before & after

Well, even though we're not quite done (really, we're only a half-day's worth of work away, my contractor assures me!), I've decided it's time to share pictures of how our summer-long home improvement project turned out.

You may recall how our shower leaking turned into a full bath remodel (click here) back in May. Well, what started out as our house needing a paint job turned into a full exterior make-over: new roof, new siding, new window trim, new paint.

The difference is quite dramatic, and I'm just thrilled with our "new" 1939 English Tudor:
BEFORE:
AFTER:Yes, I know, it's a bit bare – we'll tackle the landscaping next spring! And in the meantime, we did add a porch light, house numbers and mail box (all black, of course!)

Other changes that are less visible from the outside are the airy skylights that were added to the upstairs bathroom and bedroom:

We also opened up the upstairs hallway by having a full wall cut down to a half wall:
(and yes, that's the staircase where I'd like to hang the perfectly proportioned modern mobile)

I then got a super strong itch to tear out the gross carpeting and see what's hiding underneath: the original fir floors, yeah! Sadly, they're quite damaged by former owners' remodel projects so bringing these floors back to their original glory will be part of our "phase 2" (timeline yet TBD).

Last, but certainly not least, are the new French doors that replaced a single door leading out into your backyard. Last April I pulled our dining room table into our den for Todd's surprise birthday party; the new arrangement was perfect so we added a set of three Ikea pendants:

Oh, and yes: I painted our fireplace green – just got tired of the bright red:

Now I'm ready to take a break till spring and enjoy my newly feathered nest!