The House of Remmes: LOVE befores and afters

My absolute favorite type of blog posts are before and afters.

So I decided with all the work we have done, I might as well do a 'before and after' post.

I feel as though, since we moved in 3 years ago we have been in a constant project mode.

It has been busy, but so much fun to see the transformations.

Our house really isn't that old (built in 2005)

But it has been really neat making it our own.

We are incredibly thankful for family (aka Eric) for helping us along with his expertise, we couldn't have done any of these things without him.

The guys finished the basement before Carter was born, but I just wanted to post a finished picture of our bathroom downstairs.

I love love love it.

If my whole house could look like this it would.

Here is a 'sort of before pic'

Keep in mind when we moved in, there weren't any walls, just a big ole concrete basement.

Our 'after' pic of our bathroom.

LOVE.

I especially love the wall color, wainscoting, vanity and 12x24 slate tiles.

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A pinterest project:

(I am officially obsessed with this website)

It is kind of like a virtual bulletin board where you can pin pics, ideas, anything onto your page.

I plan on completing a project at least once a month there.

Here is my first one:

A family calendar in our kitchen.

I bought a plain frame from Crafts Direct, painted it white, found a cute 12x12 paper and monday through sunday stickers at Archivers.

I already had a little stand that worked perfectly.

So I just placed the stickers on the paper and placed the paper in the frame behind the glass.

Then you can just use a dry erase marker to write in your special events for the week.

I put a strip of paper down the center so I can do 1 week out.

Josh likes this especially with my work schedule.

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This is what our house used to look like when you walked in.

I am not going to post another version of this pic until I completely finish the transformation (fabric, curtains etc), but from this pic you can see the UGLY trim and the hideous tile and carpet. Along with the oak fireplace.

Because we changed out our entire main flooring, why not make the woodwork pretty too :)

(My brother-in-law Eric LOVES when I come up with more ideas from an original idea!)

Here is a little pic of our door frames now, Josh had also changed out all of our gold hardware. Made a HUGE difference.

Our beautiful dark floors and thick white baseboards.

(However I do recommend not going dark if you are a clean freak....you can see EVERYTHING)

This is why I love Veronica (our cleaning gal)

She makes these floors beautiful every time!

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This week Josh and I (well Josh) decided to tackle a project we have been thinking about since we originally saw this house. Painting the oak fireplace.

We made a trip to Home Depot this past week and

Josh worked hard on Sun/Mon and Tues and completed the project!

I absolutely LOVE it!!!

I am now trying to convince Josh into not placing the t.v. back on top.

I am sure I can find some rather cute things at pottery barn to decorate with :)

Not that bad of a process if anyone is thinking of doing it...

1. Sand, but you don't need to go overboard

2. Gripper Primer (amazing primer, sticks to anything) I believe Josh did 2 coats

3. Enamel Paint (Josh did 2 coats) with a foam roller and paintbrush for the small areas

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This is a project we did not tackle, and unfortunately I did not take a before pic...but I had to include it....because it turned out gorgeous!

This is an old sewing machine that was originally my Great Grandma Thompson's.

After years of being in the attic and garages, it needed a pick-me-up.

I don't know exactly what Josh's Dad and Grandpa did, but I do know that they made it look BEAUTIFUL!

I believe the process involved some sandblasting and repainting of the frame,

Sanding and refinishing of the wood portion.

And yes there is a beautiful sewing machine underneath.

So neat! I had a little spot for it in our entry living room. I can't wait to dress it up with some old family pictures in frames.

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This is sort of a before pic.

Keep in mind when we moved in our grass was completely dead and there was a random hill behind our garage that served no purpose.

Last year when the guys landscaped they built this amazing retaining wall.

They cleared out a TON of dirt and made a great level area for a future patio.

So this summer, the patio was completed!

We LOVE it!

It is so great and beautiful.

It was the first patio the guys have done, and I think they could definitely brag,

because it looks like a professional did it.

Eric, Josh and Dean weren't too excited when I picked the HARDEST pattern. But they all tried to take credit for it after it was completed. There may or may not have been some naughty words throughout the afternoon when they were trying to figure out the intricate pattern.

I will post pics next spring of the completed patio look, especially with my new couches, flowers and finished landscaping.