Before and After Pictures

Hi everybody!

Well, my computer isn't currently uploading pictures.  I had a great craft "how to", but it looks like it will have to wait until I can figure out what this computer wants from me!

For now, I thought I'd share some before and after pictures of certain parts of the house.


Boy, I wish I had snapped more pictures when we first bought this old house!  If you just bought a project home and can't wait to get around to renovating it - listen to your good friend, Amy, and take the time to take lots of pictures before you get out the paint!  I just couldn't wait to start working, and now I totally regret not getting more "before" photographs.

Here is what I can give you with the photos that I already have stored.

BEFORE (pic below):  I think the walls were meant to be white, but years of the previous owners smoking inside the house turned them an unpleasant grayish.  The lighting was outdated, and the trim was dark red.  Really sort of an unfriendly color.   I think it is in part due to this color combination that people would take two steps in the house and immediately get the feeling it was haunted.  :)

 

 AFTER (pic above):  After many half slept nights, we came to the look you see above.  The color is BEHR's "Pale Honey" - I remember because we joked that it reminded me of my husband (who is also my pale honey - yuk yuk).  The color in the back room is "Pumpkin Patch" - a name we have also come to call the room itself .  The orange was sort of a risky color, but we loved it instantly and it grew on anyone who didn't like it at first.  As you can see, we upgraded the light.  The hardwood floors remain untouched, (we find them beautiful the way they are with their 100+ year old character - scratches and discoloration and all...).  Now, it took about four coats of white paint (a color called, "Pillar White"), and a lot of painters tape - but we finally painted that trim (that was previously red) white.  Not an easy feat with all those panels of windows, but well worth it. 


So that's the living room area, here is the dining room.

BEFORE (pic below):  The biggest challenge in this particular area were these crazy shelves you saw just as you walk in the door.  They had a mirrored back...and triangular shaped shelves that came out.  It sort of reminded me of an outdated old lady curio cabinet.  Not the classy kind, but the kind with snow globes from the gas station around the corner and dust piling up in it for the last 4 years.  I had no idea what this could be used for, so it had to go.

 

AFTER (pic above):  I "Hulked" out the whole thing.  Amy smash.  Where there once was awkwardly placed mirror, I stenciled a cheerful but classy (if I do say so myself...) damask patterned back.  Now it serves as a sort of plant stand. You have to imagine a great plant there since I am pictureally challenged right now.  I do have a picture of the plant on my  Becky's Chalkboard post. It's one of my favorite redos of the home so far.

And here's one more picture of the area after it was painted, and the light fixture had been replaced.

I must admit, it doesn't look quite as clean right now.  Time to stop blogging and go care for this home I am ridiculously blessed to live in.

Ciao, dah-lings!  (See, that's what happens when you live in a beautiful house.  You get a big head and start talkin' fancy.)