Monday, June 7, 2010

Renovate, Remodel, and Restore

This weekend I had the rare opportunity to get away by myself for a couple days and travel to my sister's house in Louisiana. They are in the midst of a remodel that has unfortunately gone on for more than a year because their contractor bailed on them with the job less than halfway finished and ALL the money spent. My sister had this to say.....

"We started this project May 5, 2009 with the anticipation of being done in September 2009. We now know that our former contractor has a history of purposely underbidding jobs. He bailed on us August 15th (prior to that we went for one month without anyone coming to the “site”). At this point we were on our own. Ah, the pay as you go plan. Living on sub floor in a literal construction zone. It is now June 2010. We hope to be done with the interior soon and will then build our deck and do landscaping.Though we had a tumultuous remodel ride and I thought about calling HGTV’s Holmes on Homes a couple of times, the lessons of patience, perseverance, and what is really important (not stuff!) were definitely humbling and great learning and growing experiences for us."

I seriously admire her attitude and resilience! I was honored to be able to go and help them with some finish work. I'm pretty sure we caulked and puttied at least 2897 nail holes on the trim throughout the house. We had a blast and laughed and talked the entire day. They have a lovely home in the historical district that is 113 years old. Their mission was to maintain the historical integrity of the house while also modernizing it. Today I want to share with you some before and afters and a few pretty details.

I am in LOVE with this fridge in their new pantry. It is classic vintage with a swanky coat of cherry red appliance paint! They left the original Bakelite handle as is.

This is the before shot of the front of the house after the siding had been ripped off. Notice they did not have a front door on the FRONT of the house....only a side and back door.


And here is the after. Isn't it lovely? Every single detail is swoon worthy.......the door is beyond beautiful, the light fixture, the mailbox, even the house numbers are ultra fab.


Simple elegance!
(my sister wanted me to stress that the house is still unfinished and many of the pics show that)



The master bath is a complete addition to the house. It is dreamy!



When we stayed over recently, my girls wanted to take baths in this tub all.day.long. Seriously,that's pretty much all they wanted to do.



I am lusting after this light fixture!



And the sconces to match. Can you believe she found those mirrors for $22 each clearanced at Target?


My absolute favorite part of this spa-like bathroom are the gorgeous granite countertops. Wouldn't this color granite be fantastic in a kitchen with a white subway tile backsplash?



This is the guest bath. Now imagine with me if you will, a dark cabin like bathroom with carpeted floors, dark wood plank walls, and a low ceiling. Unfortunately my sister lost many of her before pics when her hard drive crashed, so you'll have to use your imagination on this one. Needless to say, it is a complete and utter transformation!



This former dresser was repurposed as a vanity. They bought a scrap piece of granite and had it cut to fit. They tried really hard to repurpose as many items as they could. The rest they donated to good homes to serve as someone elses treasure! I got some gorgeous old windows and my other sister got a pink claw foot tub.



I love how they mix the old with the new and make it all work beautifully.



This is the before shot of their back porch.



And this is the after. AMAZING.....huh? This space became a new mudroom/hallway/entry.



This is the view when you walk in the back door. After finishing all those pesky nail holes, we even had a little time to do some staging and take some pretty pictures......my favorite part!


Cute little Pottery Barn splurge to hold keys and mail.


This chippy white bench was a $5 yard sale find and the wire baskets were another Target clearance score at just $6.24. What a perfect spot to sit and take off your muddy shoes and throw them in the basket!



Again, I love the mix of the old with the new. My sister has such a knack for this. I hope y'all enjoyed our little tour filled with inspiration. I had a fantastic time helping out. I love you both Beth and Ronnie. Thanks for a good time, some satisfying work, the best company, and some rocking eats! When can I come back and help again?




26 comments:

Michelle said...

Wow, what a transformation! Great job, I love it-

Carmen @ Life with Sprinkles on Top said...

Awesome transformation! I love everything!!! Just beautiful.

Kelly said...

Here home is amazing! she did a great job, I'm in love with that vintage dresser turned bathroom sink!!!!

Brooke said...

I love your sister's house!!

nina@themissadventuresofnina said...

They are doing a fabulous job. Hope they get more patience for the last things; it is so easy to get tired near the end. Best wishes with their home.

A Southern Rose said...

I love it! Amazing! I love that old fridge. Everything looks awesome.

Hugs,
Lee Laurie

KasiaJ said...

Looks great!
I'm also commenting because that line about your sister's hard drive crashing made me think- I'm sure she priced out data recovery, but my husband recently started his own business doing that same thing for a lot less than other companies (he charges 250$ plus parts instead of 2000$). If your sister still has the hard drive and is interested, tell her to look up Hard Drive Heroes on facebook, all the information is there.
Sorry, I didn't mean to put up an ad or anything, but losing data is awful, especially pictures.

All That Glitters said...

I love it!!! I love the mix with old and new!

Kristin @ My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia said...

Wow!!! It's stunning, what a wonderful transformation!

Kristin @ My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia said...

Wow!!! It's stunning, what a wonderful transformation!

Kristin @ My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia said...

Wow!!! It's stunning, what a wonderful transformation!

Jess said...

Amazing is right! I LOVE mixing new with the old. It is a beautiful transformation!

DrayaAnn said...

Wow! I love it all. That light fixture is one of my favs!

Kari said...

What a beautiful home! Your sister has one amazing transformation!!!

SarahJarnagin said...

All I can say is, "Gorgeous!" Your sister has amazing style & taste! I love it!

Unknown said...

OMG, so sweet and GORGEOUS! I just love all of the old and repurposed treasures.

Nicole said...

Nice house! I love old homes!

Angela said...

It's wonderful...I especially love the guest bath!

Cara Sexton said...

Your sister won't mind if I move in, will she? ;) I just love the place -- talk about a remodel! Beautiful transformation. I'm sure she appreciated the help you were able to offer her, too. Thanks for sharing!

mle said...

Everything is absolutely charming!!

Richella Parham said...

Hey Amanda! Your sister's house is just beautiful. What fun y'all must have had! In fact, beautiful houses run in your family, don't they?

Hope you're enjoying being a family of six again!

Jen @ tatertotsandjello.com said...

Oh so beautiful Amanda! Wow - they did a wonderful job. How fun that you were able to go down and help her and spend time with her too!

I love every single thing. You guys did an awesome job!

XOOx
jen

Ang said...

YAY! I'm so glad you posted this!!! I was JUST talking to your Mom about Beth's house (we were at June's baby blessing too) and I was telling her I couldn't wait to see pictures! I can't believe how different it looks! I loved her house before and I adore it now! That vintage fridge is perfect. LOVE LOVE LOVE it!

Pam Walter said...

Although it seems like it's taking forever, what they've done is wonderful and will all be worth it in the end. www.satisfiedsole.com

Sharon said...

Oh my goodness! I ran onto you blog through sugardoodle. I'm scanning through this tour and realize how familiar the house looks ah.... Ronnie and Beth, yes, amazing family. Briefly got to know them while living in La. FUN! p.s. GO SAINTS --love your blog

Dominick said...

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