A HUGE Nine Year Before and After Home Tour!
September 10, 2026
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Nine year before and after home tour {SO many DIYs!}
It has been NINE years of fun do-it-yourself projects and decor in our home!
If you're a long time follower who has seen the transformation of our home,
can you believe it's been that long?
It's been a while since I've done an extensive before and after tour, room by
room. So today I gathered a ton of pics and I'll share links to many of the
projects. If I don't link to something you're interested in, please let me
know in the comments.
I've had an absolute blast making this house more of a home. There's still a
lot I'd like to accomplish, so throughout this post I'll share what I have
planned for the future.
Let's start with our laundry/mud room that I made some updates to earlier this
year...
Mud Room and Laundry Combo
By the way, the title for each room will link to ALL of the projects for the
spaces. You can easily scroll through the years of projects to find exactly
what you're interested in.
I wasn't too sure if we'd like having our laundry in our mud room -- we
had that combo years ago in our first home and ended up moving the laundry to
the basement.
But because of the size, this set up has been absolutely wonderful. We have
plenty of room (and now way more storage) so it stays clutter free.
Here's the folding table area before and after:
And the full view over towards the mud room cubbies after installing a wall of shiplap years ago and then now:
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I took down the shiplap and painted these walls in a nice neutral called
Pachyderm a few months ago.
Kitchen
Our kitchen has undergone a TON of DIY projects over the years, most of them
smaller touches that add up to a bigger impact.
I later built thicker shelves and continued the subway tile by the
refrigerator:
I've done a few makeovers to our large kitchen islands over the years, but the latest one is my
favorite!
We've always loved the butcher block countertop, and will keep that as
long as possible. But as you can see in the before, the sides on the island
didn't extend fully underneath:
So I later
extended the island all the way underneath the counter and added much needed character:
I've done countless projects in our kitchen, but that
pretty DIY vent hood cover
is one of my favorites!
This fall I plan to FINALLY paint the island and I cannot wait! Right now
I'm thinking of a rich, dark green color...but nothing is set in stone yet.
:)
I think that will make the island even more of a statement and add some much
needed color in here.
Pantry
In our first house, we had to make do with a very tiny pantry. I was thrilled
to even have that! This home has a great sized, walk in pantry that I had big
plans for when we moved in.
Understandably, it was a mess for the first few months as we figured out the
organization in the kitchen:
Years later, I tore out all of the shelving and started again with an empty room. My goal
was to
create a butler's pantry that would give us a ton of storage
but also serve as overflow when we entertain.
We LOVE this room now!:
Earlier this year I added more charm with wallpaper and a new
backsplash.
Looking at it, you wouldn't think there's as much storage space as
before:
But I built
pull out shelving in each of these tall cabinets, so we can store just as much as before:
Powder Room
Our powder room is another small space that has gotten a lot of attention.
Here it is before:
And now, after two different wallpaper options over the years. The tall board
and batten is perfect in this room -- so clean and fresh!:
After all of the bigger projects in here, turns out my favorite is
the window cling I added on the window. :)
This room is almost DONE done. I'd still like to paint the gray vanity
someday, but it's not on the priority list right now.
Dining Room
Our dining/morning room started pretty basic:
But of course I had plans up my sleeve!
After a few years of a darker wall
color, I ended up with this beautiful neutral called Pachyderm (by
Sherwin-Williams), the same color as our laundry walls:
For years I struggled to fully pull this room together until I
found our gorgeous dining table on Facebook Marketplace last year. It pulled everything together beautifully!
I knew even before we moved in that this wall had to have a window seat:
Family Room
Our family room has had one of the biggest transformations, mostly because of
the fireplace. Here's how it looked right after we move in day:
Most of the changes in this room have been with the decor, but this
dark Cyberspace color and trim on the fireplace
has made a HUGE difference:
I built the bookcases on either side shortly after we moved in, but they're pretty understated. The dark color is perfect on the tall fireplace and
makes this space feel so much warmer:
I later painted the fireplace surround the same dark dusty blue color and am
so glad I did!
The decor details are what really cozy up this great room --
my favorite rug with all of the warm colors
helps to ground this room with tall ceilings.
Basement
The basement looks like a completely different space -- I've spend so much
time adding some moody character over the years.
This is our family room area shortly after we moved in:
And now, after tons of applied moldings on the walls, paint and other touches:
This TV wall was one of the most boring in our home at first:
And turned into one of my all time biggest DIY projects with this
giant wall of built ins around the television:
This area is so cozy, we love entertaining down here and spend most evenings relaxing in the family room.
My BIGGEST project in all of my DIY years was the kitchenette/bar I built from
scratch. It started out like this:
We had the sink and fridge plumbed and some outlets added, but that was
it!
As you can see, we didn't even have the carpet laid here since we thought this
room would be a more urgent project.
Well, I didn't start it until six years later, but it was definitely worth the
wait!:
Other than installing the cabinets, did every other project in this room and
I'm super proud of it.
I joke that most of my DIY skills have developed from sheer
impatience...because I don't want to have to wait for someone else to do it
for me. :)
In this room I had a few firsts, including plumbing the sink from scratch and
installing the disposal. I later
built the bar with hidden storage
that finished off the space:
Oh my goodness, we love this room and are so thankful for it!
On the opposite side of this space, I started with another looong blank
wall:
Thankfully I got some help with the initial build of our fireplace, but I
finished it up with the surround and smaller projects like the
DIY wood picture ledges:
The dark gray paint color on all of these walls is called Westchester by Sherwin-Williams.
I've been working on updates in my husband's office (through this hallway),
and I'll share those soon:
I've waffled back and forth about painting the ceiling in this giant room, and
finally decided I want to do it...but I don't want to do it. 😂 Painting ceilings
is one of the worst projects EVER (in my opinion).
Problem is, I don't want to pay someone to do it either, ha! Sooooo we'll
see...I think I may try working on in chunks over time. Maybe. 😑
Foyer
Our entryway has become one of my favorite rooms in our house! It's always
been a lovely space:
But early this year, I went out of my comfort zone and
installed a HUGE wallpaper mural. It completely transformed this room:
It makes a big statement and sets the tone when you walk into our home.
I'm SO so happy I finally decided to do this!
A few months ago I tackled the little alcove opposite the mural wall. The
pinstripe wallpaper ties in beautifully with the
dark Cyberspace doors and trim:
My Office
When we first walked through our home (just with studs), I knew I wanted to
set up my office with the desk floating in the middle:
I loved the layout, but (shocker!) had so many ideas in mind to add storage and
charm.
Another
wall of built ins made with kitchen cabinets
was the first big project:
The opposite side of the room had a lot of potential as well:
It was the perfect spot for a
giant DIY upholstered bulletin/pin board:
This room feels warm and collected now, and is full of memories and trinkets
that I love. I'm so thankful I get to work in this beautiful room!
Main bedroom
Our bedroom has gone from light to dark, and then back to light! It has a TON
of natural light with all of the windows, so the dark colors didn't bother me at first.
We started with the paint color we had on every wall when we moved in,
Agreeable Gray:
Later we had the hardwoods extended into this room (they were discontinued
weeks after we moved in and I was able to find some of the last boxes!).
One of our other big changes in here was getting
wood beams built around the tray ceiling. And for years we had gray paint and wallpaper on the walls, but the dark
colors felt heavy fast:
This summer I undid some of these projects and removed the wallpaper.
I had to
touch up the Agreeable Gray paint, but it was worth it! Our room is so
soothing and peaceful now:
You can see the plain tray ceiling in this before pic:
And how "knotty" and orange toned the current DIY beams are now:
They just don't fit anymore, but I think I've finally come up with a plan. Of
course...another ceiling project that I'm dreading. :)
I can see it in my mind though, and know it will be worth it! I'll share those
plans soon!
These nine years have absolutely flown by! We are so thankful for our
beautiful home and hope to stay here a very long time. My head is always
swimming with potential DIY projects,
Thankfully I'm finally coming out of my
usual summer slothdom, so stay tuned for more tutorials and transformations!
I'm so thankful to those of you who take the time to read and follow
along!
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Thank you for the tour, Sarah! I'm always impressed with your projects. And inspired, too!
ReplyDeleteThanks for this complete tour! You've been such an inspiration and I can't believe you've been in your 'new' house 9 years!
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun look back! I can't believe how many beautiful projects you've completed in "only" nine years!
ReplyDeleteYou have really made the house a home with warmth and interest. I love it.
ReplyDeleteYou inspire me, but can you pass along some of your energy? I seem to just sit in my comfy chair and dream!
ReplyDelete