Before And Afters In Our Home – 2023

A look at all the before and after in our home this past 2023 year! We tackled some fun DIY’s this last year and are sharing all about it!

A quick recap of this last year and the before and afters we took on!

Happy New Year you all! To kick 2024 off, I thought it would be fun to see where we are project wise in this house. As I put these images together, I realized how much painting we did last year, haha! So much! To kick things off, last January I gave our upstairs bathroom a mini makeover for under $350. Here is the BEFORE:

And then a refreshing

AFTER!

This makeover included fresh paint, new mirrors, lighting and a few accessories. I am so pleased with how much brighter it feels in there now!

Next, we made a small change with big impact to our entryway. Here is the

BEFORE:

We added a trio of cascading basket lights which became the focal point for this

AFTER!

Maybe the wildest before and after was the painting of the exterior of our home. I decided to try and save some money by doing as much of the job that I could myself. This took me a couple months of painting every weekday for a couple hours each day. We then hired a professional for the higher spots, I didn’t want to take the risk involved painting at great heights. Our painters gave everything a fresh coat as well to make sure everything was nice and even. They are the best! Here is the

BEFORE:

I forgot to mention we had our painters spray the window black too! We also planted some landscaping that has already grown so much since this photo. This is the

AFTER!

Our upstairs hallways was feeling really dark and needed a little tlc. Tyler and I pulled up the carpet and painted the subfloor… Best affordable decision ever! Here is the

BEFORE:

I added a gallery wall along the way as well… This is the

AFTER!

We are only about half way through the list and I’m just tired thinking about all the work, lol! I kid, I love these projects and making our home throughout the time we have lived here. It is such a joy, work and all. My daughter’s room was on the list of to-dos. Her carpet was in bad shape, you can see it pulling up and it was very stained from the previous owners. We also removed the carpet in here so that we could paint the subfloor like we did in the hallway. But we were in for a surprise because there was two layers of 80’s linoleum that we didn’t want to mess with. We quickly regrouped and chose to use LVP. We matched it to the existing floors in our home and were super happy with the results! Here is the

BEFORE:

The walls got new wainscoting, fresh paint and an updated tween girls vibe… Here is the

AFTER!

The downstairs bathroom was very similar to the upstairs one we made over at the start of the year. I am not a huge fan of the yellow/beige stone countertops. But was determined that we would keep them as there really was no justification to replace them and spend the money. So much like the first they got some paint, a mirror and accessories for a clean, fresh look. Here is the

BEFORE:

Such simple changes really make a huge difference. I will never underestimate how little things can shift a space for the better. Here is the

AFTER!

Last on this project list as we look back at all the before and afters in our home this past 2023 year is our family room! I always knew I wanted some wood work in here and shiplap was very high on the agenda. We finally made that happen and the transformation was so good! Here you can see what this room looked like when we bought the house as a very old

BEFORE:

I know this isn’t a wide shot of the whole space, but the details of shiplap are special so I wanted to give a close look. I just appreciate the charm and character it adds! This is a favorite

AFTER!

Phew! That was a good list of projects we completed this last 2023 and what fun! There may have been some sweat and tears along the way. I truly enjoy the process though. I’m not sharing this as attempt to show off or proclaim, “look at what we have done!” But rather to share and encourage you all that home takes time! It takes so much time and it takes resources. It just doesn’t happen overnight. And through the process, we gain so much. We get to know our homes better, see what it needs visually and functionally and blend the two together. I never take it lightly to be able to enjoy the process. If it goes too fast, I think sometimes it is possible to miss things or regret choices that were made in haste.

And as we enter into the 2024 year I am thrilled to share more projects and encouragement with you! We have our main bedroom that is getting started this month, our fireplace in the living room is getting added height with stone work and then we will work on the backyard. I am sure a couple small projects will find their way in between too.

Thank you so much for being here, I appreciate you all greatly! I’ve got lots of design ideas/tips and advice to share along the way. I want your visits to bring value and help you in your home journey as well.