What a difference 18 months makes!

April 30, 2019

Hello there! Hope your week is going well! I'm back with an 18 month before and after recap of our home. I really can't believe it's been that long -- because it feels like we've lived here WAY longer. Feels like many years, not months. Not sure if that's a good or bad thing. 😂 I'll go with good. 

You all know looking back and seeing what I've accomplished so far is just about my favorite thing ever. A lot of people wondered what I would do with myself in a new house. I always laugh because it has given me a whole new canvas for projects. (I knew it would!) I've had an absolute blast adding my stamp to it!

Some have asked why I didn't have the builder do many of the transformations, and the main reason is...I just know I need more time to make decisions. When it comes to paint colors and built ins and stuff like that...I need to live in the space to figure it all out. That, and I know I can do things cheaper on my own. :)

So I've rounded up a few of my favorite makeovers so far -- be sure to check out this post to see how the house looked one year in! I grabbed some of these photos from my Instagram account just because they are the most up-to-date. 

The dining area/morning room got a lot of attention last fall! This is how the room looked at my first reveal: 
Morning room/dining area open layout

It was lovely! I just wanted to add some contrast and character in here. 

About six months after moving in we found furniture for this space that we loved. Later I added a moody paint color, a window seat and built ins: 


Dark blue accent wall in dining

I hadn't put the rug back in here when I took this photo, but the room now has the rug that was in our family room. 

If you can't tell, I have a thing with blue. I LOVE IT. I later added the pretty blue and white floral wallpaper in the hallway nearby: 
Kamala blue and white wallpaper


I'm thrilled to have a dedicated foyer in this home! It's one of the things that I loved about the layout. Here's the foyer after unpacking and getting things settled: 
Dark blue dresser in foyer

I realized something the longer we lived here -- just because I had a piece of furniture in a room in the old house, I could switch things up a bit! I stuck to what I had before, and it was silly, but an epiphany of sorts that I could change it up. 

So this year I moved some furniture around (I added the $15 wall treatment last year and then painted the ceiling too) and now it feels SO much more like this house: 
Everett foyer table white board and batten

Take a look at the foyer projects here!

I have many more projects on my list for our master, but we are loving the dramatic changes we've made so far! Here's the master soon after moving in: 
Master with bamboo shades

We added some new items in here (new light and bed), but the biggest change was the dark tray ceiling and wood beams
Wood beams and dark tray ceiling

You get a little holiday spirit in this post -- this is the latest photo I have of the changes. ;) We have newer bedding that I shared here

I looooove the dark ceiling in here! It's so incredibly cozy: 
How to decorate around TV

The powder room makeover was my first in this house -- I started on the smallest room and it still took me forever! This was the room soon after moving in: 
Powder room with wood floors gray vanity

I fell in love with a peel and stick wallpaper that kicked off this makeover and I'm still SO happy with how it all came together. This bathroom transformation really made this feel like home: 
Navy peel and stick wallpaper in bathroom

Our basement family room always been one of our favorite spots in the house! This is how it looked the first time I shared it: 
Basement family room with sectional

I added a dark accent wall that runs the length of the basement:
Light gray sectional with chaise

I also ended up buying the console table that I shared here and I LOVE it! It's perfect down here!: 
Perfect wood console table

The nearby wall got the dark gray color as well. It started like this: 
Adding game storage with cubbies

And now looks like this after the recent updates I made: 
Game storage wall for kid space or basement

It is the perfect storage for our games!! This was such a fun project. You can see all of the basement transformations here

Our kitchen didn't get many updates till recently -- I just finished up a bunch of smaller projects. Here's a shot I took right before moving in: 
White wavy subway tile with gray grout

And here it is with the small updates -- you have to look closely for them! You can go here to see all of the details I've added over the past couple of months: 
White and gray kitchen design

Our family room was the room I focused on most for the first six months or so. Here's a shot of the stair wall a few days after moving in: 
White and stained wood on stairs

And here it is a couple weeks ago (ignore the dog toys):
Decorating stair walls

Those simple picture ledges are one of my favorite DIYs ever --  you can see larger versions of them in the basement above as well!

I love the symmetry of our family room, but I was craving some contrast. It was very vanilla before: 
Tall fireplace with lights and sofas on either side

And now the dark wall color on the fireplace wall and built ins (I added those last year) adds a bit of drama but still keeps things calm and cozy:
Symmetrical family room with tall fireplace

Whew! I've tackled some minor projects in the mud/laundry room, my office, the basement stairs and our master bath as well. I started on our son's room soon after moving in and haven't touched it since, so that's on the list for this year. 

My mind literally swims with ideas! I'm so thankful for our beautiful home and all of the potential for projects that keep me busy and give me an outlet for my do-it-myself and decor passions. 

It has been so much fun and I'm so thankful to have you all join in with this process! Do you have a favorite transformation so far? Have you tried any of these projects in your home? 



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Comments

  1. I just love seeing all that you have done - everything is so beautiful! I agree with you that it helps to live somewhere for awhile before making decisions. Thanks for the tour!
    Shelley

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  2. Love your changes and addition of darker colors. Your new home is just beautiful!

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  3. Small but beautiful touches everywhere! Really loving the darker wall colours. ❤️✨

    Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog
    http://charmainenyw.com

    ReplyDelete
  4. Bookmarking this as inspo! I love your design choices - tres chic!

    xx Bry Jaimea | bryjaimea.com

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  5. Such beautiful inspiration from you...always! I love everything you have done!

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  6. W
    OW- all that in just a year and a half? You have been busy! Looks awesome!!!!

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  7. I love your changes! They are subtle yet make such a difference in making your home cozy and in your style!

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  8. Where do you live? Can you please come help me with my house???

    ReplyDelete

If you have a specific question I will do my best to answer you back here!

You can find our paint colors and links to items at the "Our Home" tab at the top of my site.

THANKS so much for reading!