One year ago today I turned in the keys to my apartment and we spent our first night as Homeowners.
I thought it would be fun to take a look back at some of the changes we've made in our first year in the house. It's been a fun and busy one!
A few of these you've seen before but some will be new. They all get bigger if you click on them. Before and Afters, before always on the left :)
My Bedroom
We ripped up the carpet, refinished the hardwoods, painted, and got rid of the flowery curtains
My Bathroom
Ripped down the wallpaper, painted, new light fixtures, new everything fixtures, removed all of the wood and either replaced or painted white.
Craft Room
Ripped out wallpaper, painted, removed ugly carpet, unpacked my beautiful craft supplies.
Living Room
Ripped out carpet, refinished hardwoods, ripped out flowery curtains
Kitchen
Just ripped out the wallpaper and painted. Hopefully this is the year for the kitchen.. as soon as someone buys Adam's condo. Anyone want a place in Bucktown?
Basement
We wound up fixing up the basement earlier than planned. We ripped out the carpet, replaced the carpet (with the same kind of carpet... ), ripped out all of the wallpaper, patched the walls up, painted, installed the bar, dartboards, mounted tv on wall in Ikea Expedit unit, etc.
Backyard
Removed giant bird house, replaced with firepit, ripped out 6 bushes, added a concrete patio next to the deck, moved picnic table to back corner, installed a hot tub!!!!, installed hot tub bar (wasn't up yet in first picture, see below)
Whew... I'm tired just looking at all of these pictures. I don't think I was really that impressed with myself until this moment seeing all the before & after pictures together.
What's left?
The kitchen: it's getting gutted, a wall torn down (or turned into a breakfast bar type thing) between the kitchen & living room, new floors, new paint, new cabinets, new appliances, new backsplash, etc. I have it all planned out, we just have to sell the other place so we can afford it. Come on stimulus plan, work your magic!!
The fish room: (actually another spare bedroom, so named for the previous owners fishing collection that was stored in here). This room will become Adam's 'office' and possibly a guest room. It still has wallpaper and paneling that needs to come down.
Basement bathroom: It's pretty ugly. Tile floors like a school (yuck), wallpaper, a nice jacuzzi tub surrounded by cracked tile and nasty brass fixtures, I could keep going... this is low on the priority list. Probably won't happen this year.
Windows: The previous owners had replaced all of the windows in the house except those in the living room. They are about 55 years old. They need replacing. We hope to get this done this year as well.
Well, that's all I got, Happy Valentine's Day to all of you and Happy House-a-versary to me!