before and after Archives - Page 2 of 9

Light Switch Update and an Updown, too.

July 11, 2013 by Jill

Last weekend, we were lucky enough to have a few handy friends in town for the 4th of July. So, of course, we put them to work right away. Chris taught me a little bit of electrical handiness, and I did a light switch update in Jaye's room all by myself! Here's the hideous switch in its "Before" state. Yellowed and painted-over. Yuck. Once I checked and double-checked that the power was off, I unscrewed the yellowed switch plate. It was so brittle and old that it broke apart in my … [Read more...]

Filed Under: before and after, home, home decor, home improvement, life Tagged With: electrical, jaye's room, projects

First and Last Day of School

May 31, 2013 by Jill

I just dropped Jaye off for her last day of "school" for the year. She has grown so much. It's incredible. Jaye and I on her first day of Mother's Day Out last September. Such a little baby. And here we are/were this morning. My round little baby is looking like a real little girl now! Cue the mama tears and the "oh they grow up so fast" wistful reminiscing. . . . Okay, enough of that. Time to get busy enjoying my last day of child-free time! … [Read more...]

Filed Under: before and after, jaye, life, parenting Tagged With: first day of school, last day of school, mothers day out

Living Room, Two Ways

March 7, 2013 by Jill

While I was doing our taxes the other day (UGH.) I had to look up the current market value of our rental home (DOUBLE UGH DEPRESSING.), but while I was doing that depressing, onerous task, I came across pictures of our rental home as the renters had decorated it. It was really fun to see what they'd done with the place. And fun to see the different ways that two different people would decorate the same space. So let's compare: That was how the living room looked when we moved out. And … [Read more...]

Filed Under: before and after, home, home decor, home tour Tagged With: dining room, landlords, living room, nokomis house

Finally, Our Modern Glamour Bedroom Reveal

February 13, 2013 by Jill

Okay, so back a million years ago (Okay, in October 2012), I promised a bedroom makeover and showed you all our terrible bedroom and my gray and yellow bedroom moodboard plan. Then half a million years ago (Okay, in December 2012), I showed you one step of the makeover, my nightstand transformation. And now, today, I'm finally back with all the beautiful pictures and full details of my bedroom makeover! The bed made such a big difference to me. It's the first real bed we've ever owned. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: before and after, home, home decor, home tour Tagged With: bedroom, lorrie house

HOHOHO! A Santa Figurine Makeover

December 18, 2012 by Jill

I found these tacky little porcelain Santa figurines at a thrift shop and decided to give them an uplift. I brought them home, spread them out on a cardboard box in the backyard and gave them a good coat of white spray primer. Then I used a shiny white acrylic paint from Michaels and brushed on two coats. I like the shiny, snowy sheen it gives them. White spray paint would have been faster, but I was working with what I had on hand already. Once they dried, they joined my Christmas tree … [Read more...]

Filed Under: before and after, holiday decorating, home, life Tagged With: Christmas, dining room, holidays, projects