Marling renovation before & after photos

Good morning! Yesterday was our first official day of listing the renovation :) so I thought I'd take the opportunity to do some before & after pictures below, since that's basically the reason for renovations, right? So, let's get to it, shall we?

The side of the house which, in this case, also contains the front door (I think it's called a Charleston porch?)

Before

After

The biggest impacts: gravel driveway, white railing, pressure washing & fun paint colors.

The living room. It already gets great natural light, so it was more of an unveiling than a fix.

Before

After

Another after, same room, different view

The biggest impacts: this room was simple, we just lightened up all of the paint colors, took down a couple of scrubby trees in front of the picture window, & refinished the floors.

The master bedroom. Large for a cottage - something I love about this house is that the proportions are really good.

Before

After

Our biggest impacts here were also simple: lightened up the paint (the paint color I used throughout almost the entire house was called Swiss Coffee by Benjamin Moore (it's both warm and clean), refinished the floors, and updated the ceiling fixture. The fan was actually a craigslist find that I took apart, repainted the blades and then hung.

The smaller bedroom/office. This one gets great light too.

Before

After

Biggest impacts: fixed the window glass (dur), lightened the walls & refinished the floors. 

The bathroom. This was, along with the kitchen, one of my biggest projects. It wasn't totally ripped down to the studs, but nearly. And since it is the only bathroom in the house, I wanted it to feel special. Someone at the open house said it has a Nordic-feel, I like that description :)

Before

After

The biggest impacts here might have been...everything. We added shiplap to the bottom half of the walls, retiled the entire shower with white subway tiles, replaced all fixtures, re-enameled the tub, and I found an antique mirror to hang above the sink. The hexagonal tiles on the floor are probably my favorite part. Here is a better picture of them I posted on instagram.

The kitchen. Ah, the kitchen. I used this kitchen by the famous Emily Henderson as my main inspiration. We had to make tweaks along the way - and the floors are notably (but beautifully) different. For this room I'll do a few before/afters. Too much to show :)

Before

After

Before

After

Before

After

The kitchen probably requires a separate post all of its own, but suffice to say we replaced nearly everything. We also made space and rewired for a dishwasher (!) and moved some other electrical stuff around so the kitchen feels well organized and put together. 

This project was transformative for me. There were days when I'd be inside the house, my kids literally playing with sticks in the backyard, and I thought there was no way I was going to make it. The project seemed never ending, daunting, & it was difficult to see the forest for the trees. I will not deny a few tears.

The promise of looking at these before and after pictures became a bit of a carrot-at-the-end-of-the-stick image in the my head. I am so proud of what I (we) did, and, as is often the case with hard work, hope to have this opportunity again soon.

Let me know if you have any questions about materials/paint colors and I'll be delighted to share. xoxo

Photo credits go to:

Before - Chuck Holden Photography

After - Look2 Home Marketing

Comments

[Nancy]

"The fan was actually a craigslist find that I took apart, repainted the blades and then hung." That was impressive enough - but you just kept impressing me!!

[Hope Sypert]

Well...Bud technically hung it but I did take it apart & paint it :) You'd be amazed how easy some of these things I used to think were impossible are.

[Miriam]

AMAZING.FABULOUS.WOW!!! Hope--I always knew you were amazing, but this just reconfirms it.