House Tour–June 2011

June 8, 2011

Update: This post is not a true representation of what our home looks like, but merely what it looked like the day this was posted. For an accurate view of our case–check out the House Tour page.

I finally got around to our “House Tour” tab. Here you can find the full grand tour complete with before pictures and the progress we have made in each space in our house. I will update the pictures as we renovate, but here is how the tab looks today.

——————————————————————-

We moved into our very first home April 2, 2011. We took a video right away, because we knew we would be changing things immediately. And we definitely have. Our home is a work in progress and we are taking it day by day. Here’s what it looks like today:

Exterior

Here’s the front of our home. Nothing has changed. Chris was excited to buy a mower and he keeps our lawn prim and trim. Other than that, we haven’t touched a thing.

Here is our back yard. We have a third of an acre and it’s pretty much all lawn right now, with the exception of the dog kennel in the corner. We are excited to have a garden and an outdoor area to entertain someday.

Living Room

When you walk in the front door, you are standing in the living room. This is what it looked like when we first moved in:

After painting over all the green, adding a killer accent wall and a new couch, rug, reupholstering ottomans, adding some art and changing the curtains and a few other details this is what it looks like today.

Staircase

To the right of the living room is the staircase that leads upstairs to three bedrooms and two bathrooms. When we first moved in the stairs were color-clash central. White, green, yellow and beige were all visible there and the wall above the staircase was big and bare.

This is what it looks like today after we painted and added a slew of personalized art.

Dining Room

Straight through the living room, you see the dining room. When we moved in, it had bad yellow paint and a bad off-centered chandelier.

Since moving in, we have painted the walls and the banister dividing the dining room from the family room and DIYed a new light fixture for the space.

Kitchen

Our kitchen (to the left of the dining room table) had the same bad yellow on the walls:

We covered up the yellow paint, and this is what it looks like today:

Family Room

In steps the poopy-beige paint we inherited with the house. The family room was a dumping ground of sorts when we first moved in. We didn’t have furniture for the room, so lots of stuff gathered there until we figured out what we wanted to do.

We scored a couch at a Memorial Day sale and that launched us painting the room inspired by our fav show, “Modern Family” and clearing out some junk. We also organized a little vignette above the couch. This is what the family room looks like today:

Laundry Room

Our laundry room/half bath is through the door in the hallway off of the family room. When we arrived, it was a mess. Nothing has changed. We were extremely happy to inherit the washer and dryer, though.

Basement

There are two bedrooms in the basement. Although, we would be frightened to sleep in either of them in their current state. The first one we have plans to turn into an office/guest room down the road, but right now we are just storing stuff in in until we get to that project:

The second bedroom in the basement also has the furnace in it. It recently had a little water problem due to all the rain. Besides, ripping up the wet carpet and the wet drywall, we haven’t done a thing:

Hall Bath

Back up 2 1/4 flights of stairs, there is a small, but full bathroom in the hall that gets used only at night when Greta takes her bath. We haven’t done any work to it, yet.

Greta’s Room

Our little girl’s room was the first we tackled, although it is still a work in progress. When we first moved in, it looked like this:

After some bright paint, new window treatments, new light fixture, new carpet and hanging a gallery wall, it looks like this:

2nd Upstairs Bedroom/Playroom

An almost identical “before” picture, there is a bedroom right next to Greta’s that has a lot of old baby stuff in it. Greta sometimes plays in here for now, but we haven’t updated it at all.

Master Bedroom

We haven’t started on our room yet either (although, we have started brainstorming). Here it is, looking just as it did the day we moved in.

Master Bath

And here is our bathroom, also untouched for now.

filed under:

— Hide Comments

+ Show Comments

What do you think?

Rosemarie Capone says:
December 31, 2012 at 9:46 pm
The Christmas decos are beautiful. what a talent.
Reply
DoublClik says:
June 9, 2011 at 6:29 am
Always looking forward to your next projects, this was my first time really seeing the exterior of your house, the lawn, trees, and house is all beautiful. Wow!
Reply
Kar says:
June 8, 2011 at 6:20 pm
Oh mother of pearl. That room with the splattered black paint? Mama mia! I would have nightmares if I slept in that room, too. You’ve done such a great job on the parts you’ve re-done. The fun thing is you have so many more rooms to re-vamp!!!
Reply

Try to imagine »

« Newsflash: You can paint your railings any color you want.

all the latest

We believe we should all love where we live.

We’re a couple of homebodies, working to uncover the home our home wants to be. And we’re so happy to have you here.

HI! We're Chris + Julia

Semihandmade

Our wood grain Shaker cabinet fronts were designed for busy, high-traffic homes like ours. Clad with durable textured thermofoils, this line is compatible with Sektion, Akurum, Godmorgon, and Besta cabinets from IKEA. It's the perfect, practical way to add the warmth of wood to all the rooms of your home.

Collaborations

learn more

Loloi

We have teamed up with Loloi to create a line of rugs that are as affordable as they are beautiful. This collection houses a great mix of traditional and modern rugs, in cottage-y colorways, as well as vintage-inspired beauties that you’ll want to roll out in every room.

Collaborations

learn more

STUGA

We partnered with Stuga on a line of hardwood floors — The Ingrid is really livable, and the color is very neutral. It doesn’t lean warm or cool, it’s that just right in-between. We have really loved putting it everywhere in our house. It’s the best jumping-off point for design, no matter your interior style. In addition to being beautiful, Ingrid is really durable — we have three kids, and we always have a home construction project going on. Ingrid stands up to it all.

Collaborations

learn more

Projects

Best Hot Sauces 2024: Reviews & Recommendations

Chris Cooks

My Honest Review of Activewear from Girlfriend Collective, Adanola, Alo and more

Lifestyle

My Outdoor Planter Round-Up (And Why We Don’t Have a Garden)

round up

“The Jewelry on Your Cabinets”: How to Choose Hardware Styles

Design

Mood Board: A Boy’s Bedroom in Forest Green

Mood Boards

The Ultimate Test: The Best Steam Mops

Product Tests

Roasted Cauliflower with Homemade Dairy Free Caesar Dressing

Chris Cooks

Load More

Reader Faves

SHop all

What We're Right Now

Looking for our favorite things? A place to shop our home room by room, or just catch up on what Julia's wearing / loving right now? Browse the CLJ shop.

Loving

Love Where You Live

In an industry that often feels designed to make you discontent, we want this to be place you come for inspiration, ideas, and encouragement to make the space you're already in feel like home.

Love Stories

read all posts

looking for inspiration?

A reader recently asked me if I’m starting to fully embrace traditional style and whether we still consider our house to be a “modern Colonial” and why. It was a really great question and so timely — I had really just been thinking about my approach to this home and how my style has changed […]

Defining My Design Style: Moody Modern Traditional

Design

How to (Purposefully) Mismatch Furniture

Design

Bedroom Tell-All: 5 Things to Remove, 5 Things to Add

Inspiration

6 Ways to Upgrade Your Bedroom: Renter-Friendly Edition

Inspiration

Want to do what we do? Get the tools, mentorship, and training to be a Good Influencer professionally.

Learn With Us

LEarn more

SEARCH THE BLOG

We've been doing this since 2009 and we've posted a whopping 24145+ blog posts and counting. You might need a little help searching, huh?

looking for something?

find stuff like:

Can We Send You Our Love Letter?

Another way for us to stay in touch! Joining our weekly newsletter gives you access to exclusive content, never-before-seen photos, your questions answered, and our favorite DIYs. Sign up below!

Follow Along on Instagram

Welcome to our online community where we've posted home, DIY, style, renovations, and family since '09. Renovating our #cljmoderncottage in Idaho and headed for new adventures in Raleigh, NC. #cljfam #cljtransformations