Monday, July 23, 2012

Lake House ReDO: Befores & Afters Part I

I've never professed to be a decorator, a designer,
or anything related to a home improvement guru.
But what I do know is, when faced
with a problem, I just dig in
and make a decision.

The house was built in the fifties.
It seemed like the former owner's
motto was "just add whatever,
after all, it's just a lake house."
Outlet covers didn't match,
the rug was in a bad shape,
the last time the kitchen was
updated was the late seventies.
Below are a few "before and after" shots
of the lake house we recently acquired.

So far, I'm pretty happy with the results!

Here is the kitchen.
I can't believe I am showing the mess
in there for the "before" but hey,
it is what it is!
We were in a mad dash to get as much done
as possible in the first visit.


We decided to go with the same cabinets,
use paint to save money, and just
replace the old hardware.

It turned out that this was not the first time
these cabinets had been reused! There were
old holes behind the holes of the hardware!
So, hubby had to fill in all of the old holes
before replacing the drawers and doors
with the new hardware.


A new counter top and voila!
A completely new look
while keeping within our budget.


Then there was the knotty pine debate.
Should I keep it or get rid of it?
We decided to slice it in half.
Paint the bottom and add dry
wall to the top portion.
Turned it into wainscoting and
I decided not to look back.

So happy that many of you on the blog
and in person have told me "you did the right thing!"

The couch was a craigslist find!
Hardly ever used in someone's guest room.
The lady was happy to hear
we were going to use it
in our lake house. 

The chair with the blue denim cushion
was found at Salvation Army during
one of their "fifty percent off"
furniture days.
We replaced the old gold velour cushion
with the blue denim and it fits
just perfectly there.
I wish I had taken a picture of the before!

The lesson we learned there...
While the chair itelf was cheap
the fabric and materials needed
to make the cushions proved to be
very expensive! We could have
saved money on the fabric but didn't
A lesson for another time!

Hope you enjoyed a peek into our
"behind the scenes" of a lake
house redo, on a budget...

Until next time,

 

9 comments:

Connie said...

You definitely did the right thing, sugar!!! Looks fantastic. My motto is "just do it."
xoxo,
Connie

Cranberry Morning said...

I love the kitchen redo. AND, your choice to leave half the knotty pine and paint it, putting sheetrock above, is just perfect! Love the look.

Karen said...

Looks fabulous!!
Karen
Ladybug Creek

Joyce - Quilted Nest said...

I can't believe how quickly you are doing stuff. would take me many moons to accomplish what you have so far. painting kitchen cupboards - wow! did you spray them? Where did you find countertop? Great work!

Victorian1885 said...

Your summer home is looking wonderful! I love your red..white & blues! Enjoy your hard work!

Wanda

roseroomnz.com said...

fabulous, I would say you are so a decorator! Make sure to share more as you go! Amazing what a coat of paint can do - so fresh and clean looking! Love the blue and red also - good work! Rachael xo

gail said...

Hi Jillian....you did the right thing! I love knotty pine, but it is so dark. The white on the bottom looks lovely, as does the kitchen.
Great job on everything. It all looks inviting and cozy.
xoxo
gail

The Checkered Apple said...

The kitchen turned out great with all the new paint to brighten things up! Love how the knotty pine came out with the blue walls too! Things are shaping up!

dana said...

I LOVE all you've done to your little lake house!! The kitchen update is wonderful and as is the wainscoting transformation! Your furniture finds are perfect!! I know you're having fun with this!!

L, Dana