We spent an hour or so trying to find some snapshots of our house before we started really digging into it. Unfortunately, I don't think we took that many pictures because we were so anxious to go to work! But we did find some behind the scenes phone shots so you can at least get an idea of what we were starting with. As you can see, there was old carpet & laminate flooring, drab wood, popcorn ceilings, outdated wallpaper, and dingy walls. When we first started the process, I wasn't living with Marcus yet and every penny was going to our wedding so we had very little money to work with. My oldest sister told me about Drop'N'Swap so all the paint, other than the white paint and chalk paint, we got for free., including for the floors. Over the past few years, we added some more touches and decor as we could but overall, we were very frugal. Many of the items were thrifted, reclaimed, picked up at antique stores, or were made. We got new appliances a couple of years ago as our Christmas present to ourselves during a Black Friday sale.

I have loved this area of our home, especially now as I look back and see how far it's come and all DIY. I am ready for some changes though. In a dream world, here's what I'd do:

Make a pass through window in the kitchen wall where the swamp cooler is (ditch that for AC). That would go out to our dream deck and would allow so much more light in and access to see the kids playing outside.
Replace kitchen counters with butcher block, pennies, or wine corks
Replace sink with big farmhouse sink
New lighting

While that it is all possible, budgeting for a kitchen update is not anywhere on the priority list right now... thanks Dave Ramsey! So here are the changes we are going to potentially make on our own:

Put up a "shiplap" wall on the door/window wall
Replace the cupboards on that wall with open concept shelving
Simple decor
Fresh paint in areas
New look to floors (eeehhhhh, possibly)

Next up on the house tour, the living room. Stay tuned!

Home Tour | Kitchen & Dining Room