2008 Project Party- Repost of A Houseful of Projects

Miss Rhoda, a talented decorator and fellow-Birminghamian, is hosting a 2008 Project Party at Southern Hospitality! She has a wonderful list of monthly projects that she completed last year.

We had one major project last year...updating our lake house! So here is a repost of the befores and afters of that houseful of projects!

Welcome!!

My Darlin' Person and I (and my mother) purchased this lake house in April 2007. It had been the permanent residence for a family who had taken good care of it but had not updated much of anything. Although we didn't care for the original decor, we could see that it had great potential. We furnished it with hand-me-downs and thrift store or yard sale finds. It has become a wonderful place to fellowship with family and frends.

Before & Afters - Front Exterior

We really wanted to paint the exterior of the house. The brown trim was good, but that creamy yellow had to go! After getting a ridiculously high quote from a painter, we decided to paint as much of it ourselves as possible. The ends of the house are still not painted because we just ran out of steam, but we'll get it done eventually. We wanted to remove that ugly trim design over the porch but were afraid it would damage the siding, so we just painted it the house color. It really became almost unnoticeable! We would love to cover that triangular area with cedar-look shingles one day anyway, but this will do for now! My Darlin' Person made the cedar shutters. We have other ideas for a new front door, a cedar column on the porch, window boxes, and new landscaping, but those will have to wait, too.

Before & After - Living Room

As you can see, the previous owners were using the living room as an office. Although the walls had been recently painted a neutral gray color, we repainted to better match our furniture. I'm not a big fan of gray in my own home anyway!

Before & After - Dining Room

Although it may look like paneling in the before picture, the dining room walls were covered with wallpaper. After a lot of scraping and sanding, we painted the walls using a slightly darker color underneath the chair rail. What an improvement! And what a great day it was when we changed out that chandelier with one found at Home Depot! We bought the table at Unfinished Furniture and painted it...still need to distress it a bit. The chairs are on loan from a friend who had them in storage.

Befores & Afters - Kitchen

This house had lots of wallpaper in it, and the kitchen was no exception. Unfortunately, too, the walls had not been primed before the wallpaper was hung, so the sheetrock was being damaged as we tried to remove the wallpaper. Our solution in the kitchen was a faux treatment: crumpled tissue paper sheets were placed on the wall and painted in place. It ended up looking almost like a stucco-type treatment. Sorry I don't have a close-up of it...maybe later! We bought new appliances...one of those deals in which you can buy 4 appliances for $1900. And we took out the ceiling fan and put in two flourescent lights...it was so dark before doing that! We have big plans for this room one day...painting the cabinets, of course; wooden countertops; backsplash (don't know if I want tile or beadboard); and eventually knocking out the wall where the refrigerator is now and opening the kitchen up to the dining room and den. If we do that, we would have some type of island, too. Then as you came in the front door, you would be able to see through the house to the lake view. Have to save up for that one!

Befores & Afters - Den

The den is probably the room that has changed most dramatically. It started out with dark wood paneling, a huge fireplace insert, and dirty mini blinds. We painted all the paneling and trim a cream color...what a difference that made in there! My Darlin' Person removed the fireplace insert and now we have big roaring fires in the winter. It looks so much better, too. I love this room now! I've tried the furniture a couple of different ways...don't love any of them, but this one allows most seats to have views of T.V. and fireplace without blocking view of lake.

Befores & Afters - Master Bedroom

This master bedroom is a good size and has a gas fireplace which is nice. It also has plush, bright red carpet that extends right into the bathroom!! We will eventually replace it, but have to live with it for now! We warmed up the walls with a cream color, but I think they need to be a little darker....don't think My Darlin' Person will help me paint again any time soon though. As you can tell, I still need to make a dust ruffle for the bed...have the prettiest tan linen fabric, just need to make myself sit down and sew it now!

Before & After - Girls' Room

We left this room the same pink color as before and just bought quilts to match. The bunk beds are great for the frequent times when we have lots of friends stay overnight!

Before of the Boys' Room:

We don't have any sons, but our friends have 4 boys and they all visit with us often. Plus, this room was already blue!

Thanks for taking my home tour! I hope you enjoyed it! You can also check out our regular home by going here and here. Please come again soon!