Some Before and Afters

Hallway Before

I mentioned in my post about lighting, that our house was on the market for quite a while before we were able to buy it at a reduced price.  Well, since we moved in we did a few minor updates that I think made a major difference.  

The first was paint!  The house was mostly white, the kids bedrooms and the living room were the only rooms with colour! You can also see in this picture that we replace the doorbell and the lighting.  Just updated everything.  I thought of putting a mirror in the hallway as the previous owners had, but I read that a mirror shouldn't be used when there is no light to reflect.  Well this hallway has NO LIGHT, so instead I used 3 framed pics of the cutest kids ever.  This hallway table needs something pretty on it and something on the wall.  Haven't quite decided what yet.

 Hallway After

So after we painted everything with a fresh coat of subtle neutral colours, we replaced the upstairs doors and door knobs.  Ok, I just said "we" painted, but really, we paid someone to paint.  We painted our last place ourself and it took FOREVER.  So we opted to suck it up and pay a guy who did the whole main floor in 4 days, by himself!  I will probably pint downstairs myself though as it was pricey!  

These doors were a bit of a splurge, just a bit.  But I think they add a lot of character.  I dream of craftsman style bungalows, and these doors say craftsman to me and that makes me happy! 

 We left the closet doors flat just painted them and replacing the knobs.  If that really bugs me later we can always tackle those one at a time.  And the trim.  I would like to replace the casing and make it a bit thicker, but that will also have to wait.  For now, it looks like a new house, and I am very happy with our work.