Today’s post is a farewell tour of our last house with all of the before and afters in both video and photos. We completed a lot of home improvement projects in the months leading up to listing our house for sale and I haven’t had a chance to share all of the updates with you, so today’s the day! Hopefully, you’ll get some ideas and inspiration for your own house!
I hope you’ll reminisce with me as we take a look back at our little ranch house — the one that made me a homeowner for the first time, gave me a place to experiment with decorating and helped me discover my love of all things home.
Last summer was a whirlwind of starting new jobs, prepping for a baby, selling our house and buying a new house all on the heels of closing our retail business. All of the pieces miraculously fell into place in the ideal order, with us moving into our new house a mere 19 days before our due date.
Way back last July (that’s only, you know, like six months ago…), I recorded a video tour of our house while it was staged for showings. I had every intention of sharing this tour with you much sooner than now, but man did life get away from me! I kept pushing it off because video takes time to edit, but not months.
I decided it was time to get this project off of my to-do list. And you know what? This is yet another reminder that starting is often the hardest part of a project. Once I had the video files imported, finishing the editing and writing this blog post was a breeze!
Video Home Tour
Here’s a little video tour of our house in its final days before we started packing everything up! Unfortunately, my pregnancy brain was no joke at that point and I never finished getting video of all the rooms, so I added a few still photos to fill in the gaps. Once you watch the video, scroll down for more before and after photos and links to all of the projects you see in the video.
We lived here less than three years and didn’t come close to completing every project on my list before we moved, but I’m still so proud of the improvements we made to this little house!
Exterior
The exterior of our house needed some attention. We fixed up the crumbling steps, created a seating area on the patio and added a few flowers to the front yard. We also tried to keep the hedge of bushes tamed down, but they were always something we talked about removing some day. The few small projects we did were enough to give this house a bit more curb appeal!
Our Front Patio Makeover & Curb Appeal Projects
Patching Concrete Steps – Our Front Step Transformation
Summer Entertaining: Enjoying Summer Nights & Lemonade On The Patio
Washing Your House Exterior Without A Pressure Washer (Siding, Gutters, Windows, Pavement)
Thrifty DIY Painted Welcome Mat
Refinishing A Pair Of Worn Patio Chairs
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Living Room
Our living room was a completely blank slate with beige walls and carpet. Since the front door opens right up into this room, I added a bookshelf and bench to create a drop zone area. We filled the rest of the room with cozy furniture and pretty decor. A few of my favorite projects in this room include the DIY picture ledge over the couch and the painted TV stand.
Painting the front door and closet door black completely changed the look of our tiny entry area. We painted all of the interior doors black and added molding and it’s become one of my all-time favorite projects.
Painting Interior Doors Black & Adding New Hardware – A Classy Door Makeover
From Dark To Light: A Painted TV Stand Makeover Using Chalk Paint
Organizing Our TV Stand & Hiding The Video Game Clutter
A $10 DIY Picture Ledge (Plus A Collection Of Free Printable Art)
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Kitchen
Thankfully, the previous owners painted our kitchen cabinets white so we didn’t have to worry about that project. Adding some color through painted walls and colorful curtains gave this room new life. At first, I was perplexed about what to do with the awkward empty space under the windows. I eventually added a breakfast counter under the window and it made such a big impact!
Take the Tour: Kitchen Makeover Reveal
How to Install a DIY Breakfast Counter Under A Window
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Master Bedroom
Our bedroom turned out to be one of my favorite rooms in the house and all I can think about is painting a room in our new house that same deep navy color. I was nervous to go so dark on the walls, but now I’m in love with navy walls! I gave this room a makeover in six weeks during the One Room Challenge.
Take The Tour: Navy Bedroom Reveal {One Room Challenge Finale}
My Secret For Keeping Clothing Off Our Bedroom Floor
The KonMari Method of Organizing Clothing
Easy Hanging Scarf Organizer – Version 2!
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Bathroom
With only one bathroom in the house, this room needed to be pretty and very functional. We were lucky that the previous owners upgraded the bathroom fixtures and flooring so all we needed to do was cosmetic updates. Although this bathroom isn’t big by any means, there was a lot of storage space with a full closet by the tub, cabinets over the tub and a small wall cabinet in between the studs next to the vanity. I gave this room a big makeover during the six-week One Room Challenge.
Take The Tour: Neutral Calm Bathroom Reveal | One Room Challenge Finale
Frame A Builder Grade Mirror The Easy Way
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Office (2nd Bedroom)
David used our second bedroom as his office and we stored our large board game collection in the closet, but that’s about it. We never decorated this room because we intended on in becoming a nursery one day, but ended up deciding to move shortly after finding out we were expecting.
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Dining Room
The dining room had the most striking transformation since the walls were all wood paneling. I immediately painted over the paneling when we moved in and gave the room a bit of a makeover. I would have loved to paint the built-in china hutch if we had lived here longer!
Room Reveal: Wood-paneled blah to bold blue voila!
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Craft Studio
When we moved in, I quickly claimed this basement room as my own studio space. Coming from an apartment, I was eager to have room for my DIY projects! I painted over the red floor and moved in furniture to create a pretty space to work away on projects. I definitely miss this room!
Take the tour: Craft studio makeover reveal
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Basement
Our basement family room honestly served as storage for us so it looked the exact same when we moved out as it did when we moved in. The same goes for our laundry/utility room.
It’s so fun to look at these before and after photos and see how our little house evolved in the three years we lived here. I learned a lot about decorating and home improvement in this house!
I hope you enjoyed this home tour today and found some inspiration for your own house. I did my best to link to blog posts with more info about each room, but I’m also happy to answer questions in the comments!
Have a great day!
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Cynthia says
January 31, 2018 at 5:18 pmOH. MY. GOSH. What a fun video! I sat here bopping along to the happy music totally BLOWN AWAY by the before and after shots! (Also your dog is the cutest!) . Can’t wait to see more!!
Emily says
February 3, 2018 at 9:46 pmThank you, Cynthia! Before and afters are the best, aren’t they? I was laughing as I edited that video because the dog was literally in half the clips!
Amanda says
January 30, 2018 at 10:18 amYou did a great job with that house! Can’t wait to see what you do with the new one!
Emily says
February 3, 2018 at 9:47 pmThanks so much, Amanda!
Sharon Perehudoff says
January 30, 2018 at 7:57 amThank you for sharing, amazing job what you did in your old home.
Emily says
February 3, 2018 at 9:47 pmThank you, Sharon! It’s fun to look back and see how much we accomplished.