Our Eight Year Before and After Home Tour {Tons of DIYs!}
October 14, 2025
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Our eight year before and after home tour full of DIYs!
It's been a few years since I've done an updated before and after tour of our home! I can't even believe we've been here for eight years now...it's absolutely flown by.
I've had an absolute blast changing up our spaces, and I still have so much I want to do. It's fun to look back at how our home has changed over the years.
I've linked my top three favorite DIY projects for each room.
If I leave anything out that you're curious about, please let me know and I'll include the details.
ENTRYWAY/FOYER
Our entryway hasn't gotten a ton of DIY attention, I think the real star in here is the furniture I added earlier this year.
I have always loved how open this foyer is -- it's so spacious and we love it!. This is what it looked like right before we moved in:
I copied the set up from our foyer in our old house, with the dresser I painted blue, the round mirror and double lamps:
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Since then I've done a few simple DIY projects.
Crown molding and a very light blue painted ceiling instantly made this area feel more grand.
I've also changed the light fixture a few times over the eight years, but this bubble light fixture I installed early this year is by far my favorite!:
Look at our sweet Peanut lying there. 😥
That fixture is an unexpected, fun addition that is really quite beautiful! The glass bulbs have a detail that creates a pretty effect on the ceiling and walls when the light is on.
My favorite foyer projects:
- My $15 trim accent wall using a luan wood sheet -- this is still my favorite way to add a simple trim with a low profile.
- The DIY brass air intake vent on the opposite wall was a smaller update that made a BIG difference!
- Replacing a long, open table with this vintage dresser from our son's room was my favorite update! It's a classic and I was able to restore it with some quick projects.
GREAT/FAMILY ROOM
Our great room is what sold us on this house the first time we saw it! The walls were only studs at the time, but we could envision how it would look someday.
Here's how it looked before move in day:
I surprised myself and wasn't sure I wanted to build tall bookcases on either side of the fireplace. Instead, we purchased two consoles:
We kept the neutral Agreeable Gray color everywhere as well:
I soon realized that, DUH...this room was calling out for built in bookcases! After building those, I added decorative trim to the front of the fireplace wall as well.
Big, open rooms like this can feel cold, so I wanted to add a rich color to the fireplace. I painted it and the bookcases all in a deep blue gray color called Cyberspace:
The dark color highlights the pretty fireplace but also grounds the room it a bit. Our colorful Loloi rug has been a game changer in here as well. It warms up the space so much!
My favorite great room projects:
- The short built in bookcases I added on each side of the fireplace instantly upped the character in this brand new room.
- Adding thick molding on the front of the fireplace made it even more of a statement!
- I made that giant square DIY coffee table using the bases of two smaller inexpensive ones. I added my own wood top.
MY OFFICE
My office is the latest makeover I've completed in our home -- take the full tour here!
The ideas were churning well before we moved in -- I had the builder add an outlet in the floor so we could float a desk in the middle of the room:
We later had our hardwoods continued into this room, and then I got started on the wall of built in bookcases on the back wall:
I wanted to warm things up a bit, and that triggered a bunch of updates over the past year.
Now the bookcases are all that pretty, deep green (Vintage Vogue) and the added grasscloth wallpaper has really cozied up the space:
This is my favorite spot in the house right now, not only because it feels like a warm cocoon, but because it's filled with so many photos, mementos and things that I love!
My favorite office projects:
- I shared how I build all of my bookcases with kitchen cabinets as the bases. This is my staple DIY trick to add a ton of storage as well as create a custom built in look with way less work.
- This giant upholstered pin board on the other side of the room is a favorite as well. I love looking at all of the inspiration and memories as I work.
- This neutral grasscloth wallpaper and the added library molding along the bottom third of the wall really made this room so much more sophisticated for not much money. I love the difference both made!
THE KITCHEN
Our kitchen hasn't undergone any huge makeovers, but is a testament to the difference little changes make in a space!
Here's how our white kitchen looked before move in day:
I immediately warmed up and treated our island butcher block counters with some stain and my go-to product that makes wood counters last forever:
A few years in, I had an idea to change up our basic island configuration and make it look more custom.
Without changing the countertops I turned this side view:
Into this view, with a much more substantial island that also gives our heavy countertops more support. We can still easily access the cabinets underneath as well:
My favorite kitchen projects:
- Extending the sides of the island was one of the simplest kitchen projects I've ever tackled, but made a big impact!
- My added built in storage on the side of the fridge is still one of my favorite projects! It's the perfect spot to store our big cutting boards and is as functional as it is pretty.
- A few years ago I removed all of the wire shelving in our pantry and replaced it with cabinets and TONS of custom organization. This has worked so well for our family!:
MAIN BEDROOM
Our bedroom has seen a TON of do-it-yourself projects over these eight years. It was a blank slate (with great natural light!) when we moved in:
My first addition was adding wood beams around the perimeter of the tray ceiling (I had help with that installation). I stained the beams and then painted the ceiling a dark gray called Westchester Gray:
I leaned into that dark gray and later hung wallpaper and painted the bottom third of the walls. We loved the moodiness of it, but all of that gray was fighting with the softer look I wanted in there.
Last year I brightened things up a bit by keeping the grasscloth, but installing bright white tongue and groove planks along the bottom:
Oh my, it feels so much more open and airy now...but still cozy.
I later added some contrast with these gorgeous dark green curtains around the room. We LOVE all of the windows in here, but I need my blackout drapes at night! 😂
I have plans to do a new ceiling makeover soon -- it's been almost eight years and I'm ready for a change!
My favorite bedroom projects:
- The painted ceiling and wood beams highlight our tray ceiling and add a ton of warmth.
- Installing the tongue and groove trim vertically is a classic look and I LOVE how it brightens up the space.
- Our nightstands are actually small Hemnes Ikea dressers. I gave them a makeover with trim, paint and new hardware. They're still classic eight years later!
DINING/MORNING ROOM
Our dining room was labeled as a "morning room" on our home plans because of all of the natural light it gets:
Plus it's way less stuffy than a formal dining room, but that's what we call it for simplicity's sake.
During the build I knew I wanted to add a built in window seat, so I had the builder move the overhead light over about a foot so it would be centered on the table:
Years later that window seat is one of my favorite additions to our home! There was some space next to the windows where I added some skinny bookcases as well:
This dining table is my all time best second hand find! I found it on Facebook Marketplace for $100 and it retails for more than $2000 now:
I LOVE the warm tones in this room is, especially this time of year!
My favorite dining projects:
- The simple picture frame molding on the walls is an easy way to add a ton of character!
- Our window seat build and the bookcases on each side make a beautiful focal point in this room.
- I painted our buffet a rich burgundy color earlier this year and it's probably one of my favorite furniture makeovers ever.
MUD AND LAUNDRY ROOM COMBO
When we saw the layout of this home, the only room that I wasn't so sure about was the mud room/laundry combo:
We had a combination of the two at our last house and hated it so much we ended up moving our laundry to the basement (and loved it).
Now...that room was a fraction of this size 😂, so I should have kept that in mind. But I wanted to make the best use of this space so it wasn't a constant dumping ground like our old one was.
After living in the house for a few years, I decided to make some tweaks to the layout, and those turned into a giant makeover!
I replaced our folding table with a built in with TONS of drawers for storage:
See a tour of what I store in those drawers here. I've since whittled that down and a couple of them are currently empty!
Since we have top loaders, moving the wall cabinets to above the new built in made more sense -- we couldn't reach them where they were first installed.
This DIY shelf works much better for us.
I smile when I walk in the door to this room every day. It's so fresh and pretty!
My favorite mud/laundry room projects:
- I built in a ton of storage by using four sets of base cabinets with drawers. This is THE BEST! I added some details that make it look like a built in dresser.
- If you have a top loader washer, a DIY shelf over the washer and dryer is a game changer! It gives us easy access to all the laundry necessities and looks great.
- We had a closet added to this room while we were building and I later turned it into the most useful closet in our home. It's now where we store all of our cleaning items and all of the cat litter/needs.
BASEMENT FAMILY ROOM AND KITCHENETTE
Our basement has had more DIY updates than any other space in our home. We are fortunate to have a large family/game room area, as well as a kitchenette I built from the ground up.
We are a basement-loving family, so we spend quite a bit of time down there, especially in the winter months.
The cozy spot where we watch TV started out pretty basic:
For a long time we didn't have much other than a sectional and an old console table we propped the TV on:
The past eight years have brought so many updates and now this is our favorite spot in the house!
Moody paint on the walls and molding warmed it up a ton, and a bunch of secondhand finds have really cozied up this space:
Years back I built this HUGE built in entertainment center with a bench in the middle. It completely transformed this room!:
The combination of stained wood and the dark gray paint are perfect in a moody basement space.
My favorite basement family room projects:
- Our custom DIY entertainment center build creates a ton of storage and holds our AV equipment in the bench in the middle.
- The molding boxes on the walls add instant character. Later on I painted all of the window and door trim in the room as well.
- Our DIY fireplace (near this space) not only looks great, but gives off great heat when it gets chilly in the winter months:
My final before and after is one I worked the hardest on in the past eight years. Our basement kitchenette was a blank slate when we moved in...quite literally.
We had utilities run during the build, so the electricity and plumbing were set up. We didn't even have carpet installed, thinking we'd start this addition sooner than later:
It was only about seven years before we started. :)
When I was sure of the layout, we purchased the ready-to-assemble cabinets for this room. I can't recommend them enough! They are easy to build, offer high end upgrades and are a great price point.
I had help with was the actual installation of the cabinets, thank goodness. I'm so glad I didn't attempt that myself!
Otherwise I figured out the rest on my own, and I'm really proud of how it all came together. Here's how that same space looks now!:
My favorite kitchenette projects:
- The RTA (ready to assemble) cabinets can sound intimidating, but once you get one down they get much easier to put together. The instructions are clear and easy to follow.
- Instead of floating shelves, I decided to build countertop bookcases up the ceiling. They're a fun spot to decorate.
- My last DIY in this space was the built in bar with hidden storage. The other side (facing into the room) has two large cabinets that hold our alcohol and bar necessities.
It's so fun to look back and see how far our home has come! I appreciate you all following along on this DIY ride. :)
If there are any products or makeovers you're wondering about, please let me know in the comments.
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I always love seeing posts like this!!! Kudos to you for all of your creativity, dedication and effort in bringing those visions to life! Gorgeous spaces!!!
ReplyDeleteYou have made some marvelous changes and improvements. Thank you for taking us along!
ReplyDeleteYour home is lovely and feels brand new!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful home! You have such a talent! I enjoy seeing all of your projects! I know they involve a lot of hard work!
ReplyDeleteI have followed your blog a long time. Bought the sofa you recommended from Macys and it’s perfect. Used your idea for photo frame ledges to show off my grand girls .
ReplyDeleteWould like to know what color you used to paint blue on the ceiling. I think it was the foyer. Please share!