When is a home ever ready to show? The list of improvements to complete seems forever ongoing. But, here we are, two and a half-ish years after Charles and I became homeowners of our two bed/two bath fixer upper condo and it is finally at a place that feels good enough and, most importantly, clean enough to snap some ‘after the renovation’ photos.
Check out my ‘before the renovation’ photos here.
The approach to our first phase of renovations was to simply create a clean slate. This condo is our starter home. 10 years from now (or sooner), we’d like to move into a single family home with some land. When that happens, we’ll transition the condo into an income property, either as a rental or airbnb. So all the changes we’ve made so far have been with that long term goal in mind… Keeping the walls light and floor bright with personal touches and color popping throughout in the decor.
As I said before, still so many changes and improvements we want to make to the place but, today, I’m going to appreciate how far we’ve come with our home… A refuge we’re especially thankful for in these panderamic times.
Living Room
^^ Charles has recently decided that we need a new, much larger T.V. He thinks we need a 75″. I’m trying to work him down to a 65″. Sooooo not sure how long our loyal 45″ (that we’ve had our entire married life) is going to last but, in the meantime, it’s doing what it needs to do.
Dining Room & Entryway
^^ When the sun goes down, the twinkle lights come on. A temporary lighting solution until we’re able to install recess lighting throughout the living and dining room areas.
Hallway
Guest Bedroom
Master Bedroom
Kitchen
Okay, soooo technically the kitchen looks the same as it did before. But, even though it’s still got a dated vibe, we’re making the most of the charming space.
The goal is to start working on our kitchen reno this year. We keep going back and forth between whether we should DIY it ourselves or find a contractor to help with the work. It will all depend on how the pandemic plays out and how comfortable we are with letting folks into our home when the time comes to get started.
The Mirror Wall
As much as I really wanted us to keep the mirror wall in the dining room, Charles was adamant that it come down. And sooo, I compromised… But only with the promise from Charles that he wouldn’t give me grief if I add some kind of mirror element back to the wall when I find the right one.
Side note: Why are mirrors so expensive?
I took these photos last Fall and we’ve made a few changes since then to the dining room as a Christmas gift to ourselves. Just a few more pieces needed to complete that room and then I’ll shift focus to our master bedroom. To be honest, I kind of like how unintentionally minimal and ‘zen’ the bedroom currently is but still think it could use a few complimentary additions…
Until the next home update.
xo, Setarra
P.S. I know most ‘home reveals’ share a detailed breakdown with links to every single decor piece but, personally, that felt super tedious just even thinking about doing. Sooo, in summary, our decor is a combination of IKEA, hand me downs or gifts from family and friends, thrifted finds via Let Go or Facebook Marketplace, and souvenirs from our travels – i.e. living room gallery wall is all my travel photography in print.
8
