It was love at first sight with our Chicago house. It was hard to say goodbye, but we were happy to know it was going to another loving family.
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Our Chicago-area Colonial style farmhouse was built around 1925. Prior to our purchase, the home had been owned and inhabited by one family (with 5 kids) for 55 years.
We worked continuously over 4 years to update and put our own stamp on this well loved home.
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Our Chicago-area Colonial style farmhouse was built around 1925. Prior to our purchase, the home had been owned and inhabited by one family (with 5 kids) for 55 years.
We worked continuously over 4 years to update and put our own stamp on this well loved home.
Over the years, the living room received two paint jobs, new window treatments and of course, the endless game of furniture rearrangement. Click the link above to the see the most recent 'finished' stage of the living room.
The kitchen was our biggest project. When we moved in, it was an eat in kitchen with a mish-mash of warped and broken cabinetry, faux wood laminate countertops, bad wallpaper, out of date appliances and several layers of flooring. We toyed with the idea of updating bits and pieces, but in the end opted for a gut rehab. You can read about the reveal here and the updates here.
Dining Room
The Dining Room was our last project. Originally, it was closed off from the front hall with a pair of louvered doors and sported this beautiful, tropical wallpaper. Eventually, we removed the doors, opened the arch to the front hall and removed the paper. We bulked up the existing moulding with a board and batten style wainscotting and painted the walls.
The breakfast room is a tiny room, measuring about 10'x10', and was formerly used as a den. Originally, it was off a small hallway from the kitchen and not open to any other rooms. We decided to transform it into a breakfast room opening to the living room. We added a built-in bench to save space as well as more open shelving for storage. Click the link above to read the reveal post.
Our powder room, much like the rest of the house, suffered from a fair bit of neglect and was looking pretty tired when we moved in. This before picture barely does it justice - the wallpaper had a certain 70's shine to it, not in a good way. It was a beast to remove! Over time, we added a new suite, tiles and beadboard. Finally, I stenciled the walls and gold-leafed a mirror to bring it to it's final state. Click the link above to read the post.
Our Master Bedroom sits directly on top of the living room; as you can see, it's a large space. Much like the living room, it started out with wall-to-wall seafoam green carpet and two layers of busy, floral paper. It took me two weeks to remove the paper - of course, that's before I invested in a steamer! (Now, I know that's the only way to remove paper.) Click the link above to read the post about the 'reveal'.
The BGR was one of the first rooms I designed from scratch. From the beginning, it was much like the rest of the house....wall-to-wall carpet, floral curtains. While I loved the first layout, my Mommy brain eventually took over and the room received a new layout when Miss T turned 4. She needed more room to play! Sometimes function over form should happen :) Click the link above to read all about it.
Are you getting sick of this seafoam green carpet yet? I am. Funny, though, this is the one room where the color really inspired me. It became the wall color and the color of the new area rug. The color stayed, but the room received a makeover when we learned we were expecting another little girl. Click on the link above to learn more.
Some rooms are just too awful to take before pics! Like our attic guest room. The hallway picture is a good indicator of what the whole room looked like. A good coat of primer, paint and a new window got the room into working order. 2012 provided a new layout, bedding, window treatments and much more. Click the link above to read the reveal post.
Like the guest room, the basement was an area too scary for before pics. When we moved in, we replaced the outside windows, doors and flooring. Beyond that, a fresh coat of paint really went a long way to make this a space that we can all enjoy. Two years later, when Miss T was old enough to really enjoy a playroom, we revamped this side of the basement.
