Deb Dana’s Before and After

I love a good “before and after.” Whether it’s a fashion makeover in a beauty magazine or a house remodel on HGTV, I love seeing the transformation from old to new. Admittedly, the final product isn’t always my taste (there have been some real doozies on HGTV, depending on the show), but even then, I love seeing the process.

When it came to renovating my own house, though, I felt a little overwhelmed. So many choices! So many dollar signs! So much industry jargon! But the all-encompassing nature of renovating a house was also very therapeutic. Our renovation came on the heels of a small personal tragedy (a story for another time), so focusing on the ins and outs of bathrooms and load-bearing walls actually helped me heal.

We did a fair amount of work on our house, but instead of going into detail, I thought I’d show you a few “before and after” shots, since, as I said, I love a good before and after. A million thanks to Domers Construction for the awesome work and to Alicia’s Art for the great “after” photos.

So, the master bathroom in our house was decorated circa 1966. That isn’t an exaggeration. That is when the house was built, and that is when the bathroom was last renovated, as far as we could tell. It involved a lot of turquoise.

Here the before and after shots of the work we did.

Bathroom entryway before and after. We moved the doorway. (Yes! You can move doorways! Who knew?)

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Bathroom entryway

Vanity, before and after:

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Bathroom remodeled

 View from one end to the other, before and after (we moved the shower!):

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Bathroom front to back

 

We also renovated the family room, which featured an old brick wall and fireplace and a back wall with narrow doorways that made the room feel very small and semi-suffocating. So we blew out the back wall, got rid of the fireplace and brick wall, and added two windows to increase the natural light.

Family room, before and after (I should note that I’ve added more fun tchochkes to the room since these photos were taken, so it doesn’t look quite so barren. Also, the room now features many baby toys and playmats):

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Family room 1

 

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Family room 2

Note that we added a slider on the right side of the room. This leads to a screened-in porch we added to the patio. Here’s what the porch looks like inside (alas, only an “after” photo on this one):

Screened-in porch

 

So that’s my big “before and after.” What about you? Are you a fan of befores and afters as well?

 

13 Replies to “Deb Dana’s Before and After”

  2. Very nice changes, Dana. Personally, I love the challenge of remodeling and have done at least three kitchens in my lifetime…so far. 😉 Good work on your house ~ congrats!

    1. My husband HATES mosquitos, but boy do they love him. Hence the porch. He can’t be outside for more than a few minutes in the summer without getting devoured. But this way we can eat outside at night, and none of the bugs bother us!

  4. I’m in the midst of a major renovation, too (1929 bungalow), so I loved seeing these photos. I especially love the tile job in your master bath.

    1. It was a huge project — and I managed most of it while living in DC! Craziness. But I’m glad we finished everything before the baby came along. We would have made it work, but it would have been stressful!

  7. Oooh that porch! Is that where you write? I would absolutely love writing there. Or meaning to write but instead staring out the windows.

    1. I’ve done a bit of writing out there, but you’re right — it’s easy to get distracted! But when we moved in last summer, Roger would wake up and do his work out there early every morning. And I don’t think we ate dinner indoors until October or something. There’s a ceiling fan, so even on super hot days, we get a breeze — and, more importantly, no mosquitos!

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