We recently updated our House Tour page with new progress photos and realized we hadn’t posted a full update on the new house since Day One and Day Fifteen. So here’s a look at where we are after roughly three months (around Day 101).
On moving day this was the original formal living room that looked into the original dining room. We decided to convert that area into a combined entryway and dining room that opens into a home office because it fits how we live better:
And here’s the dining room now, looking into the converted office after arranging and painting the built-ins. A small change in color made a big difference. We also added a huge 70″ table that will seat eight once we get chairs:
This was the view from the other direction on move-in day, showing the future dining room/entryway:
And here’s that same area now, becoming the dining room/entryway:
Aside from bringing in the table, we haven’t done much else yet. We’re eager to cut a 6′ opening in the right wall to connect this dining area to the kitchen and carve out a defined entry nook behind the table so the front door doesn’t open directly into the dining space.
Here’s the long eat-in kitchen as it looked on moving day. Our plans include priming and painting the wall paneling and cabinets, adding a large island, and orienting the new dining pass-through on the right wall so the space feels open and welcoming:
And here’s the kitchen now—messier and currently with a small table standing in for the future island. We’re slowly building funds and energy for the bigger project.
Here’s the hallway on move-in day, first facing the front door from the master bedroom, then the opposite direction:
And here’s the hallway now after hanging a large collection of frames along one side. The opposite wall still has paper templates up, so those frames will be installed soon:
You can also see the hallway from the kitchen doorway. This is how it looked when we moved in:
And here’s the same view now with the frames hung and a console table in place (the apparent floor change is just the wood tabletop in the foreground):
Here’s the living room on move-in day. We’ve completed quite a few updates since then, but a big future plan is to make the fireplace double-sided:
And here’s the living room now after painting the walls and trim, painting the beams, removing ceiling fans, hanging art, and adding a larger rug. Still on the wishlist: a console behind the sectional, curtains, lamps, new ceiling fixtures, a deeper media cabinet, and eventually refinishing the parquet floors in a richer stain:
The sunroom was added about 15 years ago and felt a bit too modern compared to the rest of the mid-century house. Here’s how it looked on move-in day:
And here’s the sunroom now after placing some existing furniture. Our plan is to paint the bricks, ceiling, and walls to unify the space, add breezy window treatments, and hang art to balance the off-center window that looks into the kitchen:
Here’s the master bedroom at move-in:
And here’s the master bedroom now. We added a new bed and duvet, made no-sew curtains from discount fabric, replaced the light fixture, and brought in a new rug. There’s still more to do—built-ins in the nook, a bench at the foot of the bed, and different artwork—but it’s taking shape:
The sink nook sits on the far side of the bedroom, with a shower and toilet in a separate room and a walk-in closet on the other side. Here’s how the sink nook looked on move-in day:
After removing the bi-fold doors, demoing the backsplash around the sink to make the vanity feel more like furniture, and replacing the awkward medicine cabinet with a mirror over the window, the sink nook now feels much more usable. We still have design updates planned for the vanity:
The master bathroom off the sink nook looked like this on move-in day:
And here’s the master bath now—largely the same, aside from raising the shower curtain. It’s another room with bigger plans on the list.
The hall bathroom on move-in day felt familiar and we liked that its tile echoed the tile from our first house. It was in good shape and ready to be worked with:
Here’s the hall bathroom now. We removed an off-center bar under the window, added window trim for balance, and raised the shower curtain to create more height. Next up: paint, art, a DIY window shade, and finishing touches:
Clara’s nursery was similar in size to her old room when we moved in:
After painting the walls a soft lavender-pink-gray and hanging her artwork, Clara’s room now feels cozy and finished for the moment:
The middle bedroom, which we’re using as a playroom for now, looked like this on move-in day and will convert to another kid’s bedroom someday:
And here’s the playroom now. It’s currently the household dumping ground for extra bedding, art, and odd bits—soon to be organized and pared down when time allows:
Here’s the guest bedroom on move-in day—missing a bed at first:
And here’s the guest room now after painting the walls a bold peacock blue, adding curtains, a bed, bedding, colorful accessories, and a DIY luggage-rack side table. We still want to add crown molding and hang art:
The guest bathroom attached to that room has vintage yellow-beige tile from when it used to be the master bath. We plan to work with the vintage tile but remove the dated, dingy look:
Here’s the guest bathroom now after swapping the old medicine cabinet for a mirror, adding towel hooks to the door, bringing in art, and introducing a bright shower curtain and a graphic bath mat. It works for now, though more updates are planned:
The small laundry room looked like this on move-in day. Our goal is to maximize storage and create a mini mudroom while keeping laundry functional:
Now the laundry room houses energy-efficient front loaders we scored at a great discount. We still plan to add built-ins and storage solutions between the machines and the wall:
The separate entry basement under the living room was nearly empty on move-in day:
And here’s the basement now—full of junk, including a few things we’re holding for family who are downsizing. It’ll be a big project to sort and organize, but it’s easy enough to ignore for now since I’ve only been down there a handful of times in the past three months:
Although several rooms still need attention, we’re surprised by how much we’ve accomplished in a little over three months. Renovation tends to come in waves—sometimes you’re on a roll, and other times you hit walls, get tired, or run out of funds. Progress happens in fits and starts, and that’s normal. We expect this house will take several years to finish—our first house took four and a half—so it’ll be an unpredictable, messy, exciting, and fun journey. We’re glad you’re along for the ride.
Psst—there’s a floor plan if you want to orient yourself after scrolling through the photos, and an older video house tour that might help, too.
Pssssst—this week’s giveaway winner was announced. Check the giveaway post to see if it’s you.