An Extreme Master Bedroom Makeover

I really, really want a white bedroom but until that happens, let’s all enjoy the big romantic transformation from Courtney at Nesting Instincts.  Here is her post:

my {extreme} master bedroom makeover

So, the problem with posting about my master bedroom makeover is that I have to post “before” photos for you to truly appreciate the transformation. Darn those Before photos! This is the part where I wish the client had been someone besides…well, myself. Cause who wants to own up to having a bedroom that looked like this (below)?

Or this? Yes, those are flannel sheets covered with snowmen. What of it?

Before. I think someone broke in and beat my room with an ugly stick while I was sleeping.
After. Ahhh…Let’s all breathe a sigh of relief, shall we?

This was the other end of the room, before. (do I have to say before? you know that, right?)
And now…do you hear the angels singing? I sure do!

This room went from being the embarrassment…the bane of my existence…the dirty little secret that none of my guests ever got to see (even my good friends!) to now…my FAVORITE room of the house! I keep inventing reasons to head up to my room, just to look around and soak it all in. It is truly a retreat for me now.


my former artwork now looks especially chic over my newly transformed bed. Yep, it’s the same bed! But it’s had a makeover of its own. I’ll talk about that more in a later post.


This is the same orangey dresser as in the before pics! Also had a little makeover. In fact, anything that wasn’t nailed down either got sold or had a makeover. (My husband had better watch out – he could be next.) 😉



I guess this dresser is the same as before. Okay, ONE piece of furniture did not get a makeover. That’s it.

Ikea chandelier. Ikea wardrobe. How could one store with such a little name, make such a big difference?


This whole makeover was really kind of an accident! I had planned to re-paint the walls, that’s it. After SEVEN paint samples I finally came to the realization that the room was evil and could turn any color into pink. My girlfriend Christa was my painting partner, and we had almost finished painting the room a light grey, but it didn’t look right either. Partly as a joke I said, “Maybe I should just paint it all white.” See, I’ve always been drawn to white interiors in magazines and blogs, but just haven’t been brave enough to try it myself. So back to Home Depot we went – they knew us well by then – and bought a gallon of white paint. My first time ever, people. And from there…well, I could write a book about the things we learned painting this room. But that is a story for another post, another time.



Next thing you know, I’m cutting, sanding, painting, and distressing my bed all up. Next was my husband’s dresser. Over the following week, we bought a new mattress (that’s when the angels really started singing!), assembled a new wardrobe (I owe you bigtime, Christa!), bought and installed a chandelier. Oh, and entertained our families on Easter Sunday and baked and consumed the best coconut cake ever. (But that is, again, another post for another day!)

SO I really should have entitled this post “The Accidental Makeover on a Budget”. Because I just thought I was going to re-paint a few walls. I didn’t realize my life would feel transformed, because now I have a beautiful space to call my own. Happy sighs.

Wow!  What a beautiful transformation, Courtney.  It’s gorgeous, romantic, pretty, soothing, a dream escape. Love the bed and dresser and the artwork from Jen!   Thank you so much for sharing!  See MORE details about the beautiful bed and dresser makeover at Nesting Instincts HERE.  
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Kitchen Before & After – Tea Party

Ah!  Becky at Tea Party blog has a kitchen before and after that’s a breath of fresh air!  Here is her post:

Kitchen Remodel Reveal


So I’ve promised pictures of our kitchen remodel and was finally able to get some pics…lets look at the before shall we? Don’t be scared…we seen the potential…well, i think 🙂

Remember the marble tile we scored at a garage sale for $250? Thanks to my boss who owned a masonry company, he helped us cut and lay the tile…which I am forever grateful to. This was no small project since the dimensions of the countertop were all differnent and then at the end, leave it to me to decide to cut them all into subway tiles for the backsplash…oh yes, I did…and sometimes I’m still surprised my husband is still married to me after that one. So…a basic breakdown: We took the upper dividing cabinets out and took down the small wall to open up the space. Primed and painted the cabinets a soft white, the tile is an unmilled grey marble so its veining and pattern is all different, I love it, painted the hinges, changed out the hardware, changed out the top molding to a 4″ crown thanks to my dad, Mr. Marvelous for that one, replaced the glass front cabinets above the stove, new faucets and added chandeliers that I’m so excited to tell you about, they were from a restored building out of Idaho Springs from the early 1900’s and they were FREE…yes nada, zip did I pay for them. To sum it up…we did this remodel for about $700…yes you read right…$700… because we did so much sweat work into it and salvaged what we could. We’re not planning on staying in this house for too many years, so this was great for now. I’ll do a more detailed breakdown later on. Hope you like it!













Unbelievable!  $700 for the entire makeover?!  Marble tile at a garage sale?! I’m drooling!  It’s gorgeous!  Beautiful free vintage chandeliers?  Friends and family with DIY skills?  What a lucky girl!  Becky, your kitchen is beautiful.  I love that it’s all DIY but looks designer.  You guys did a fantastic job.  Your kitchen is one of my absolute favorites.  It inspires me and gives me hope.  Thank you for sharing your beautiful kitchen story!
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Before and After Hall Closet Desk

Isn’t this a creative solution from Karli at The World Spins Madly On for organizing projects? It’s a mini office.  In a closet!  Brilliant!  Here is her post:
 

Before and After Hall Closet/Desk

 
 
 
Here’s another little before and after.
Ever since the mudroom has been finished we no longer need the small closet in the hall for storing jackets and other mudroom type paraphanelia.
Well I couldn’t very well let a perfectly good space go to waste so I repurposed the space into a…….


Mini Office!


What do you think?

I’m using it to store tubs with each of the boys’ names on them. These are holding all those little projects they bring home from church, pre-school, and first grade. They’ve all just been stacking up in random places all around the house and it was time for some organizing.

It’ll be a great little spot for wrapping last minute gifts or writing thank-you cards or storing checks for last minute pizza delivery dinners (ok so, I live in BFE and pizza’s joints don’t deliver herem but still!) I could go on.

Plus…

It’s a great place to re-charge my computer when I’m not dragging it around the house working on editing photos or writing new blog posts.

Eventually the bead board will be painted a creamy white and the walls will be a beautiful sage green.

Isn’t it a great little space. I’m in love.

And a little before and after side-by-side…

I love that she created a little secret room by fitting a desk and shelves in there.  Creative!  Thanks for sharing Karli!