At the time of my last update, we were about halfway through our “Before Move-In” renovations. We moved in at the end of September, and were very happy with what we were able to get done! We still have a long way to go (and we didn’t quite finish everything we wanted to before moving in), but that’s just real-life renovation for you, I guess! Here’s a quick update on our house progress so far. Be sure to read to the end for some fun before and after photos!

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Everything Takes Twice as Long as You Think it Will

When we set out to do all these renovations, we initially considered moving a month after closing – and BOY are we glad we didn’t do that! As renovations progressed, our list of things we thought we could accomplish before moving got shorter and shorter. Even without any major setbacks and us both taking time off work to dedicate to renovations, everything took much longer than expected. If we had to do it again, I’d take a calendar, cross out half the days, and THEN plan out what we think we could get done! If planning big renovations, just remember that nothing will be done as quickly as you think it will be!

What We’ve Done (and What We Haven’t)

Next, I just want to break down each item from the list in this post of the things we wanted to accomplish before we moved in. I’ll chat through each item and update you on our progress so far! As a reminder, here’s what we had done a month before we moved in:

• Mold remediation and duct cleaning
• Rip up all carpet, dispose
• Sand all hardwoods (was almost done)
• Stain and finish all hardwoods
• Install laminate flooring in living room/downstairs bedroom
• Make both bathrooms usable (downstairs was almost done)
• Open up doorway between kitchen and dining room (was half-done)
• Tile kitchen (? maybe?)
• Paint all walls
• Clean EVERYTHING

And here’s where we are now:

• Mold remediation and duct cleaning
• Rip up all carpet, dispose
• Sand all hardwoods
• Stain and finish all hardwoods (minus our master closet… we used it to test a stain that we ultimately didn’t use so it needs to be sanded down and re-done)
• Install laminate flooring in living room/downstairs bedroom (we lived only upstairs for a few weeks and then started this – as of right now we need to do the hallway, seal the edges, and install trim pieces)
• Make both bathrooms usable
• Open up doorway between kitchen and dining room (just need to drywall and add trim)
• Tile kitchen (we ended up using a vinyl tile instead of traditional tile, and we’re thrilled with how well it turned out)
• Paint all walls (almost done – we painted every room that we’re currently using (including ceilings!) , but still need to finish the 2 spare bedrooms and the kitchen)
• Clean EVERYTHING

I think that’s pretty good progress for a few months of work! A HUGE thank-you to our family and friends who pitched in and helped us get everything completed in time!

You Can’t Do Everything

We ended up taking a few projects off our plate because we knew we weren’t able to finish everything we needed in time. We had a bit of difficulty with the plumbing in the upstairs bathroom, spent a TON of time cleaning the kitchen cabinets so they were usable, and the floors took much more time than expected. Once we realized that we couldn’t finish everything on our list, we made the decision to finish the living room and office after moving and set up our living room furniture in the dining room for the first few weeks. Thankfully, the dining room is big enough to fit our table and some extra living room furniture!

For now, Scott’s office is set up in one of our spare bedrooms, and the third bedroom is being used to store all of our extra boxes (we still have a lot of unpacking to do). (Note that I didn’t include any photos of said bedroom because it’s really not much to look at right now.) We also have a 4th bedroom downstairs, currently being used by my brother-in-law, who is staying here for a few weeks. 

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Scott’s current office/drum room will be our future nursery! It still needs to be painted but even just primer is worlds better than those blue walls.

Now that our downstairs is painted and has floors installed, most of our “first phase” of renovations is complete! We still have a few projects that we’d like to tackle ASAP (replacing some older/loose outlets with newer 3-pronged ones, finishing our master closet, replacing some drywall, and – of course – unpacking all our belongings), but for now, the house is very livable!

Before and After Progress

Now that we’ve made some real progress, I wanted to include a few before and “after” photos! Keep in mind that we aren’t totally finished unpacking and we still have some “finishing” work to do (e.g. painting and replacing the baseboards, etc.), so these are more “progress” than “after” pictures. However, the house already looks and feels TOTALLY different, so I think these are worth sharing!

Kitchen

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Opening up the doorway into the kitchen made a HUGE difference in how big it feels. We went from a 2.5′ doorway to a 4′ one!

We still want to:

• Finish the pantry (install shelves and drywall).
• Add a table or bench under the window.
• Finish and trim the kitchen/dining room doorway.
• Paint the door.
• Paint the room.
• (Eventually) replace all the cabinets and countertops.
• Replace the overhead lighting fixture.

Dining Room

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This is one of my favorite rooms in the house and one of the reasons we fell in love with it in the first place – just look at those tall ceilings! This room and the whole first floor are painted Seagull by PPG and it’s the perfect neutral light grey.

We still want to:

• Add overhead lighting (wires are in place!).
• Paint the french doors black.
• Trim the kitchen/dining room doorway.

Master Bedroom

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Our master bedroom doesn’t have much closet space, but we love all the light it gets!

We still want to:

• Replace the overhead light.
• Rework the closet shelves and rods.
• Build a “shoe closet” where the tall dresser is now.

(Sidenote: this room is painted Oyster White by PPG and I LOVE it. It feels so warm and cozy, especially in the mornings!)

Upstairs Bathroom

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The pink tile is still here for now, but replacing the toilet, sink, and tub/shower fixtures and giving the room a DEEP clean has made a world of difference!

We still want to:

• Paint (or re-do?) the tile.
• Buy a longer shower curtain and liner.
• Hang a mirror.
• Replace the light.
• Replace the fan motor (it broke shortly after we moved in).

Downstairs

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I’m still amazed at how much better this room feels than when we bought the house! We love our waterproof Pergo Outlast+ floors!

We still want to:

• Finish the floors (the edges need to be sealed).
• Lay Pergo in the hallway and linen closets.
• Paint the front door.

Stairs & Railings

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We painted the railings with Minwax Polyshades stain in black gloss and love how much more modern they look now! 

We still want to:

• Add a runner to the staircase.
• Sand and re-paint the underside of the railings.
• Paint the stair risers and trim white.

Miscellaneous

We still want to:

• Fix our sagging/leaking garage wall.
• Get some new furniture and rugs (once we have money for fun stuff which will probably be never)
• Replace the HVAC system before it gets hot (we have heat but no a/c).
• Re-install (and paint?) vent covers.
• Finish painting the spare bedrooms.
• Paint all trim white.
• Install new switch plates and outlet covers (and replace some older outlets).
• Re-install all baseboards and add crown molding.
• Far-in-the-future plans include a major bathroom renovation (converting our downstairs powder room into a full bath), finishing part of the basement, improving lighting (we don’t have overhead lights in over half the house), and a lot of exterior work.

It’s certainly been a long road so far and we know that we have a lot more to do, but it already feels wonderful to have made so much progress! Our house is definitely feeling like home.