, and A's room is pink there, so we choose bright green for this room. Other than a coat of paint and the carpet coming up, this room took next to no time.  The wall at the end of the bed is a bright green that matches the blinds and the inexpensive canvess art that adorns the walls. (Dollar store canvas painted green with decals that are also on the walls -- so simple and totally his idea!).

 

 

Note the ammmmmmazing headboard made from pallets! It's absolutely beautiful and our kiddo loves it. Very shabby chic....especially now that she has a matching bedside table too!

 

 

(See how to instructions in separate blog "DIY Pallet Furniture")



We had decided to host Christmas this year and with reno's in full swing and family from out of town coming, I was really pushing getting the living room done. The kitchen is still in progress and the basement hasn't been touched, so I wanted a place where we could enjoy each other company and relax. Before we started the reno's, it stayed true to the rest of the house: aged orange carpet, terrible wallpaper and old tiles at the front door.

The door in the left hand side of the picture is the front hall closet, adjacent to the front door. There is a wall that separated (note the PAST TENSE!) the living room from the dining room, as well as one that separates the dining room from the kitchen, so the main floor was really choppy and had no flow. We spent one evening taking down the wallpaper (until 2:30 a.m. - we were SO sore the next day!!!) and took the carpet up. His brother came over and retiled the front foyer and the closet will soon be turned into a mudroom closet. (Pics to come!!). We picked a beautiful neutral colour that is dark and creates a cozy, comfy atmosphere and brings out the natural wood colours from the mantel and the window frames.

I can't even begin to describe how much I love the living room now. We enjoyed our family over the holidays in our new space. We were all so cozy, with our tree lit beside the fireplace, my other half's brother playing his guitar and our daughter in her brand new jammies enjoying time with the people that love her.

These reno's have, at times, been a test of patience, a test of our relationship and a test of our very different tastes, but overall we have a great start to making this house our home.