A full before and after tour of 2 years worth of DIY home improvement projects and budget decorating with modern meets traditional meets farmhouse style.
2 years! It feels like it’s been a decade and yet still somehow like it was just yesterday when we were handed the keys to our 1960 brick colonial charmer.
I have to confess, y’all… I was scared of this house when we first walked through it. Robert had to talk me into it, as he usually does when I have doubts. He’s the spontaneous, adventurous one. I’m the cautious second-guesser. (You jump, I jump. Right, Jack?)
Not because it wasn’t already beautiful. It was!
But I knew buying an older house meant a risk. We had just sold our 3 year-old builder grade home, one in which everything was modern and up-to-date and running smoothly and had no “surprises”.
It was like that brand new basic sensible sedan with cloth seats and zero upgrades that might not have been as much to look at, but it wouldn’t leave you out $1,000 and stranded on the side of the road.
This house though? It was like a vintage Bel Air that we just knew would need some tweaks and tune-ups and maybe have a few breakdowns, but it would be totally worth it in the end.
We’ve had our bad moments of home improvement fails, a water heater leaving us without hot water for a week, mice and spiders and snakes, roof leaks, and electrical snafus, and there have been moments when we thought, “What have we gotten ourselves into?!”
But then there are the family reunions, the birthday pool parties, the holiday dinners, the lazy Saturday mornings, the Friday playdates, the Sunday strolls around the neighborhood that remind us why this place is worth every single drop of sweat and tears. And it feels like home. Our home. With our style.
So here we are. 2 years in and God knows how many more to go. We still can’t believe it’s ours, and we’re thankful every day. Here is the adventure room by room so far:
(Some affiliate links to sources are provided below in case y’all ask. Full disclosure here.)
Front Exterior
See all of the details about our brick limewash makeover here.
Foyer
See all of the details about our foyer makeover here.
Wall color: Benjamin Moore Classic Grey | Door color: Benjamin Moore Wrought Iron | Trim color: Benjamin Moore Simply White
Dining Room
See all of the details about our dining room here.
Wall color: Benjamin Moore Kendall Charcoal | Trim color: Benjamin Moore Simply White
Kitchen
See all of the details about our kitchen makeover here.
Wall color: Benjamin Moore Swiss Coffee | Lower cabinet color: Sherwin Williams Billiard | Trim & upper cabinet color: Benjamin Moore Simply White
Breakfast Nook
See all of the details about our breakfast nook here.
Wall color: Benjamin Moore Swiss Coffee | Door color: Benjamin Moore Wrought Iron | Trim color: Benjamin Moore Simply White
Laundry Room
See all of the details about our laundry room makeover here.
Wall color: Sherwin Williams Slate Tile | Door color: Benjamin Moore Wrought Iron | Trim color: Benjamin Moore Simply White
Powder Room
See all of the details about our powder room makeover here.
Bead board color: Benjamin Moore Hollingsworth Green | Door color: Benjamin Moore Wrought Iron | Trim color: Benjamin Moore Simply White
Living Room
See all of the details about our living room here.
Wall color: Benjamin Moore Swiss Coffee | Door color: Benjamin Moore Wrought Iron | Trim color: Benjamin Moore Simply White
Playroom
See all of the details about our playroom makeover here.
Wall color: Benjamin Moore Swiss Coffee | Door color: Benjamin Moore Wrought Iron | Trim color: Benjamin Moore Simply White | Mantel / Bookcase color: Sherwin Williams Tree Swallow
Hallway
See all of the details about our hallway here.
Wall color: Benjamin Moore Classic Grey | Door color: Benjamin Moore Wrought Iron | Trim color: Benjamin Moore Simply White
Olivia’s Room
See all of the details about Olivia’s room makeover here.
Wall color: Behr My Sweetheart | Door color: Benjamin Moore Wrought Iron | Trim color: Benjamin Moore Simply White
Regan’s Nursery
See all of the details about Regan’s nursery makeover here.
Wall color: Magnolia Home True White | Door color: Benjamin Moore Coventry Gray
Kids’ Bathroom
See all of the details about our kids’ bathroom refresh here.
Wall color: Magnolia Home Weekend | Door color: Benjamin Moore Wrought Iron | Trim color: Benjamin Moore Simply White
Master Bedroom
See all of the details about our master bedroom here.
Wall color: Benjamin Moore Moonshine | Door color: Benjamin Moore Wrought Iron | Trim color: Benjamin Moore Simply White
Master Bathroom
See all of the details about our master bathroom refresh here.
Wall color: Benjamin Moore White Dove | Trim color: Benjamin Moore Simply White
Back Porch
See all of the details about our back porch here.
Ceiling color: Benjamin Moore Palladian Blue | Trim color: Behr Ultra Pure White
Back Exterior
What we still have to tackle…
Office
We’re crossing our fingers that we’ll be able to get started on our office this summer, but right now, we have a couple of massive renovations on our plate before we can get to this one. Soon though! It’s happening.
Guest Bedroom
We planned for a while to make this space Robert’s office separate from mine, but we decided to share our office, and make this one a guest bedroom. We desperately need one now that Regan occupies what is now her nursery. Maybe a fall makeover? We’ll see how ambitious we feel.
Pool and Pool Shed
Our pool is overdue for a spruce up since the vinyl liner is on its last legs. We have big plans to deal with some of the overgrowth, the old fence, and the beige siding on the pool shed too (which we hope to one day convert into an outdoor bar / cabana area). So we plan to take it one step at a time with our grand plans in the next month or two.
Backyard
We’ve put our landscaping on the back burner so that we could get the interior of our house in order first, but we plan to remove some of the overgrown shrubs, install a new fence, build a play area for the kids, and maybe set up a fire pit. It will likely take years to accomplish, but we’re ready for it.
Renovations Replacing Refreshes
I’ve mentioned before that some of our makeovers have been temporary refreshes using mainly just paint and budget projects until we could one day manage to take on the larger renovations. Our garage needs a massive overhaul; we plan to build on a small addition to create a mudroom and an extra bathroom that is accessible from the pool; and our master bathroom and kitchen will eventually get full gut jobs to completely change the footprints to maximize on wasted space.
The longer we stay in the house, the bigger we dream, apparently. We get the question all the time, “You’re almost out of rooms. Won’t you be ready to move soon?” That’s a big ol’ nope. Because we’re not even close to being finished, as hard as that is to believe.
We are absolutely in love with this house and this neighborhood, and we plan to keep this gem of ours in our lives for quite a while.
We’re so thankful for y’all following along and encouraging us on our adventures. We’re no experts. I’m not a professionally trained designer, and Robert isn’t a professional contractor or anything like that, but when you have passion and determination, sometimes that’s really all that matters.
Dream big. Work hard. And do more of what sets your soul on fire.
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