Before and After: 70’s Kitchen Renovation by Renee and Sean

This weeks Before and After comes to you from Ann Arbor, Michigan. Renee and Sean took an outdated, 1970’s kitchen, and gave it a fabulous new look. As always, Renee and Sean will receive a $25 gift card to Home Depot, Lowes, or Amazon, and we’ll make a $35 donation to Habitat for Humanity in their name. Check out the Habitat Quick Fact for ways you can get involved too! 1977 Kitchen... 

Before and After: Dining Room Renovation by Rhoda @ Southern Hospitality

This weeks Before and After is brought to you by Rhoda from Southern Hospitality. Rhoda is a long-time blogger who also supported last years OPC Before and After event. Check out her blog for great posts about DIY projects, design tips, and cooking ideas. Not long ago, Rhoda transformed her dining room by adding picture frame molding and repainting the walls. These two simple, inexpensive DIY projects... 

Before and After: Office to Nursery

As you may have read in earlier posts, our first born, Izzie is coming soon, and we have spent the past several months slowly transforming our home office into a nursery. Transforming the Office into a Nursery Just before we found out we were expecting, I painted the office in a gender neutral color, so we did not re-paint. We moved the office furniture out, buying a new, smaller desk for the basement... 

Before and After ‘08 Grand Prize Winner

Ladies and Gentlemen, the votes are in. We’ve counted and recounted. Actually the handy poll gadget did all that for us. The winner of the One Project Closer, 2008 Before and After contest is Carol from Painter Gal’s Little Cottage! Carol submitted an excellent Before and After showing the dramatic renovation of her 1970’s Kitchen. She won the contest with an amazing 278 votes! For... 

Before & After: Bathroom Closet Remodel by John and Sherry @ Young House Love

This week’s Before and After is brought to you by John and Sherry at Young House Love. John and Sherry are well known throughout the blogosphere for their great style and for solving tough design dilemmas. John and Sherry had a small closet squeezed in behind their bathroom door. By removing the closet door they were able to better use the space and give their bathroom closet a fresh new look. As... 

Before and After: Removing Carpet and Hardwood

This weeks Before and After is brought to you from my first floor hallway. I’m preparing to lay hardwood floors in about 2 weeks time. And there is a lot to get ready. To prepare, I’m removing all the quarter-round, baseboards, carpet, carpet pad, and existing hardwood. It’s slow going but I hired Bryan to help (and it was well worth it). The carpet was the easiest. I just took a... 

Before and After: Add Drywall to Fill the Gap

This weeks “Before and After” comes to you from Virginia. My brother-in-law (S) and his wife (L) recently purchased a beautiful home in a suburb of Richmond. Jocie and I made the drive to help them move and get a few projects done. The ladies painted the nursery. And the guys worked on some drywall. Adding Drywall Their new house had a great spot to for a TV above the fireplace. Not wanting... 

Weekend Round-up: Custom Art Prize, Energy Incentives, Free Books

I’m taking the weekend round-up this time to highlight a few cool things I’ve come across recently. They are definitely worth looking into. Custom Art Gift Certificate Modernemama@Beach House is running a nice little post about a contest sponsored by Artaissance. All you have to do is leave a comment about what inspires you and you could win a piece of custom art. For the full scoop, check... 

Before and After: Pressure Washing the Fence

This weeks “Before and After” comes to you from my neighbors back yard. This is the same friend with the large stump that needed to be removed. He’s working hard to transform his backyard and part of that is addressing the dingy looking fence. The fence looks to be about 20+ years old and has taken that grayish tinge. The fence-posts have been set in concrete which makes removing... 

Before and After: Home Office

This week’s “Before and After” features our home office. You may have read some about this project when I reviewed paint brand options.When we moved into our house this room was the least offensive to the eye. I really liked the chair rail and didn’t mind the sage green color. Two years later, I’m bored with the color and HATE the off-white trim. The walls were chipping...