Before and After Home Improvement Projects

We have decided that we need to sell the house.  Glen still doesn't know where his job may or may not take us, but it's undeniable that this is the course of action we feel we are being led to do.    After living in a house for eighteen years though, this is a big to-do.

I don't like house projects.  They stress me out.  I have anxiety when it comes to making decisions.  I dread calling and dealing with workers.   I hate feeling like our house is being invaded.   It's just not my favorite thing in the world. 

  My life has been completely immersed in house stuff lately, and  weirdly I have not felt anywhere near the stress and anxiety that I normally feel with even one project.  I can only explain it that I feel like Heavenly Father is giving me strength to do what we feel like is the right thing to do right now.    I wouldn't go so far as to say I'm enjoying the process, however I definitely am not hating / dreading / avoiding it near as much as usual...so that's a good thing. 

Do you want to see a glimpse of what we've been working on? 

I thought so!   

Here's the "before" of our HALL BATHROOM.  I had already taken down the medicine cabinet, so it wasn't a true "before", but it's close.  

Here's the after....

We put in a new vanity, a big new mirror, new light fixture, a new towel rack, painted the walls, and switched out the shower curtain for a nice neutral white.   It feels fresh and nice! 

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Here's the "before" of our BASEMENT BATHROOM: 

And the "after"...

We did a new vanity, mirror, paint, and vinyl plank flooring over the old tile.   It looks great! 

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Here's the "before" of our MASTER BATH:  

Here's phase one with a new vanity, recessed medicine cabinet, paint, and vinyl plank flooring

Here it is after we glazed over the tile with white.  The shower door is still to come.

I have mixed feelings about the white tile, however it does make our bathroom seem a little bigger, so I guess it's a good thing.   I can't wait to get the new shower door installed. 

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Here's my pride and joy project--the one I was most excited about doing, even before we decided to sell the house.  I've hated this fireplace from the moment we moved in....

And now it's finally beautiful!   And I tiled over the brick myself (with Adam as my assistant)!

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We also got new railings to replace the ugly wrought iron we had before...

BEFORE 

AFTER (before staining)

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We got new windows.

BEFORE 

AFTER

I love how much easier they are to open and close now!

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We retiled the entry way.

BEFORE

AFTER

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We got new light fixtures....

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We put vinyl plank flooring over the concrete in our laundry room and added some beadboard to the unfinished walls.  It looks soooooooo different, but I weirdly never took a before picture of that ugly part of my house.

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WE've also gotten rid of a TON of stuff and have been packing up most of the rest and moving it to this storage unit.

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We are feeling like we've accomplished a lot and that we are on a good path to get it on the market in a few weeks, but we still have a few big things to go. 

PROJECTS STILL TO COME:

new roof

painting

new carpet in basement

refinish wood floors in bedroom

take care of the yard

taking care of water drainage on one side of the house

In the meantime, don't mind me if I look a little bleary eyed and seem a bit distracted.  This hasn't been quite as painful as I expected, but let's just say that we won't be rushing to buy another house anytime soon.  

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