House Tour

House Tour Update!
August 2019

Dining Room Update!

We bought the house in 2012 and have been slowly making changes to turn the house back to its mid-century vibe while adding a touch of modern and Scandinavian influences. Most, if not all of the work has been done by Ben and I. We are so proud of the way it looks now and it can only get better. I will continue to update this post as we do projects! Thanks for stopping by!

Floor plans

We have the original floor plans from the architect. This is super cool for us architecture nerds. The house was designed by Irwin E. Engler in 1954. We framed them and have them hung in our living room. Some of the plans even have the architect’s notes!

Front

Before

So far we have added new house numbers and painted the door bright green (Which doesn’t really look right)! We thinned out all of the plants and trees, painted the lamp-post, and replanted some hosts from the back yard. Here is what the long-term plans are:

-Paint whole house (maybe a medium grey)
-Wash the brick
-Tear out the pine bushes and replace with something not so invasive
-Add metal edging that follows the house and remove the plastic edging
–Paint the recess and the front door. Install a new storm door and increase the curb appeal
-Install new windows
-Get the lamp-post working again. It is still connected to the gas line in our house and I think we could get it running again
-Add seasonal accessories that rotate consistently

Backyard

BeforeWhen we moved in there were weeds as tall as me next to the garage! The first thing to do in the back yard was get all of the weeds out! That took one whole summer. We have also removed some planting beds, reshaped some beds, added lilacs and grasses. Last summer we even tried herbs and tomatoes! Both of us have ambitious plans for an urban hideaway with native grasses and wildflowers. We also extended our fence for the dogs. Now we can let them out our side door.

-Plant more grasses. Got to love the Carl Forester! I am also learning an appreciation for flame grass, black eyed susans, and other pretty wildflowers.
-Plant a new shade tree. We bought a tree from the City of Minneapolis through their tree program
-Buy new patio furniture that is actually loungy
-Build a garden with tomatoes, cucumbers, herbs, and anything else that will grow in our climate
-Somehow obliterate the creeping charlie in the yard. Its getting out of control.
-Rebuild the patio so it doesn’t slope towards the house
-Repave the driveway so its not falling apart

Entry

Before

All of the walls in the house was painted tan. The carpet was tan, walls were tan. Everything was tan. Tan, tan, tan. The tan was so dark. We were losing so much light to the walls. Our first job: Paint everything white (Sherwin Williams Alabaster)! We also demo’d the laminate flooring and continued the hardwood from the living room into this space. There were so many different flooring types and they all came together at the foyer. Still to do:

-Remove the light fixture and replace with something more modern
-Paint the door frames and replace the doors with a horizontal 5 panel door that fits in with the time period of the house
-Paint the front door a cool color
-Update/Add picture frames to the wall
-Build a bench and/or table to mail, misc stuff
-Reorganize the closet so it functions
-Reframe the hallway pictures so they are all of the same size and maybe white frames

Kitchen

Before

Our most recent project. When we moved in everything was tan and chocolate brown. There were 2×2 slate tile countertops and a matching backsplash. We had to brush the countertops and vacuum them! The crumbs would get stuck in the grout joints.  So far we have painted the ceiling white, painted the walls a light grey, and painted the cabinets white. We added new hinges and hardware, cabinet liners, lighting, a wine cabinet, and accessories. Next up:

-Demo the tile flooring and replace with something dog friendly. We are still beta testing flooring. The girls’ dogs nails are brutal
-Backsplash. Pick one and install it!
-Install the mail drop surround
-Accessorize and add some additional shelving
-Replace the dishwasher
-Hook up the capped gas line and install a gas stove
-Build a custom piece for the dog dishes and a bench seat for a small table

Living Room

Before

All of these walls were tan and blue. Way too dark for the amount of light that naturally comes in this house. We painted all of the walls white (Sherwin Williams Alabaster again) and the ceiling white. Then we decided all of the carpet had to go. We installed new hardwood floors and cove base. We also cleaned the fireplace, and added accessories. Still to do:

-Paint window frames
-Purchase some additional pieces of furniture (Couch, Eames chair, side tables, ottoman)
-Install some new lighting
-Update the accessories (Pillows, blankets, any artwork)
-Add curtains and change out the blinds (they are cream colored, not white)

Dining Room

Before

Again everything was painted white! Except here! We painted the dining room walls a dark charcoal. This really helped to define the room. We demo’d the existing hardwood and extended the new wood from the living room. Next up:

-A new lighting fixture (we have the globe there temporarily)
-Art and accessories for the bar cart
-Purchase 2 more chairs for the table
-Install a large piece of artwork and relocate the smaller pieces currently on the wall.
-Install shelving for the fancy wine glasses near the bar cart

-Update the walls from grey to black

Main Level Bathroom

Before

This is an awesome mid-century bathroom. There is beautiful pale yellow tile. We cleaned the tile really well and scrubbed the bathroom since non one had lived in the house for a while. The the walls were painted a light grey and a starburst retroish shower curtain was added. Next up:

-Give the cabinets a refresher like the kitchen cabinets
-Add some under counter shelving
-Repair some tile that is coming off in the shower
-Recaulk the tub and everything else!
-Find a cool vintage faucet
-Install a new fan and light fixture that works more efficiently
-Repair/Replace the mirror with 2 smaller mirrors (the edges are damaged from the moisture of the shower)

First Bedroom

Before

Again this was painted tan! So we painted it a light grey right away. We cleaned up the hardwood floor as much as we could without refinishing them. I added window curtains. Still to do:

-Paint the ceiling white
-Install a new light fixture, probably a new ceiling fan because we both like to sleep with the fan on.
-We also need to accessorize this room. It has zero pieces of art or anything like that.
-Closets! This house has a bunch of closets and they all could be used more efficiently
-Refinish the hardwood floors and seal them with a clear stain

Office/Second bedroom/Nursery

Before

Here comes Beckett! This space was changed into a nursery!

Lower level living room

Before

We have a walk out basement so the basement doesn’t feel like one, it just feels like a cool lower level. We have a lot of plans for this area so stay tuned. So far we have just cleaned it up. I am hoping this will be a cool office/craft/movie room someday. There is a ton of stuff that I would like to do here:

-Remove the popcorn ceiling and add new lighting
-Take off the drywall and fur out the wall properly. The electrical outlets stick out of the walls! I would also like to put all of the surface mounted electrical inside the walls
-Open up the stair and create a true lower level (Plans TBD)
-Repair and clean the fireplace
-Demo the ceiling if we can’t get the popcorn off
-Remove and replace the flooring with something dog friendly
-Replace the window my brother broke with a door to the patio and combine with the existing door
-Turn the unfinished space into a real laundry and remove all of the wood paneling
-Enlarge/Relocate the bathroom and create a guest suite
-Enclose all of the mechanical in a room (reroute the exhaust for the water heater into a built in desk

Lower level bedroom

Before

This room was a hodge podge of paint and had small shelves that were glued to the wall! Glued. So I painted the walls light grey and charcoal with leftover paint from the upstairs bedroom and the dining room. I moved our old bed down there and now we have a great space for guests. This is just phase 1 of the update. Phase 1:

-Find a dresser and mirror to put in the room for guests
-Clean out the closet and add some storage
-Replace the lighting. Add some wall sconces to each side of the bed
-Remove the popcorn ceiling
-Remove the walls so that the electrical can be put in the walls properly
-Add some convenience accessories (blankets, fan, etc)

Lower level bathroom

Before

This bathroom was country blue and red when we moved in. It looks more green in the picture. There is a lot of potential here. It’s a full bathroom with a shower. In order to get it guest ready we painted, added a frosted film to the window and cleaned out all of the gunk and caulk from everywhere and replaced the shower head.

Lower level laundry/storage

Oh the wood paneling! On the walls and the ceilings! The paneling is trimmed out for the light fixtures! This area is almost exactly the way it was when we moved in. The only thing we have done is clean out the stuff that was left in the cabinets and add our own stuff. Someday we will make this into a great storage space and laundry area

I am super proud of where we are today and how far the house has come. We renovated most of the house ourselves and it really feels like an extension of our style. We are constantly learning and researching. I can’t wait for the next big project! Keep reading and stay tuned for more updates!