We recently purchased a new (old) home in April of 2014. We immediately began remodeling to make it ours. It has been an ongoing process, but the results are worth every step! Take a look at some of the before and after pictures to get a sense of what can be done to a space if you have the determination (and some handyman skills) to push through.
...the before and after.
And here is the end result. New gray hardwood floors and lovely white walls and fireplace! We did all the work on our own to save on costs. My husband put down the hardwood floors and we invited the whole family over to help remove wallpaper and paint! Let me tell you, painting brick is no easy task. We ruined several brushes trying to squeeze the paint into every tiny crevice. I couldn't be happier with the result though. Everything just looks so much brighter and welcoming now!
Here is a before shot looking into the family room/kitchen/dining room from the garage entrance. We removed the wooden columns and half wall to give this area a more open feeling. If you look at the last image above, you can see that there is now a clear shot all the way into the dining area.
A before shot of the kitchen...
...and the dining room.
And the after shots! The hardwood floors carry out through the whole design. We painted the existing kitchen cabinets and added new butcher block counter tops. We replaced the old stove with a stove/microwave combo and got ourselves a new fancy faucet! We took out the soffit above the island and added new pendant lights. My dad was kind enough to put in the subway tile backsplash for us, which seemed like a quick and easy job - however, I was not the one doing it;) It took a couple months to get this all complete. Since we knocked down walls, we needed an electrician to come in and re-wire some things for us. Other than that, we completed the remodel entirely on our own. We are so appreciative of all the help from our family and friends who put in long hours and only got paid with a pizza or two.