Here are some of our before pictures, complete with the previous owner’s furnishings. We took these during a walk through before she moved out. I’ll have more later. We plan to ditch the grape wallpaper and paint the cabinets white. I’d love new counter tops, but that is a long range project.
We will paint all the trim and wainscoting white, as well as the cool built in to the left. I’m looking for inspiration to replace that light fixture on pinterest.
Here’s the half bath off the kitchen, the scene of plumbing nightmare #1. Eventually we’ll paint the wood and the walls, and replace the light fixture. I’m thinking I’ll paint the mirror’s frame a fun color.
The kitchen opens up to the living room. Let’s play count the grapes on the wall.
Here’s the living room complete with nightmare popcorn ceiling and so much wood paneling. We ripped out the carpet and took down the popcorn. We’ve painted the paneling and are almost done with the trim. I can’t wait to show you the after pics!
You still can’t see the popcorn very well, but trust me when I say it was awful. Popcorn ceilings have never really urked me, probably because I grew up in the 80s. These were a whole other level of popcorn, big nasty kernels everywhere. Gross.
This is the front door and entryway. We plan to rip off the wallpaper and make this a fun focal wall with family pics.
The dining room was otherwise known as the previous owner’s cat’s litter box. Thanks to advice from some of my cat loving friends we are battling the cat pee destruction day by day. We’ve ripped out the carpet and are hitting the pee daily with Nature’s Miracle Enzyme cleaner. Jed said it is the nastiest job he’s ever had to do. He ripped out the base boards and is fighting with the concrete below. We plan to put in wood laminate flooring and take down the wallpaper as soon as we get the cat pee under control. We haven’t decided on a paint color yet, but I’m leaning toward an aquamarine.
Our master bedroom feels so big, and we have fallen in love with the parquet flooring though we hated it at first. We’ve already painted in here and I’ll have after pics up soon.
The master bath is the scene of plumbing nightmares #2-5. Eventually we want to gut the whole dang thing. Don’t you love the magnolia trim and gold flaked wallpaper? You don’t? I HATE it. Please note the teeny tiny bathtub. Who fits in that? It was not made for a full grown human.
This will be the Bear’s bedroom eventually, and the almost identical bedroom will be Mini Bear’s. We’ve set up Bear’s stuff in the other room so that we can paint this one without all his furniture in the way.
Take away all the previous owner’s furniture, add in new carpet, tons of boxes, and the odor of cat pee, and you’ve got a great picture of our Duck Creek Ranch. We know we will make it into a beautiful home for our family eventually, but the getting there is going to take a while.
How long did it take you to feel at home in your house?
For the next installation in our Real Home Inspiration Series, my friend Kimie from Kimie Pruessner Photography is telling you all about her amazing shared kids’ room and playroom with a DIY closet bunkbed. When I first saw it, I thought it was the coolest and most practical space. She turned the closet in to a bunk bed, leaving all the floor space for play. This series is all about real homes and real people with creative and inspiring but lived in, unstaged spaces. I’ll turn it over to Kimie. Enjoy!
