There was no way around it. Saying goodbye to the home you lived in for 13 years, and brought 3 of your 4 children home from the hospital to, was difficult!
But as a family of 6 (add in the 2 crazy dogs), we had definitely outgrown our 900 sq. ft. home.
I can’t tell you how hard my husband worked on that house. Knocking out walls, re-building walls, building new walls… He refinished the hardwood floors, bathroom, and kitchen. He built a fence and installed carpet. He turned the breezeway into a functioning room so we could have more than 2 bedrooms for our family of 6. And the biggest project of all? After we had EverDry waterproof the basement, he built an entire basement suite with a bedroom, bathroom, and family room.
This guy is amazing.
I was always a bit in awe of my grandpa – a man who designed and built his own home. But when my grandpa walked through our new basement suite, he looked around and remarked that my husband had missed his true calling.
Of course the brain work went to my husband (just thinking about all the calculations that went into building that suite gives me the shivers), but it was my job to get our house ready to sell. ♡
At that point we were pinching every penny and DIY wasn’t just a passion, it was a necessity. So I had to find thrifty ways to add a bit of character to our home. I’d love to share a few pics with you guys.
I painted the doors black to make a bold statement. It was scary at first but it was a huge payoff.
We put up beadboard wainscoting with a picture ledge for a beach cottage feel. I found a cheap lamp shade at a thrift store to update the ceiling fan. Plantation blinds for a bolder effect on the windows. (Oh, did I mention I made that dining room table?)
I found those faux bamboo shades in the attic when we moved in. Using tacks, I hung them above the window to give the illusion of higher windows. Notice my DIY clock on the wall and if you look closely to the right you can spy the faux transom over the hallway.
I love corbels but they are SO expensive. So I made my own with some scrap wood and a jigsaw.
First layer.
Second layer with paint.
I wish I had before pics of the kitchen. The small counter space and cabinets area you see here is all we had for a decade. When my husband redid the kitchen (and removed the horrible yellow 50’s tile) he also made a room-length counter on the opposite wall, complete with MORE CABINETS! Yay for more space.
Turning our breezeway into a 3rd bedroom became a necessity. Ikea was definitely our friend as we had to buy wardrobes for this room and the basement suite.
Part of our basement suite, I had to make custom art to cover the water shut-off and electrical panel. I got this great fabric at fabric.com and made my own frames, using 1x2s.
And finally, for the first time in 12 years our family had 2 bathrooms! I can’t tell you how amazing that felt. I miss the sconces and pretty sink we picked out. But…I don’t miss living in a basement.
To cover up the under-stairs access, I made a bookshelf that slid in and out of the opening as needed. Hands-down one of my favorite parts of the new suite.
Though we ended up drywalling the bathroom and bedroom ceiling, we left the family room ceiling exposed. I spent hours (and by hours I more accurately mean DAYS) handpainting the beams. Hindsight tells me maybe I should have splurged on renting a paint sprayer. Love the track lighting that my husband installed.
This was fun. This was my office/laundry room/closet. I actually kind of miss it. It was very convenient. It adjoined our bathroom and was a bit like having your own dressing room. I trashed multiple pallets to make the pallet wall. My favorite pieces were the blue ones. They matched the $5 rug I picked up at a yard sale. Notice the top part of the left wall is just painter’s drop paper! 🙂
And our storage/workout room. I painted faux tile on the floor just so I wouldn’t have to look at the ugly old concrete. 🙂
