When we were searching for a home, we had a few things we really wanted, and a big lot with some land was really important to us. Based on our budget and the market in our town, we could only afford a fixer upper in that category. So, when we found a home with great bones, a great layout, and more importantly a beautiful yard, we couldn’t pass it up. Let me just tell you, though… this home was UGLY! Purple/burgundy colored carpet, decked out in wallpaper with designer matching drapes, and mirrors EVERYWHERE (literally a wall of mirrors in almost every room.) My husband literally had to drag me to go see this home when it popped up online, because when I saw these pictures:

I could barely take it…. NO WAY I’m living in something that looks like that… But as we walked through the house, it instantly felt like home to both of us! We could picture spending our lives here, eventually raising our children here, and growing old together here. It has been quite the project, and the area in these photos show the only room that’s actually completely finished, but it’s worth it. We’re creating a home love, and making it look exactly like we want it to look.

 

Here’s the before and after of the space above:

 

This room shows the only wall of mirrors in the home we’re keeping. You can’t quite tell from the above picture there, but the mirror panels were flush with each other against the wall, with a few ugly seams screaming out in between. My amazing and super attractive carpenter (aka husband) built those frames out of gorgeous dark stained wood to turn the mirrors into a feature wall. Just those few pieces of wood really took that mirror from 80’s outdated to modern chic, don’t you think??

My husband also BUILT that table! From scratch! After the renovation costs, we couldn’t find a table in our price range that we loved, so he designed and built us one out of less than $300 worth of supplies! You definitely can’t beat that! Those chairs are from Big Lots and Ross, making our high-end looking dining set a huge bargain.

 

Here’s the living room before and after…  I made the curtains myself with blackout lining for movie watching, and my husband built the custom bay window curtain rod out of electric conduit, because bay window curtain rods are crazy expensive!

 

The above picture was actually taken before we got the frames on the mirrors, so you can see how they looked before. The gallery wall is my favorite!

The map item on the right of the gallery wall was found in the house, and I love keeping a small piece of the home’s history! The map actually has little windows showing the time in different countries of the world. There’s little tapes behind the glass that rotate to show you the current time, plus the time in other countries. This piece is from the 50’s, and believe it or not it still works when you plug it in! Such a cool piece!

I worried a bit about the paint color being too dark, but once it all came together, even though the floors are dark, the walls are dark, and the furniture is dark, with all the light from the windows and mirrors in the room, it still feels bright and cheerful. I’m so glad we finally have one room done!

 

Stay tuned for more pictures of the home reno! We have a long journey left to go, and it’s going to be a beautiful ride!

Love and happiness,

Catie