Keep Smiling

Keep Smiling

Friday, April 3, 2015

Before & After #1



It was one year ago, April 3, 2014 
that we got the keys to our little country bungalow.
I thought it would be fun to do 
Before & After
posts of many of the changes that
we have worked on in the past year.

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So, these posts will be mostly photos . . .
I hope you enjoy.
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Before & After #1
After, with new fence,new roof, new windows, 
trim paint and tulips coming up next to the house. 

These two photos are the 
real estate photos 
of the living/dining room.

and how it looked when we purchased the house.
These are after photos of this room.  
You can see that we still have some work to do. 
I have a light fixture for the ceiling, 
but it's still in the box at the moment:) 









Painting that paneling took two coats of primer and three coats of paint.
By the time our little home was painted 
I was one tired gal.  
I painted the walls and Steve painted the ceilings.

This is the only before photo 
we have of the bedrooms.
It was from the real estate ad.
 This is that bedroom now.



 This is the other bedroom.

 This front bedroom 
we turned into an office/music room.
I need to get on my step stool 
and straighten the ceiling lampshades, LOL.
 This room had lighter paneling.
It is the only room that we didn't have to paint,
but we did need to install trim work.

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I hope that I didn't bore you to death
&
that you will come back for my
Before & After #2.
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I'll be posting it in a few days.
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Thanks so much for stopping by to visit.

Blogging sisters are the best!
 Connie :) 

Happy Easter!


57 comments:

  1. Hi,What a lovely and welcoming cosy home you have,such a talent for interior design.What is trim work,sorry I am in the UK.Hugs x

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    1. Hi Lee, thank you for your kind words, we love our little house. There is more to do, but hopefully all the big jobs will be done by summer:)
      Trim work is the baseboard, windowsills and any molding. Thanks so much for stopping by :)

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  2. You took the whole house from dark and dreary to light, bright, and homey! It is unbelievable that you have done all of this in a year!!! Happy Easter Connie to you and your hunky hubby!

    Carol

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    1. Hi Carol, thank you . . . it's always nice when you get encouragement on your hard work. I'll be posting a #2 and #3 and then there is still more to get gone, but we are certainly seeing light at the end of our tunnel :) Thanks for stopping by and Happy Easter!

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  3. Connie, you have have done so much to make your lovely home warm and welcoming. I really like that shade of yellow. I just picked out what I am hoping is a nice buttery yellow for my kitchen. I haven't had a yellow kitchen since I was living with my parents more than 50 years ago.
    Happy Easter.

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    1. Hi Marigene, I have a very pale yellow in my kitchen . . . it's so cheerful and since we spend so much time in the kitchen it should be a happy place, right:)
      My next post will be the before and after of the bathroom and kitchen. I think that my Mama's kitchen was yellow when I was a kid, too. Thanks for stopping by and Happy Easter!

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  4. Wonderful what you did here ! Lovely! Happy Easter!

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    1. Thank you so much and Happy Easter to you, too :)

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  5. Not boring at all, Connie - the total opposite! It is so amazing to me to see how much work you two have done in just a year. Heck, we haven't even done that much work in 25 years! lol

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    1. Hi Melanie, well we where fortunate enough to be able to paint the rooms before we moved in the furniture, which was a true blessing, It is so hard to paint around furniture. Then there were so many things that we had to do to just make this old house liveable. Half the windows were broken out with plastic over them and the heat ducting was broken with leaks and the hot and cold water was pumped opposite (still is in the shower) . . . oh I could write a book. We have had lots of surprises, LOL Happy Easter!

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  6. Wow, what wonderful changes!! So much lighter and brighter and homey!!! You have worked wonders :)

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    1. Thank you so much . . . we love this little home more and more everyday :)

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  7. What a difference a year makes! Lovely changes that you've made. Happy Easter!

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  8. You've done a lot of work. Looks nice.

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  9. Great colors! Your fixing-upping is inspiring me!

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    1. Oh, there is nothing more satisfying than to pretty up your home, right :) Thank you for your sweet words.

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  10. Of course you didn't bore me. I love seeing before and after's like this. You've made some amazing changes. What I notice the most is how much brighter and cheerier it looks with all your updates. Everything looks wonderful. I can't wait to see part 2

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    1. Hi Ann, that dark paneling made it feel very cave like. It was a pain to paint, but I do like how it turned out . . . painted paneling ties into the cottage look . . . at least it does in my mind LOL Happy Easter!

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  11. love looking at before and after photo's painting that paneling has made a world of difference.

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    1. Thank you Gill . . . I hope you return to see before and after #2 and #3. It's been a busy year :) Happy Easter!

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  12. Hi Connie, Loved your little tour of your house! You are doing a great job of decorating and making it so welcoming and cozy. What a lot you guys have accomplished since moving in! Happy Easter! Nancy

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    1. Hi Nancy, Thank you for your very sweet and kind words. It's been a lot of work but it's all be worth it. We love our little home :)
      Happy Easter!

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  13. What a cute and cozy cottage you have! The updates are so bright and cheery. Have a wonderful Easter weekend :)

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    1. Hi Debby, thank you so much. It was dark and cave like with all the dark paneling. Paneling is not fun to paint, but I like how it turned out:) Here's wishing you a wonderful Easter, too .

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  14. You guys have done a really nice job. I know you are having a ball.

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    1. Hi Ronda, I do have fun and enjoy hard work, but at my age it is hardly having a ball. Most nights I am so exhausted that I fall asleep in my chair right after dinner, LOL. It has all been worth it, because we love our little cottage more and more everyday :) Thanks so much for stopping by and please come back for before and after #2 an #3. Happy Easter!

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  15. Wow, what a difference. You have made it in to such a bright and pretty home with your talents, beautiful. A whole year, where did that go! I hope you have a wonderful Easter and the next year in your lovely home xxx

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    1. Hi Fran, time flies when you are having fun. Thanks for your sweet words, but talk about a busy year . . . you certainly have had one, too. Weddings and new hats, and sweet new grand-babies to cuddle, not to mention all the building on your barge. Here's wishing you a wonderful Springtime and an Happy Easter. I have been missing your posts, so it is very nice to hear from you, dear friend.

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  16. You have already worked lots of magic in your lovely bungalow! I love the nautical touches too!
    Happy Easter!

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    1. Hi Christine, thank you so much . . . we feel blessed to have found this old house and been able to buy it. We love it more and more each day :)

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  17. Wow you have done an awesome job....enjoy you hard work. Xxx

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    1. Hi Bron, it is hard work, but when we look at the results, well, it makes us smile. We love our little country home and feel blessed to be the ones to bring it back to the life it should have :)

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  18. Love your added fence and the arbor around the gate! I can't get over the difference in your dining/living room area, just brightens it up lovely, sounds like a lot of work to achieve it though. Love the fence headboard in the bedroom, such a pretty room to relax in. You have done a wonderful job making this house your home!

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    1. Hi Connie, thank you, I am delighted that you enjoyed the little tour. This house was in very bad shape. So cave like with the dark paneling and most of the windows where broken out with plastic over them, not to mention all the unnoticed surprises that came our way while working on it. Then there is the other side of it, we love it . . . more and more everyday and feel very blessed to be living here :) Happy Easter!

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  19. Hey, Connie! I LOVE it! Your living room is huge. I hope that someday we can come to visit and get to see everything in person.

    Hugs,
    Kathy M.

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    1. Hi Kathy, thanks for stopping by . . . I have been enjoying tagging along on your trip. You guys where gone a long time and really had a great trip.
      Happy Easter!

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  20. What a difference you have made to the place. So light and bright compared to before. Love the fence you added as well.

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    1. Happy Easter Sarah, and thank you for your sweet words. I planted climbing roses along the fence, about a month ago . . . So, I'm excited to see how they do.

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  21. I just love the before and after photos.. The colors you choose are so much brighter. Have a Blessed Resurrection Day.

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  22. Great to see your before and after shots. The painting has so lifted the interiors! So very light, airy and homely. I love what you have both done.

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    1. Thank you so much, it has certainly turned into our warm and cozy little country home. We feel very blessed:)

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  23. WOW! y'all accomplished so much. what a blessing your home is to you! I can tell that you love being there and putting your own touches on things the way you like it!
    Now, QUESTION: Did you hang that ceiling tile? If not, did you paint it? I have ceiling tile... we put it up, but it needs to be freshened up. I'm wondering if it holds paint well?
    Also: I loved seeing your living area all the way through. I have to say... I thought I was the only person in the world... that used area/room rugs... of all types... on my floor! I used to have two in the kitchen...very similar with different color binding. I pushed them together and made it look like one huge rug. No one ever seemed to notice OR... THEY JUST DIDN'T SAY ANYTHING!
    I use rugs all over-- and like the home cottage look they give. I especially love the warmth underfoot!
    You have lots of seating. Wish I had that today when everyone was here.

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    1. Hi Patricia, In our other home we had a living room and a family room so I had a lot of seating. I sold some and sometimes think that I put to much into this room, but like you say, when you have a lot of guests over it's nice to have seating. As for the ceiling tile, it was already in the house, but very dingy. It took two coats of paint to paint it, but it turned out nice. I like area rugs, too and I don't think it matters if they don't match. I don't like matchy - matchy rooms anyway. I hope that you had a lovely Easter.

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  24. Wow! Connie, What an amazing difference you have made. You were able to visualize the light behind all that darkness and you made it happen. Everything looks so bright and airy and very inviting. It all looks great! Hope you had a joyful Easter.

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    1. Hi Gloriade, I am delighted that you like my changes. This house was so cold and cave like with all that dark paneling, but own it is warm and cozy. I like the pale yellow because it brings in the sunshine, even on a cloudy day :)

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  25. What a charming home you've created. Love all the details and those built-ins are fabulous!

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    1. Hi Betsy, thank you for your sweet words . . . I love the built in closets, even on the inside there is storage compartments for out of season clothes.

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  26. Hello Connie, it is so nice to met you!
    Thank you for stopping by my place and leaving a sweet comment, allowing me to follow you back to here. You have a lovely place.
    What a wonderful post on your new home,I enjoyed all your photos, lovely.

    Have a beautiful day.
    Joy! Debbie

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    1. Hello Debbie, and welcome! Thank you for your kind words and for following my blog:)

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  27. So cozy!! Love all your colors. They exterior looks fanstastic!

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  28. Everything looks so wonderful! You have done so much work, but it was worth it!

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    1. Hi Rebecca, it has been totally worth it . . . we love our little country cottage :)

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  29. love your fireplace, and cute built-ins, connie! it's amazing how much you've brightened the dark rooms with your cottage style! have a great weekend!

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    1. Hi Lynn, thank you, coming from you that is a wonderful compliment. I love everything you do around your home. You and your husband come up with such unique and charming projects . . . everyone enhances the decor.

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