Our 1976 Fixer Upper
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Buying our fixer upper was one of the best decisions we could have every made for our family.
Not only were we able to obtain the money that we needed from the sale of our old house, but we are now walking distance from family. If you haven’t already, be sure to check out my about page to read the full story about why this house means so much to our family. Don’t forget your tissues, because it is a bit of a tear jerker!
When I say this house needed a face lift, I mean pretty much the whole entire house! This project was a MAJOR undertaking. There was a mix of orange, yellow, and brown carpet, complemented with 3 inch ceramic tiles containing groovy splotches of brown and dirty yellow. Also, the master shower was soooo tiny. I don’t think my 6’5” husband would have been able to fit in the original shower! Thankfully, we were able to expand that. You can read more about that in my post about our master bathroom renovation.
Below are some general before and after photos of what we have accomplished in our first year of owning our fixer upper.
We opened up the kitchen to the dining and living room areas.
We love our cabinet pulls! We actually ordered and tried many different cabinet pulls before settling on these. So many cabinet pulls are cheaply made these days. The Amerock Cabinet Pulls that we picked out are a heavier, nicer quality that feel like they will hold up pretty well. We were also thrilled to find matching Amerock Cup Cabinet Pulls, as well!
We love that the kids are able to eat at the breakfast bar and then immediately place their dirty dishes into the sink!
One of our biggest splurges was the faucet. It is a central focal point to this space, so we went with a pretty French country design in polished nickel. I like polished nickel because it is a little bit warmer than chrome, and not as cheap looking. I really had my heart set on the French country design, and hubby wanted one with a spring. We ended up settling on this beautiful Moen Kitchen Faucet, and we absolutely LOVE it!
I originally had my heart set on a beautiful farmhouse sink, but our cabinet and countertop guy quickly talked me out of it. They are neat but heavy and require special installation. Once we found this undermount sink by Kraus, all bets were off! This sink has so many amazing features. Farmhouse sink? What farmhouse sink?
We love these swivel stools at our new breakfast bar! They have been great for the kids, as they can eat and turn around to watch TV if they want. They are also very durable, comfortable, supportive, and easy to clean. I love how many of the reviews were from families who have stated that these stools are very kid-friendly.
We took our master bathroom down to the studs. There was NO WAY my husband was going to fit in the original shower! We took out some walls, expanded the shower, and added a new medicine cabinet, toilet, and vanity.
Second bathroom quick facelift using Rust-Oleum Tub and Tile Epoxy Kit. I was SHOCKED at how good this turned out! There will be a post on this bathroom update soon!
The basement was a pretty easy DIY! We removed the drop ceiling and old carpet. Then, we primed and painted the wood paneling. We also painted the ceiling matte black, which we LOVE, and installed string lights. Lowe’s installed the carpet. Easy peasy!
Kitchen/Dining Room Update
If you are interested in any of the products you see, check out the links below…
We loved the idea of having a settee at our dining room table, as this is a more comfortable yet still semi-formal dining area. We wanted one with a higher weight capacity so that we could seat multiple people. After hours of searching for what we wanted in our price range, we settled with this Rosevera Celino loveseat. We love it and have gotten many complements on it!
We replaced our old dining chairs with new French Country style chairs, and we love the new look!
We found our sofa and loveseat set on Facebook Marketplace for $700 total! You can find them brand new on Amazon for a little bit more, or even mix and match different sets. After researching reviews, designs, and options; I would recommend the Morden Fort Sofa Set if you want the same Chesterfield tufted look.
We love the new curtains that we put up on the big windows in this space. We used a matte black double curtain rod that we found on Amazon. The nice thing about having a double curtains is that you can choose how much light you want to let in at different parts of the day. If you are interested in a double curtain rod, click here to see the same ones we used.
2nd Bedroom Update
3rd Bedroom Update
Master Bedroom Update
