10 days
February 5, 200710 days of intense physical labor.
16 hour days.
6 hours of sleep per night.
3 people.
1 KICK ASS transformation.
I can’t believe how much was accomplished in the last ten days. We tore down ceilings, painted ceilings, painted walls, did more painting, replaced floors, built things, hung doors, you name it. We tackled almost every room in the house, and we all have the cuts, scrapes and bruises to show for it. On day five I didn’t know if I could go on. I was so tired and my hands were swollen and my knees were bruised. But then somehow I managed. I was really inspired by how hard my brother worked and I needed to keep up. (I am no wuss!)
Here are some before and after pics… well, these are more “mid-way” pics, we haven’t decorated or cleaned at all yet, so look past the weird furniture placement and stuff (for instance: we can’t find our table top for the breakfast nook table). The house was really dingy before… dark and dreary. You walked in and you could feel your energy level sink. Blah. But now it looks and feels much lighter.
The kitchen before:
Kitchen after:
Breakfast nook before:
B-nook after:
Living room before:
Living room after:
It’s getting there, but we’re not done yet. There are still a lot of little finishes and touch ups to do.
Tom and Dan left this morning. So for the first time I am sitting in the house alone (I miss them already)… it feels good. It’s so quiet. So peaceful. I am totally exhausted, covered in cuts and bruises, and very worn down… but I am completely happy. I feel like I’m home.
Thank you so so much, Tom and Dan. You guys are true blue.
February 5th, 2007 at 11:05 am
Wow, P! It looks fantastic. I am so excited for you.
p.s. T minus five days…!
February 5th, 2007 at 11:49 am
It looks marvelous! The “after” versions do indeed look lighter and happier!
February 5th, 2007 at 12:07 pm
nice job! it looks amazing! so light and pretty.
February 5th, 2007 at 1:50 pm
what an incredible transformation! kudos!!!
xo,m
February 5th, 2007 at 2:17 pm
You. Are. Amazing. BEAUTIFUL!!
February 5th, 2007 at 3:32 pm
Wow! It looks sooo much better in the after. I love the star above the table in the breakfast nook. And I’m SO JEALOUS that you have a fireplace! I wish we had a firplace! Super nice! Congrats on your new home!
February 5th, 2007 at 4:55 pm
I love, love, love before-and-after pics! :) Your place looks great!
February 5th, 2007 at 5:47 pm
you ROCK!
and those colours are fantastic… very you :)
love it! :)
February 5th, 2007 at 6:02 pm
it looks great! so happy for you - !
February 5th, 2007 at 9:45 pm
You weren’t kidding… you really took over that house.
And I have to say, the breakfast nook is so totally YOU,
Penelope. The colors are what I see in a lot of your
illos and therefore associate with you.
Great job - what an effort!
February 6th, 2007 at 5:47 am
I know you are tired but it will all be worth, there is nothing like making you stamp on your space. Hooray for the help! The blue is so serne. I covered a red room in my home when I moved in also into blue, a color I had never used before. i really like it. Nice trim molding too. Really cute home. Don’t mean to go on and on…but I am into houses! Kudos for you!
February 6th, 2007 at 8:24 am
My girl and I find ourselves addicted to house flipping shows on HGTV and stuff. They don’t have nothin on you guys. House looks awesome. I’m jealous.
February 6th, 2007 at 1:36 pm
It’s beautiful!
February 6th, 2007 at 2:34 pm
You have a great eye for home improvement! I love the light in the kitchen. It looks great.
February 6th, 2007 at 5:12 pm
It looks great! Make sure you post some pictures of your new studio when you have that up and running! I love to see other artists’ workspaces!
February 6th, 2007 at 6:58 pm
It’s been awhile since visiting your blog and I am so excited to see your house. What a great job you guys are doing. It looks like the perfect Penelope home. Awesome!
February 7th, 2007 at 1:34 pm
Love it more, now it feels it has more space, more illumination..ahh, very relaxing.
Great job!
February 7th, 2007 at 6:06 pm
what an incredible wall color! all of you did a wonderful job. i’m inspired!
February 8th, 2007 at 10:16 am
Beautiful, Penny! So excited to come and see it:) Maybe a weekend here soon??? I miss you guys. You’re inspiring me to paint the darned den! What color did you suggest? xo, YSIL
February 8th, 2007 at 4:31 pm
I am shocked at the difference! My husband and I are in the same stage as you are - renovation and painting. Did you paint your whole family room white? We have been toying with this idea for our house because the family room has lower ceilings and not many windows. Feels darker than it should sometimes. I’d love to know what shade you went with.
Great job! I am off to paint my cabinets.
February 9th, 2007 at 7:32 am
Sarah: we did paint the family room white. Same problem as yours: There’s not a lot of natural light in there, so it is dark most of the time. The previous owner had a dark green in there and it felt really cave-like. We painted a shade called “Pearly White” from Sherwin Williams and I think it turned out great… Good/subtle contrast to the new bright-white trim! :)
February 16th, 2007 at 7:49 am
You know before and after shots are like porn for girls, right ;)
Amazing transformations!
Can’t wait to see what you do with your studio.