Erinsbrook: Before and After

So now that the end is in sight and VERY close, I've thought about our house alot. This was the 2nd house that Ryan and I bought...but our first real home. It had great times and also some of the hardest, saddest times of our marriage. Ryan and I both love house projects! We get very antsy if too much time goes by without doing something to fix up the place or yard. (Granted, our cravings for DIY projects was mysteriously quenched once the twins came along for a time....hmmm sleep deprivation? You can't hammer or paint anything with two infants in your arms??? :) )

Anyway, when we bought our house, it was in fine shape...just not our shape. We had so much fun working on this house together...as I was working on this post I realized just how much we have done! Unless some hormonal bug creeps up on me, I don't think you will find me upset about leaving. We had our time here and we both feel like its time to be in the next, settled house for our kids to grow up in.....after Ohio of course. So we are ready...good things ahead!

The living room...it was country cute. White carpet, green walls and that was it. We had big plans for this space and it made a huge difference! We put in Brazilian Cherry Hardwoods, replaced the ceiling fan, painted the walls my super-in-love, Pottery Barn brown.

Living Room BEFORE

Living Room AFTER

The Dining Room...well, for one it had white carpet (!!??) and the typical brass candelabra looking light fixture. This room also had its hue of green....it was a "greenish" khaki on top and a "greenish" brown below the chair rail. Ewwww to all! So, we kept the hardwoods going into the room, painted the top part of the wall a nice cream and a very delicious dark red below the chair rail. We also added a black light fixture. Much better!

Looking into the Dining Room BEFORE

Looking into the Dining Room AFTER

The Kitchen... oh my, the Kitchen. It had the original linoleum, the builder grade standard oak, woody cabinets, and very red walls. Too much red for me. It also sported the lovely brass kitchen overhead light. It had a circa 1990 oven vent over the stove but no microwave! Ummmm, nope. This is no gourmet girl so a microwave had to be had!
Sooooo, I took on the worst idea of my life. I took down every door and with the help of friends, painted the cabinets white. Horrible idea! I've done it once, will never do it again. Yes, I LOVE the finished product, but oh my...never again. We also added hardware to the cabinets. I got some awesome light fixtures off Craigstlist for the eat in area and over the sink. LOVE! We took the crusty oven hood down and put in a microwave. duh. And we replaced the flooring with some DuraCeramic Tile. Again, much better! I wanted a bright, airy kitchen since I already do not enjoy being in there...so anything to help!....but ever since we put this shade of green up, I haven't loved it. I don't feel that it goes with the other two rooms downstairs, but never got around to changing it so oh well!

Kitchen BEFORE

Kitchen AFTER

Kitchen BEFORE

Kitchen AFTER

The Master Bedroom....was the brightest blue known to man. We called it "Pool Stick Chalk" Blue. We immediately changed this!!! I love our MB now. I love our Trey ceiling and the decision to give it a pop of color. Yum.

Master Bedroom BEFORE

Master Bedroom AFTER

The Master Bathroom was a build up make over. We saved up and redid this room in a major way! I'm so thankful to have a handy husband who knows how to build houses and do projects when we get the itch. Before, our bathroom had the odd mismatching mirrors?, a HUGE window with no blinds ??,  a tub the size of our bed and the typical tiny shower. We noticed that water was getting behind the tile and causing problems so that gave us the perfect excuse to dive right in! We put new tile down for flooring, tore out the mega tub, took out the peeping-tom window, put in a mega-shower with new tile work, glass shower doors, and corner Sheetrock shelving. We replaced the mirrors and the lighting in there too.  Ryan and his buddy did everything you see except the Sheetrock shelves, plumbing and the glass doors! So proud. I painted the walls a fun Terra Cotta color and stained the vanities a dark espresso. We had to change out those mirrors and ultra bright light accessories.

Master Bath BEFORE

Master Bath AFTER

Master Bath BEFORE

Master Bath AFTER

Master Bath AFTER

Outside....we love the outside! The front of the house had normal shrubbery and no flowers to enjoy looking at! boring! So Ryan did a major project on his own and built us a Retaining Wall so we would have a nice flower bed to plant some color! It took him a long time (maybe  b/c he can be a perfectionist!? ) but it was worth it! Our neighbors enjoyed watching the progress and final project.

Flower bed BEFORE

Flower bed AFTER

Flower bed BEFORE

Flower bed AFTER

Flower bed AFTER

And my favorite feature....no joke....our beautiful Weeping Willow tree out front. Every Spring, we almost have a major marital fight because Ryan goes out there with sheers and a saw to "trim" up the tree.  Ryan is not a huge fan of the tree because he has to mow underneath and through it...so he says. ;) I like it just the way it is...nice and full! Anyway, it has been the background to many precious, pictures, including one of the last pictures we have of me pregnant with the twins. Holy Moly I was a 2-ton willy! (I had them the next day by the way...).

Overall, great times in good ole Erinsbrook....many memories made!