Earlier this year, I bought a four bedroom fixer upper in my neighborhood that needed love and attention, and I was determined to make it shine again.
The owner was referred to me by a past client. When I saw the house, I knew it had potential. The owner didn't want to make any improvements and wanted to sell the house "as is". We discussed the possibility of me buying the house. After a few days, we reached an agreement and I closed on the property.
I documented a lot of "Before and After" photos on my Facebook page, but never got around to posting them here... until now.
One of the biggest projects my contractor and I had to deal with was the foyer. It should have been a stunning entrance; instead the walls were lined with brown paper grocery bags, torn randomly into smaller bits and decoupaged on the walls. (This was a trend in the early 80's.) Our challenge was to remove the paper without shredding the sheetrock wall underneath. I ultimately decided on a Board and Batten application that turned the entry into the showcase it should have been all along. The Board and Batten was painted with Sherwin Williams Revere Pewter.
Another of my favorite projects was whitewashing the brick fireplace and adding a cypress mantle. The brick floor already had a paint technique, but the bricks on the fireplace were dull and discolored, and needed some oomph! Whitewashing brick is one of the easiest tasks I've ever done but provides a big improvement, don't you think? I also added a custom cypress mantle and shiplap above the fireplace.
The last improvement I want to share is the staircase remodel. When I bought the house, the carpet had been removed but the nails, staples and paint spatters remained. After hours of pulling staples and sanding the stairs, I stained the treads and painted the risers; the stair rail was painted black for a dramatic look. You can see the results in the before and after photo.
Although there were other improvements made, I've highlighted just a few of my favorites. It is extremely gratifying to bring a home like this back to life. The house was listed last week and quickly went under contract. I'm sure the new family will love this house as much as I do.
If you'd like to see the finished product, click the link below.
Comments(19)