Tour our Milwaukee house, and see all of the room before and afters in one place!
We bought a total fixer upper, and we’ve had so much fun making it ours!
We fully renovated the kitchen, bathroom and family room, and the rest of the house got new floors and lots of paint on the walls and trim (which means we ate a lot of meals at that folding table you’ll see in the dining room ‘before’ photos).
We still have big projects planned for the basement, laundry room, backyard and more.
It can be a long journey from buying a house to living in a house you love, but that’s okay. None of our renovations or projects happened overnight, even though sometimes the Internet can make it look like they did.
Keep going with your house projects, it’s worth it! And take pictures along the way! It’s fun to look back.
I’ve also included links below for furniture, decor, DIY projects, paint colors, etc. if you have questions on anything!
Click any of the links below to hop right to a specific room, or scroll down to see them all.
- Exterior
- Foyer
- Living room
- Kitchen
- Dining room
- Powder room
- Family room
- Patio / backyard
- Stairs / hallway
- Bathroom
- Main bedroom
- Guest bedroom
- Nursery / old home office
- Basement
EXTERIOR:
Here’s a peek at a side of our house.
Our front porch:
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GET THE LOOK: Outdoor light fixture | Dusk to dawn sensor lightbulbs | Door hardware | Boxwood wreath | Welcome mat | Wireless doorbell | Mailbox
GET THE LOOK: Smartlock | Black door mat | Outdoor light fixture | Dusk to dawn sensor lightbulbs
House exterior projects:
– How to paint shutters (Paint color: Tony Taupe by Sherwin Williams)
– How to paint an exterior door (Paint color: Dune Grass by Country Chic Paint, color matched in SW)
FOYER:
A lot of the ‘before’ pictures are blurry, but I feel like you can’t appreciate the ‘after’ until you see what we started with! (Even if you have to squint.)
And now:
GET THE LOOK: Rug | Rope door stop | Brown mirror | White stairs artwork | DIY: How to distress a dresser or similar here or here | White mirror here or here | Lamp | Robot vacuum
Wall color: Camelback by Sherwin Williams | Trim + door color: White Dove by Benjamin Moore
And one other view:
And now:
LIVING ROOM:
Not a true before picture, since this was after we stained the floors, but you can still see the white striped walls we had to paint over!
And now:
GET THE LOOK: Rug | Fireplace screen | Long boxed faux plant here, here or here | Ginger jar here or here | Glass hurricane candle holder | Faux limes | Gold birds | Decorative sphere | Driftwood bowl | Aqua glass beads | Concrete pear | Faux grass plant | Pale green vase | Small topiaries | Aqua glass ball here, here or here | ‘It’s so good to be home’ sign | Caged hurricane candle holder | Woven basket
GET THE LOOK: Boat artwork | Pier +beach artwork | Fishing nets artwork | Candlesticks | White fur throw | Hydrangeas tutorial: How to dry hydrangeas | Robot vacuum
Pier photo – you can download a copy of it in this post: A gallery wall above the piano.
Wall color: Camelback by Sherwin Williams | Trim + door color: White Dove by Benjamin Moore
Living room projects:
– How to paint a desk
– White built-in bookshelves around the fireplace
KITCHEN:
We knocked down the wall between the kitchen and dining room, and rearranged most of the kitchen. This might be my favorite room renovation we’ve done.
And now:
Another before and after:
And one more!
GET THE LOOK: Counters: Blanco Canvas quartz | Similar barstools here | White subway tile | Curtain rods | Curtain clip rings | Dish towels: green and aqua | Dish cloths | Faucet | Garbage disposal button | DIshwasher | Extra cabinet shelves | Extra cabinet shelf brackets | Seagrass rug | Moscow Mule mugs | Aqua glass vase | Faux eucalyptus here or here | White planter and faux greenery | Letterboard | Marble + wood cake stand here or here | Faux boxwood plant | Small aqua glass bottles | Garlic holder | Wood cutting board | Woven basket | Wooden drink caddy | Salt + pepper shakers
Wall color: Camelback by Sherwin Williams | Trim + door color: White Dove by Benjamin Moore
Kitchen projects:
– Our best kitchen renovation advice
– 5 must haves in a kitchen renovation
– How to make window valances from a shower curtain
– Get extra storage in your kitchen cabinets with this easy trick
– How to fix it if your cabinet handles are installed wrong
– A DIY cork chalkboard
– How to paint barstools
– DIY window valances
See more of the kitchen renovation reveal.
DINING ROOM:
And now:
GET THE LOOK: Wood bead chandelier | Swag hook (to hang chandelier) | Table: How to build a farmhouse table or similar tables here or here | Benches: How to build a bench | Chairs | Rug | Boat artwork | Seagrass wall baskets are sold out, but similar options here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here or here | Table runner here or here | Moss balls | Seagrass chargers | DIY window valance | Curtain rod | Curtain clips
Wall color: Camelback by Sherwin Williams | Trim + door color: White Dove by Benjamin Moore
Dining room projects:
– Seagrass basket gallery wall
– How to build a farmhouse dining table
– How to build a bench
See more of the dining room.
BATHROOM:
I love green, but the lime green had to go. We gave this room a coat of paint and some new fixtures, but we decided to keep the charming white and black tile.
Some things are classic. And also, we were out of money, which turned out to be a good thing. It’s fun to have a room that has some of the original character of our house.
And now:
GET THE LOOK: Floor tile | Crystal door knobs (also here) | Mirror | Basket | Towel bar | Towel ring | White towel | Soap dispenser | Nightlight
Wall color: Krypton by Sherwin Williams | Trim + door color: White Dove by Benjamin Moore
See more of the bathroom.
FAMILY ROOM:
Okay, the kitchen is my favorite thing we did in this house, but adding patio doors and ripping off that wood paneling to brighten up this room is a close second.
And now:
And another angle:
And now:
GET THE LOOK: Couch from IKEA, similar here | Chairs | Bench | Rug | Small rug | Coffee table here, here, here and here | TV mount | Curtains | Curtain rods | Crate shelves here or here | Boat artwork | Aqua + white pillows | Striped pillows | Green + white pillows | Small woven baskets | Big woven basket | Seagrass basket here or here | Ladder | Large aqua glass vase | Faux eucalyptus here or here | Large white/wood vase | Wisconsin sign (other states available) | Rope sphere | Faux boxwood plant | Faux plant | Small topiaries | Small aqua glass bottles | Concrete candle holders | Aqua glass beads | Coasters | Robot vacuum | Firestick
Wall color: Camelback by Sherwin Williams | Trim + door color: White Dove by Benjamin Moore
Family room projects:
– How to paint pocket doors
– All about our crate shelves
– TV stand makeover
– End table makeover
– How to paint a round table
– How to make a throw pillow from extra fabric
See more of the family room reveal.
PATIO / BACKYARD:
Bye to the big tree, hello patio.
And now:
And another angle, before:
And now:
GET THE LOOK: Outdoor couch here or here | Outdoor swivel chairs | Coffee table | Outdoor pillows | Traeger smoker | Tiki torches | Outdoor light fixture | Dusk to dawn sensor lightbulbs | Smartlock | Outdoor motion lights | Melamine bowls | Copper mugs | Acrylic wine glasses | Toddler Adirondack chair | Toddler picnic table | Insect trap
Patio projects:
– The best spray paint for outdoor furniture
– The best way to clean concrete
– A fix for rusted outdoor furniture
See more of the family-friendly backyard.
STAIRS / HALLWAY:
This is where my design loving self and practical self are most at odds. I LOOOVE the look of hardwood stairs, but we had them in our old house, and the noise drove me insane. So carpet it is.
BATHROOM:
We didn’t find this coral tile quite as charming as the white and black tile in the other bathroom, so this had to go. We also ripped out the linen closet to make room for a second vanity (more counter space!), and to this day, it’s one of the best decisions we’ve ever made.
And now:
One more before and after:
And now:
GET THE LOOK: Counters: Blanco Canvas quartz | Vanities | Light fixtures | Faucet | Toothbrush holder |Soap dispenser |Nightlight | Baskets (large and small) | White rug | Fan/light combo | Curved shower curtain rod | S-shaped hooks | White subway tile | Green tile | Towel bars | Towel hooks | Shower organizer caddy | Bath toy organizer caddy
Wall color: Sea Salt by Sherwin Williams | Trim + door color: White Dove by Benjamin Moore
Bathroom projects:
– DIY rustic wall sign from a wood tray
See more of the bathroom.
Our BEDROOM:
And now:
GET THE LOOK: Headboard from Steinhafels (similar here) | White comforter set | Pillows | Green + white pillow | Aqua + white pillows | Nightstands from Steinhafels (this one is almost identical) | Aqua lamps | Dresser here or here | Curtains | Curtain rods | Light fixture (also here) | Crystal door knobs (also here) | Artwork | Painted chair makeover | Seagrass basket | Rope sphere | Aqua glass ball here, here or here | White planter and faux greenery | Faux boxwood plant
Wall color: Camelback by Sherwin Williams | Trim + door color: White Dove by Benjamin Moore
See more of our bedroom here.
GUEST BEDROOM:
And now:
GET THE LOOK: Crystal door knobs (also here) | Sheets | Nightstands here or here | Lamps | Faux boxwood plant | Aqua glass tray | White planter and faux greenery | Tower fan | Desk chair | DIY cork bulletin board
Wall color: Camelback by Sherwin Williams | Trim + door color: White Dove by Benjamin Moore
See more of the guest bedroom here.
NURSERY (old home office):
Part one:
And now:
Another before and after:
And now:
Nursery projects:
– An old TV stand turned nursery book storage
– An old dresser turned changing table
– A repurposed plant stand
–Easy mirror gallery wall
Home office projects:
– How to paint a bookshelf
– How to make a throw pillow from extra fabric
– How to hem curtains
See more of the home office reveal.
Basement:
Here’s the before …
And an in progress peek. More to come!
Whew, that’s a lot of projects!
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