Hi there! We lived in this home for four years before selling it and moving into our current home.
Our home was built in 1937, has 1285 square feet, and sits on 1.37 acres on a partially wooded lot. There are 2 bedrooms and 1 bathroom, a basement, and over 300 square feet in the unfinished walk up attic. The house is completely renovated, has hardwood floors throughout, many built-ins and storage, and lots of character.
KITCHEN
The projects in here included painting walls, painting cabinets, adding a chandelier from Freecycle, replacing the countertop, removing an old wall oven and extending the counter, new window/trim, adding glass knobs and pulls, installing wood floors, and replacing the appliances with stainless steel.
The kitchen used to have gold flecked countertops and backsplash, 40 year old laminate tile, wood cabinets, and green appliances. Can’t picture it? Here’s what our kitchen used to look like.
Click here for all posts about our kitchen.
LIVING ROOM (THE “MOM CAVE”)
Our living room was an unused dumping grounds of furniture just here to fill space. We decided to transform it into a mom cave!
A lot of love and hard work went into this room! We emptied it all out, painted the trim and the walls a calming color, and added new and second hand furnishings (many that we already had). Now we have a room we actually love and use, perfect for quiet reading, work, or family time.
The living room/mom cave was also featured in the following magazines: Better Homes & Gardens, Traditional Home, Family Circle, More, and Midwest Living.
Here are all of the posts on our Mom Cave and Living Room!
FAMILY ROOM
Our family room has gone through a lot of changes, maybe because we practically live in there. 🙂
Want every post I’ve ever posted about the family room? Here you go. (There’s a lot.)
Like our clipboard wall? Here’s the tutorial for how to make a clipboard wall gallery for under $25.
This room used to have 30 year old carpet, ceiling tiles, and paneling. Here are the before pictures!
FOYER
Normally the foyer doesn’t deserve a post of its own, but we built this foyer from scratch. We had a problem (no real foyer, one hot mess), dropped a part of the floor, built walls, railings, and wider stairs. This was one of my favorite DIYs to date.
It also led to us adding a breakfast bar made of repurposed floor boards which is nice to have for quick meals, parties, or art projects.
Click for all posts about our foyer, including before pictures!
DINING ROOM
The dining room wasn’t too bad before, but we painted the trim, walls, and added curtains. I love the before and after because the before has the same furniture! It really shows the power paint can have on a space.
Click for all posts about our dining room.
Our Bedroom
We’ve lived in our home for 4.5 years and finally finished this room in February 2014. I feel like our bedroom has always been full of things that needed to be put away and we never got around to it. We painted the trim white and the walls greige (the color is Martha Stewart “Whetstone Gray”), made a headboard (tutorial coming soon!), added all white bedding and colorful accents.
Even though it *still* frequently holds unfolded laundry, it finally feels relaxing and calm.
Here are before pictures and all posts on our bedroom.
Kids’ Bedroom
We bought our two bedroom house when our oldest was a few months old, and now we have four kids! Our youngest has a crib in our room while the older three share the other bedroom. (
The room is pretty simple due to our toy organization system. We are in the process of giving this room a much needed makeover, so stay tuned for that as well as a post with tips for organization in a kids’ room.
Bathroom
We gutted this entire room and the projects include: adding porcelain tile, installing wainscotting and thick trim, adding hooks, replacing the toilet, light fixtures, sink, faucet, shower head, and mirror, painting existing built-in storage, raising the shower curtain and adding a curved rod, and painting the upper walls a medium blue.
We had rusty water so to solve it and keep our new fixtures clean, we had a whole house water filter and a whole house rust remover installed before we started the renovation. We then scrubbed off the rust from the tub and it looks new!
Unfinished Attic Space
We have a walk up attic that when finished would be an additional 300 square feet of living space. It would be perfect for a master bedroom, closets, storage, and a master bathroom. Even though it is unfinished, the old beams, exposed brick, and wood floor boards of the space made me fall in love with this home. The possibilities in this space are endless.
Here are all of the before pictures from when we bought it.
Take the tour of our current home:
Katie says
Do you have a link to how you made the floor board breakfast bar? I love it!
Brenda says
Your house is BEAUTIFUL! We have a 2 bedroom/1 bathroom house and seeing yours gives me motivated. Thank you for sharing!
Dodie says
I just wanted to thank you for keeping up the pics of your old home. I live in a modest 1961 house, and I am only the third owner. To say it needs a lot of work, well, your before is my current state. lol. I’ve been here nine years. The reason I’m saying thanks is that the progression over time is really helpful and the modest amount you spent makes this something that is reasonably obtainable. I was so afraid that when you bought your new house you would take down the pictures and posts of the old house, and I’m so glad they are still here. Thank you. There’s nothing new with moving forward, I’m hoping your new place has more bedrooms and bathrooms for you all, but I’m so glad this is still here and being treated with respect. You and your family should be proud of what you have accomplished. <3
CJ says
Your home is really beautiful and inspiring. I want to paint my kitchen cabinets (they are laminate over pressed board?). Not looking forward to that job. But all the awesome work you did on your lovely home gives me hope for myself. Thank you for the blog.
Ann Marie Heasley says
Hi CJ! Thank you for the kind words. We’ve painted similar cabinets for our laundry room! They’ve held up so far, however, we did have to use a certain type of paint; we bought it at Sherwin Williams. When you do decide to tackle it, I’d talk to someone in store and see what they recommend. (Not an advertisement, just speaking from our experience on what we used.)
Best of luck to you!
Nikki says
I came to your blog last year, right before 40 bags in 40 days. I used to think I needed to buy a bigger house to accodate my growing family.After, I found your blog, I realized that I can utlize the space I have, and get rid of things we have but dont need.
My Husbands job took us from Pennsylvania to Flordia.We moved before school started in August to get settled in. Since we moved with our saving account and credit cards, we had to downsize from a 2000 sqft home to a 900 sqft apartment. Its a learing process.
Katie says
I love your house! Just wondering, where did you get the sofa that is in your “mom cave.” We are looking for something similar. Thanks!
Brenda M says
Love all the things you have done with the house, we are going to be re-doing things in our very small house. It is funny we had 3 others living in our house when the kids were here and now hubby and I can barely fit. lol What has happened? I know we are NOT using our space wisely.
Connie says
I’M GOING TO DO IT!!
Besides the family items that I hold, I have things from when my children have moved out and then had to move again , but had to store items here, I also hold items from my mother’s house after she died. Girl Scouting was a large part of our lives and still have large amounts of items ready to be used by others. When people clear their areas, they bring it to me. and I accept it. *sigh*
I’ll have to make it 35 bags/35 days -as soon as I get over this bronchitis, but I’ll work hard!!
LOVE the challenge idea.
Christina says
My hubs and I own a Tudor Revival that wasn’t kept up very well by previous owners…but it’s livable.. this is our first time with home ownership so there is always hesitation, and self doubt involved in DIY projects…this site is a great inspiration for getting our place to have good bones so that I can decorate and switch things up as time and needs change. Thanks!
gina says
Hello. Love your home and what you have accomplished. I found you thru you 40 day purge. Take care
Cleta says
That is similar to my enclosure I purchased just lately, incredibly satisfied about it for anyone
found on the fence with regards to buying one,
get it done, you will not regret it
my blog – steam showers reviews (Cleta)
Sherri Howell says
Love this home! I especially LOVE the paint color in your Mom Cave! It is beautiful!!
Ann Marie Heasley says
Thank you so much, Sherri! 🙂 If/when we move, I will definitely be using this color in another room. It’s very calming!
Lynda M O says
Incredibly cool transformations you have wrought upon this home, Wow !~! We have lived all our married life in small spaces: houseboats, studio apt with teen and dog, 450 sq ft now in retirement and I have so much respect for others who are capable of being happy in a reasonable amount of space. My sister raised her brood of four in Moscow in 800 sq ft–all the kids in one room in built in bunk beds; Muscovites were surprised that only one family lived in All That Space !~! I love that you are not complaining and instead are making a beautiful home for your growing family. I hope it sells soon and that your dreams for your next space come true.
cheryl says
Hi! I love your style!! I used to live in Geneva and I think I know right where your house is! (we live in West Chicago now) I love reading your blog. Maybe we’ll bump into each other sometime! I’m always shopping in St. Charles/Geneva. 🙂
Ann Marie Heasley says
What a small world! Thanks for the sweet words. Maybe we will, I feel like I’m always out at Trader Joe’s or pretty much any shop off of Randall. 😉
Maggie says
Wish that spammer’s name wasn’t Maggie; boo. I have to laugh at the crazy spam comments I get on my blog too. I kind of wonder what the point of spam is.
I found you through a friend who is doing the 40 Bags in 40 Days. I love the idea! I’m behind the game, but so desperate to simplify our life and home. Thanks for the inspiration and great tips!
Love the character of your home and what you’ve shared here!
Sylva says
Do you have a TV?
Libby Sawyer says
The attic space is awesome! I rent a house now, but my husband and I are looking for a home of our own. We love walk-up attics! I want to turn one into a craft space where I can go crazy and make a mess, but no guests will see it!
I’m loving your blog. We just started spring cleaning this weekend. Next weekend was scheduled for decluttering, but your 40 Bags in 40 Days challenge has inspired me to start tomorrow! I’m going to have to blog about it and link back to you. Thanks!
Melissa says
Love your style and how fresh it looks. Starting with the 40 bags in 40 days challenge today and scheduled a Donation Pick Up to make sure I stick to it!! I have 3 kids under 5, youngest is 71/2 months.. Having a messy house makes me very anxious and takes away time from my kids, looking forward to the day when we have less and there is less to put away!!
Kim says
Love the clean and fresh look. We had that about 17 years ago. Now I’m trying to get back to this simple lifestyle.
Brittany says
Can you tell me where you purchased your curtains? So light and airy! <3
Doug says
They are from Ikea! Nice and cheap. Here’s a post about the curtains and the curtain rods.
Doug says
http://www.whitehouseblackshutters.com/conduit-pipe-curtain-rods/
Pau says
Yeah, the curtains add the breezy feeling in the living room. It’s a perfect place to relax. Nice!
Lindsay says
Your home is wonderful and inspiring. Do you have an area that you explain exactly what you did to paint your kitchen cabinets? That’s going to be my first home project and would love
To see how to do it. Thanks.
Doug says
Hi Lindsay – Thanks for reading. While we don’t currently have a tutorial, we plan to post one soon. Sign up for our newsletter on the sidebar so you can get the info sent directly to your email. Thanks!
KateT says
Followed a link from Lisa Moorefield and found you here! Your domestic arrangements sound a lot like ours. I bought my 2 bed home when I was newly married, working in the financial industry. We now have 3 kids and they are all in that one little 2nd bedroom. We are desperate to move but our home looks NOTHING like the beautiful pictures of yours. 40 bags in 40 days has got to be a good way to keep my moving plans alive.
So pleased to have found you.
~Kate~
Margie says
My friend just sent me your link on Facebook and I am trying to round up some friends to do your 40 bags in 40 days challenge. I hope that I can get some of them to join me to help me stay motivated. I love your home and all your projects that you have done, and I can tell that you have been a “40 bagger” for a while. Hopefully my friends will soon be saying the same about me. LOL
Teresa says
I love that you are using the space so sparingly.. That’s where most of us go wrong.. we try to keep too much stuff that we don’t need! Very nice presentation!
Becca says
We have very similar home. We haven’t done much yet, just paint and refinished hardwood floors. We have high iron content in our water as well. What filter for iron did you go with? Is it working well?
I love the colors and the choices you’ve made in your house. Looks lovely.
Doug says
Hi Becca – thanks for reading. The Iron was a HUGE problem for us too. We tried using the rust-removing pellets in our water softener, but that only partially worked. Then we tried a sediment filter (approx $60 for the housing and $20 for the filter every couple months). That helped a little too. Then we decided to purchase an Iron filter from a local water company. We considered purchasing the one that Sears sells because it’s essentially the same. Sears sells it for I think $800. Our guy charged $1,000 fully installed. We have to add some powder once every 2 months, but that’s it. No Iron now! Good luck!
Shelleymat says
Is the “greige” in all of the rooms the same whetstone grey you mention? It’s beautiful and I’m looking for something similar. Thanks for sharing!
Sarah M says
I am encouraged the you have 4 kids in a 2 bedroom house. We are expecting our 4th and so I’m looking at buying a bigger house (we’re in a 3 bedroom townhouse now), but love seeing when people make what they have WORK! It encourages me that it is possible, although you probably have more land than me. We are squished between neighbors…
Love the bunkbeds…where did you get them?
Doug says
Hi Sarah – we actually got the bunk beds from a garage sale. I believe the cost was about $100. The thing we like best about them is the drawers under the bottom bunk. We definitely need the storage space, as I’m sure you can relate. Thanks for reading!
Lou says
Those broken-English spam comments are hilarious. Especially the one that tells you to “stop doing your unappealing, annoying website.”
Love your home, by the way, especially the ‘mom-cave.’ The height and width of the curtains really make the windows seem significant compared to the unfurnished room.
Lonnie says
Hurrah, that’s what I was exploring for, what a stuff! present here at this weblog, thanks admin of this website.
Maggie says
U r annoying so stop doing this website it is un appealing for me
Lauren @ Mom Home Guide says
LOL – too funny! When I started blogging just over a year ago, I didn’t realize at first that the spam comments were spam. But, I love your living room. I like the accents of blue and yellow. I wish I could figure out how to turn my home’s living room into a mom cave — at this point, it just has a piano in it. The living room is long (20 feet long) and not wide (9 feet wide), and leads into our kitchen, so we treat it more like a hallway than a room. One of these days we will furnish it!
Maggie says
I have read several good stuff here. Definitely price bookmarking for revisiting.
I surprise how so much effort you put to create the sort of great informative website.
Ann Marie Heasley says
why, thank you spam commenter! 🙂 PS I hope you don’t mind that I deleted your link but am keeping your copy and pasted compliment.
Krisdee Donmoyer says
Hysterical!
April says
Well THAT made me laugh. 🙂
Ann Marie Heasley says
goofy spammers 🙂
Cindy says
I really enjoyed seeing the pictures of your home remodeling adventures! You gave me some great ideas for our “shabby cottage” built in 1920! I especially want to thank and commend you for your thoughts regarding fixing things up little by little. We Americans can be so impatient and so entitled! We want it all and we want it now! I have to admit to getting sucked into this type of mind- set when watching the HGTV shows! But hey, I have so much to be thankful for and little by little it’s getting there!!
Maggie says
My name is Maggie 2