Ok, so I am slightly embarrassed to say that we haven't done much out here.  We have painted the door black, replaced the ugly old lighting with new lighting, and placed a mailbox in the front yard (our apartment-like box down the street was broken into and the postal service wouldn't fix it.  This was a compomise).  Things we still need to do include pulling out all the overgrown shrubs, replace a holly bush out front with a dogwood tree, add black shutters to the windows, and add a new rail to the steps on the opposite side the existing one is on.  Oh, and add landscape.  I want gardens.

Living Room



Before

Entryway

Living Room after

Can you tell we're nerds?

Ok, so before we bought this house, we had a living room set Tom's parents had bought new in 1979.  The end tables were huge speakers from the same time frame.  This was the first room we bought for and unfortunately, it's still a work in progress.  We bought new furniture, new lighting, and new dvd bookcases.  We still need to replace the flooring (think hardwood!), finish the picture wall above the couch, paint, get a new wall-mounted tv (when our existing one finally bites the dust) and I'd love to get a corner fireplace.


Kitchen

Kitchen area

Eating Area

Before

Refinishing Cabinet Hardware
The house had been slightly updated when we bought it, but some of it's 90's charm still shined through.  Unfortunately, neither me or my hubby are fans of fake gold which was everywhere.  Instead of spending a load of money to replace the knobs on the cabinets (money we didn't have), we decided to try spray painting them.

First we cleaned the knobs with dish soap (they were covered in grease... ew!).  Then, I took sandpaper to them to dull the shiny finish.  Then, I stood them upright and sprayed 2 or 3 thin layers of paint, letting them dry between layers.  I let them sit overnight and then put them back up.  They've lasted close to 2 years without chipping or fading.  Visitors can't tell they're not real, and it was all for the price of a can of spray paint.

Before	After

After

New chandelier

Close up of the ceiling medallion

We've updated the lighting and the cabinet hardware in this room.  We still have quite a lot to do.  Obviously, we need to paint the walls (and hopefully replace the floor!).  We will be replacing the refrigerator, stove, and adding an above-the-range microwave in the next couple of months.  We're trying to decide between stainless steel or black.  I would like to replace the countertops, but I don't think it's in our budget =/

Future Nursery


This room is currently our multipurpose room.  It's our office, craft room, chinchilla room, and cat area.  When the time comes, it'll be converted into a nursery and be painted either ivory or a light green.

Guest Room

Before


After

My grandfather works for the Phillies handing out the free giveaways.  He gets to keep a few each time he works and he's shared the wealth to us.  Add the rally towels, toy cars, balls, bobble heads, and figurines to the thousands of baseball cards my hubby has and you need a whole room to display it all.  There's over 1,000 cards up on the wall in plastic sheets, including some autographed cards from Pat Burrell, Shane Victorino, Milt Thompson, Jim Eisenreich, and Gary Mathews.

Guest Bathroom
We haven't done anything to this room but add the shower curtain, towels and rug.  I hate this room, but it'll probably be one of the last to get redone.  Reason for this is that we want to replace the tub and sink.  My in-laws got us slate blue towels for an anniversary gift, so I think light gray walls with white beadboard would look good... whattya think?

Laundry Room



Not much done in here, either.  Bought new appliances, but the kitties pretty much own this room.  I have big plans for this room.  I desperately need organization in this room!


Master Bedroom

Before

After

I've come to dislike this color (Valspar Shimmering Bronze).  I think I'm going to repaint this room Behr's Chocolate Froth.  That's some time away, though.  We also plan on updating the ceiling fan in here as well. 


Master Bath

Before
We've done the most work in this room.  I can deal with one pink bathroom, but not two.  We painted the walls Behr's Arabian Sands and the ceiling and trim Popped Corn.  Eventually, we'll do either slate or travertine flooring and above the bathtub.  Until then, I enjoy my light and airy ocean themed bathroom.

After

Backyard

We own 1/2 an acre that backs up to a farm (which is great!).  I'd like to eventually fence part of the yard in, but so far not much has changed landscape-wise.  What has changed is...

The Great Deck Rebuild!

When we bought our house, the deck was definitely not a great selling point.  In fact, the previous owner was about to tear it out and put a concrete patio in it's place.  We managed to negotiate thousands off the asking price if the deck stayed.  So this past summer, Tom and his dad completely tore out the deck and rebuilt a bigger, better, prettier one.