Looking back, I realize how much we’ve already changed about our house here. Here are some more pictures of the house when we first looked at it with our realtor:
Country kitchen. Felt crowded and had carpet on floor.
boring brown carpet; old owner’s furniture.
crazy 80s bathroom
boring and blah. Loved the woodwork though.
Here are some pictures of what we’ve changed (besides the furniture/decor):
I ripped some bubbled-up wallpaper in the entry way and painted it red just as a test to see if I liked the color. I loved it, so I also painted the mint-green 3-season porch the same color. I then found a $30 rug with a red pattern that fit the whole porch! In fact, every item in the porch is second-hand:
Front Entry 
Back Porch
Upstair: we made the man-cave more theater-like by painting the old paneling a charcoal grey. We tore up the 70s carpet and put in a dark–almost purple–red carpet in both rooms. We painted the ceiling of the theater midnight purple.
Kitchen: ripped out the island. Replaced carpet with laminate wood floor. We replaced the brown hood vent with a modern black one. Paul also tore out the cabinet next to the sink to add a dishwasher. We tried to sand and stain the cabinets but they came out looking like streaky mud. We’ll either paint or replace the cabinets this spring/summer and do something with the walls.
Bathroom: that eighties wallpaper that drove me nuts. I painted over it with a sage green and freshened up the trim with antique white paint. Then, last summer, we ripped out the carpet in there (yuck!), replaced it with linoleum. We ripped out the vanity and sink because there was less than a foot of space between it and the tub (this was damn awkward when I was nine-months pregnant). There was a nightmare of a plaster job behind the old vanity, so I decided to add wainscoting as a quick and cheap fix. Our new sink is smaller, but much more in line with the character of the house in general (and our tastes). The light fixture is a $2.00 find from a flea market in Arizona. I love it. This is the second house in which I’ve installed it. I also painted McKenna’s closet (a walk-in) and the hallway between the two bedrooms and bathroom the same color!
more peaceful 
more spa like
We replaced the 80s brown carpet in the living and dining rooms and hallways this fall. Our furniture right now is leather: kid and pet friendly. Not my style, but it’s OK:
This summer:
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Finish cabinets
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paint our bedroom
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maybe paint or re-wallpaper kitchen
Jenn Beyer 
