The 1970’s were great.
Tang for breakfast, metal lunch boxes, zero carseats, helmets or seatbelts, and velvet wallpaper…like no one really cared yet. That’s what I’ve heard, anyway. I was born in ‘79.
Five years ago I bought my condo that I swear believed it WAS STILL 1977, and hoo-boy! I had my work cut out for me.
So it was…hmm..what’s the word?
Gross.
It. Was. Gross.
Everything was old except the carpet which was (spoiler alert!) gross.
There was a smell. An old, dirty, empty home smell.
Like a bad movie but you don’t need popcorn, because that crap was all over! Popcorn ceilings, that is.
I decided to play it safe and had the entire place painted in a fresh, clean white.
Even the trim.
(And replaced every appliance. They were gross, too.)
I need a blank canvas so the real fun could begin!
I had shiplap installed on the ceilings in the foyer, living/dining room, and hallway.
Painted - All white.
Then, I moved in and chilled. Changed some lighting fixtures, but that’s about it.
Scoped out what I wanted, decided what my vision was…
And nearly three years later I dug in and here’s what happened!
First thing to go was the stair railing. Not only because I HATED it, but because my elderly Boston Terrier, Olive didn’t have great eyesight, and it wasn’t safe.
So I had a custom steel railing built and installed.
Huge difference! Immediately!
Now, I was pumped.
New laminate flooring was installed throughout the entire condo.
Did them myself with the help of a friend, so it saved me a crazy ton of money.
Thank God for good friends!
And once you start, you think, ”Might as well rip out all the kitchen cupboards to better install the flooring…” and that’s what happened.
The more I did, the more inspired I felt!
Maybe it’s because I work in real estate, but I made my reno choices based on resale value at first. Most of the time, it worked. The kitchen backsplash was economical, but now I want to change it.
I Don’t love it, tbh.
The galley kitchen didn’t give me many options, but there was an underused breakfast area and I ran with it.
Installed IKEA cabinet boxes with semihandmade cabinet fronts to create banquet seating, had a custom made, channel-tufted leather bench cushion, and, Voila!
Instant kitchen hangout.
Finishing it off on either side of the window were $5 sconces (yes, FIVE DOLLARS!) found at Clothing Warehouse!
For counters, I went with a neutral quartz and beige ceramic tile for the backsplash.
With the sink facing a wall, I needed…something.
I hung a piece of local artwork and added a picture frame light above to brighten it up!
Some floating shelves from Etsy,
and a food station for Lincoln and Bug.
I think it made for a relaxing, highly functional, comfortable kitchen!
So, snowball effect, anyone?
You fix one thing, and everything else suddenly looks awful!
Next was the guest bedroom.
Seemed simple and straight-forward.
New baseboard trim, accent wall, closet doors and organizers and that was most of it!
I chose navy blue. Cause I love it!
Aaaand I found discontinued Arhaus grass cloth wallpaper in navy, so that sealed the deal.
Added a ceiling fan and custom window treatment and it was done.
And so cozy. I’ve had many guests since completion and they NEVER want to leave.
So with the guest room done, the natural next step was the guest bathroom.
Keeping with my blue color-theme to tie them together, I found a TON of subway tile at Home Depot on clearance and ran around grabbing whatever each Home Depot had left! I ended up spending less than .95 cents a piece.
Total. Consumer. Satisfaction.
I did the job by myself with a little help from a friend.
We tore out the floor (rented a jack-hammer from Home Depot and it was a HUGE time saver), and sourced the vanity, lights and mirror from (Wayfair.com).
Got the (super-deep) tub and shower doors from Menard’s.
Installed new subway tiles (I swear, the TV shows make it look east. It’s. Not. Easy.)
There may have been some actual screaming.
Possibly tears. And more screaming.
But it got done!!
Lesson learned? Grout a SMALL area. Wipe it clean as you grout. Just don’t let it dry out on you.
Horrible!
So I hired someone to do the floors. I had PTSD from the remodeling tv show I did a few years ago. Money well spent.
Next up? Primary bathroom and walk-in closet!
This time, I just hired a contractor to handle it.
Sorry, not sorry.
I see why they get the big bucks, now. Holy moly.
I had IKEA closet organizers installed using trim pieces to make it all look seamless.
I shiplapped the ceiling.
On Etsy I found a lighting manufacturer out of Columbus and had three (gorgeous) lights made.
The only thing I did myself was to order a vanity from Wayfair.com.
Didn’t love the finish, so I painted it green!
Totally meshes with the kitchen cabinets.
Primary bedroom needed a bit of detail, so I added wainscoting floor to ceiling, new baseboard trim, and crown molding.
I used Escape Grey paint by Sherwin Williams.
Added a ceiling fan and custom drapes and it was done!
Two projects left.
I went with the laundry room.
I HATE laundry.
There was unused space, poorly used space, and zero storage.
I’ve seen gorgeous laundry rooms all over Instagram with custom cabinetry!
I wanted that!
Shiplapped the whole puppy vertically about ¾ up.
Trimmed and painted it all green to coordinate with the rest of the house!
Floor tile set me back a pretty penny.
I had seen (and never forgotten) a flooring done in oversized penny tiles.
LOVED it.
So when I found black marble-looking tile from Thomas Brick, I knew.
And I didn’t care.
I designed and stained a shelf-cover to go over the washer-dryer, that matched with the doors in the rest of the house.
That gave me a bunch of ways to cover up ugly hook-ups and to…
ACCESSORIZE!
Got a cool custom concrete sink and a black faucet/sprayer.
Went a bit “extra” and added artwork and lighting to cover the ugly electric panel.
So- straight up, it cost me more than my entire kitchen remodel, almost double. Don’t judge.
I love it.
And I HATE laundry! That’s how much I love it.
Finally, the FIREPLACE.
Seriously, it wasn’t just ugly.
It was Ug. Ly.
I had it coated in concrete (and converted to gas) and ordered concrete-looking spheres for the insert.
But it’s so pretty and I use it more than ever now!
The one thing I’m struggling to get done is a Dutch door to the laundry room.
I WANT a cut-out sized for my cat to keep my pups from getting in and helping themselves to the kitty litter boxes.
