A Mug Half Full: Our First Reno

My husband and I are beginning a new 'project' of renovating an older home. We've done this once before with a house we bought in St. John's, NL. I posted some pictures on Facebook as we went, but not much explanation was done as we went through the process. So, I've decided to 'backtrack' a bit and show what we did to our old house - hopefully this will encourage others to give renovations a try, and encourage myself to forge ahead with this new work we are beginning!

I am a firm believer that renovations DO NOT have to cost an arm, leg or your first born. I'm going to attempt to show how we did it room by room and space by space. I won't be able to post it all at once, so please be patient with me, and I will update it when I can :)

A LITTLE BIT ABOUT OUR HOUSE
This was the first house my husband and I bought together - our budget was very small, so we couldn't afford a house that was already 'finished' to where we were comfortable. I had no idea that I had married a handy man until this project, and I was surprised by what I was able to accomplish as well. It definitely was a scary house to walk into - pretty much nothing had been done to it (including upkeep) for a long, long time. Our hope was to roll some of the renos into the mortgage (upgrade the electrical), and we actually borrowed from family to fix some (the roof). The rest was done by us...sometimes on an almost non-existent budget. We're fans of Benjamin Moore paint (my husband used to work for a distributor), so all paint colors are from them.

HOUSE EXTERIOR:

Before - This is how the house looks in the 'For Sale' picture on the MLS

After - we installed a new door (and painted it red), added handrails to the front (required by insurance), and a retired gentleman on our street painted the house for us with his grandson (for $500 plus the cost of paint). The house was painted a dark brown, with beige trim. We also painted the front stairs with the same beige trim.

FRONT PORCH

Front Porch - Before. Please note the beautiful wallpaper, retro door and peach trim!

Front Porch after - new vinyl floor (we bought an 'end'), walls painted grey and trim white. Simple baskets for organization.

FRONT HALLWAY

Front Hallway Before - just after we moved in.

Front Hallway after - walls and trim painted. stairs painted and bookshelf added (will show pictures later)

Living Room before - probably the scariest picture of them all. The walls were lath and plaster, and there was some water damage (we had the roof redone). Again, just after we moved in.

Living Room after - walls and trim painted. We (finally) bought grown up furniture (all on discount or scratch and dent sale). Inexpensive curtains and pillows.