home tour pt 2: living room & entry before & after

this post is part 2 of a 3-part home tour series. check here if you missed part 1 yesterday on the kitchen and dining room before & after. 

this house is a simple, 1,000 square foot box rancher. we bought it two years ago and have completely remodeled it for under $10k. i talk more about how we did that in part 1. 

we aren't fancy people and this little tour is NOT perfect. i decided that if this was going to happen, i had to stop waiting for everything to be just so. you'll see crooked frames, imperfect curtains, and maybe even a dust bunny or two if you look closely. this is just our home on a sunny spring day when i straightened a little extra and removed the pile of unsightly bills and such to snap some pictures. now that we have that cleared up :) ....

today i am showing you the before, during and after of our living room and entry way. 

this was a shot from the mls listing when we first saw the house. you would have seen this view right as you came in the front door. 

as you can see, the floors were in pretty rough shape. the previous owner had removed some serious shag carpet prior to moving and he had had several dogs apparently. thankfully, refinishing the floors in a darker stain masked the splotches and there was no lingering smell.   

the dining room was where that chandelier is hanging, but we relocated it to where the second living area used to be after removing all of the walls. it just made more sense. 

laying tile over pretty wood floors is always a good idea. not! the 70's nearly destroyed this house. haha!

this was after about 24 hours of owning the house.

as i explained in the previous post, we did our research prior to buying as to which walls were and were not load bearing. because the house is so small, those four interior walls were not structural. it made removing them a fairly easy task.

the ceiling needed some serious patching after whole sections of sheet rock came down with the walls.

the wood floors had to be patched where the walls had been. Jeff did a wonderful job and you can't even tell where the walls were now. 

i believe this stain color is "dark walnut" by minwax? anyway, we really like how the floors turned out. as i mentioned before, there was some dark staining on the floors even after sanding them, so we had to choose a darker stain than i preferred in order to help disguise the blotches. dark floors are beautiful, but they do tend to show dust than lighter floors.

that slate tile above is what we chose to go in the kitchen as the wood floors did not extend there - sadly. i love that it's a natural stone and hides crumbs and dust so well. maybe a little too well. jeff hated laying it, but it was worth it - right, honey? ;)

although refinishing wood floors is quite the task, we saved a whole lot of money by renting the sander and staining the floors ourselves. the wood floors are everywhere but the kitchen and bathroom.

and the after...

this view is looking into where the dining room used to be. the kitchen is on the left.

the entertainment center is really a dresser that i purchased along with the rest of the set from a friend's mother. it was taken care of beautifully, and i just couldn't pass up the deal she gave me. the wicker back chair was thrifted for $5 and recovered with some scrap fabric i had laying around. i made the hanging brass orb with the air plant in it.

look who stuck his little buck teeth in my shot! :) we love our little adopted mutt-pup

the curtains are actually drop cloths. the rug is west elm. couch and pillows are ikea and the lamp is target. the basket was thrifted as was the blanket.

this coffee table was a trash pick and is the only piece of furniture that has made it through all of our moves (6). we just can't get rid of it.

don't mind the wonky curtains. i just noticed that.

the couch was thrifted for $60 (i think). as were the pictures. those side tables were "made" from thrifted hairpin plant stands + wood tops from lowe's.

the toy baskets are from ikea.

i spy a little boy in his walker :) and a partially painted closet door! ha!

we have had this ikea couch for several years and it is holding up well. we did recently purchase another white slipcover as i ruined the last one trying to dye it. i love the white though as it can be bleached - and do i ever love bleaching my whites :)

this is my little work station. although one day i would love my own studio, this space works just fine for now.

the desk chair is by lay-z-boy and is soooo comfortable! i scored it for $20 at an estate sale.

jeff recently built that peg rack for me so we could hang our coats and bags on it. seeing as we hardly have a designated entry space, this has helped so much to keep things looking neat. and let me tell you, having a very open concept means that things tend to look cluttered very quickly. the solution i have found it to find a home for everything. and i mean everything.

jeff made the desk for me several years ago. it's a pretty good west elm knock off, huh?

well, this concludes part 2 of the home tour! let me know in the comments if you have any questions.

home tour pt 1: kitchen & dining room before & after
home tour pt 3: bedrooms before & after