I bought my first house earlier this month. It was built in 1989 and I bought it from the original owners, who had done almost nothing to update the house. I am renovating most of the house before I move in. Thankfully, my dad has renovated our (many) houses over the years, and I have experience helping him.

I will post all of the before photos, and the after photos as things get done.

This is the front living room:



The staircase/foyer as you walk in the house:



The front closet:



Front door:



The family room at the back of the house:



Dining room:



The breakfast nook off the kitchen:



Breakfast nook looking down the hall:



Kitchen:



Upstairs hall + bathroom:



Master bedroom (walk-in closet hallway + master bath through the door on the right):



Master bath (shower + makeup vanity in the mirror):



Basement:



Backyard + deck:

Congratulations; it is a beautiful house. I can't wait to see what you do with it!

My plans for the house before I move in include:

-Hardwood on the main floor and 2nd level
-Tile by the garage and in bathrooms
-Sand & paint kitchen cabinets
-Recessed lighting in kitchen, family room, living room
-Replace front door, internal doors, closet doors
-Replace bathroom toilets & sinks/vanities
-Paint... everything!

Most of the above has been ordered already!

So far...

All of the carpets have been removed in the house (they were disgusting!). We are planning on laying the subfloor for the hardwood this weekend. All additional lights have been added, and the electrician will come later on to replace switches and plugs. We changed all of the plumbing pipes from Poly B to Pex. The stippled ceilings have been scraped, and when the drywallers come to fix all our holes in the wall they will also be doing paint grade ceilings. I am in the process of sanding the kitchen cabinets.

Family room right now:



Dining room right now:



All of the trees in the backyard were overgrown, so my dad and I took them all down and lugged away the branches. I have to dig out the stumps this summer:



Later this year, I would like to put a gas insert in my fireplace, paint my outside trim, build my dance area in the basement, and replace/re-tile the bathtub and showers in the bathrooms... oh, and buy furniture

Next spring/summer, I want to replace all of the windows, buy a new garage door, and landscape. I'm thinking about tearing down the deck in the back and putting in a brick patio with a gas firepit, as well as proper sized trees/bushes/plants.

The following year, I would like to replace all of the vinyl siding on the house with stucco. A few of the neighbours have done this recently and it looks really nice!

That's the plan for now, we will see how much life gets in the way!

Originally Posted by HauteMama

Congratulations; it is a beautiful house. I can't wait to see what you do with it!

Thanks! It will be a long process, but will be worth it in the end!

yay!! I've been waiting for your thread and I'm so excited it's here. I will be here waiting for your pics every step of the way.

when are you moving into it?? are you doing it all before you move in?? I think you said before you had been checking out my thread, we moved in after the flooring and carpet was done. the kitchen was still a mess as well as the windows, bathroom, laundry and lighting.

good luck Im so excited for you

oh and btw you'll start off with great speed then as time goes on you tend to relax more and things take ages to get done lol.

Oh I'm going to LOVE following this thread!! It's a beautiful house and the bones of it look great!! Can't wait to see the cosmetic changes. Congrats on your new home!

Originally Posted by ecmf

yay!! I've been waiting for your thread and I'm so excited it's here. I will be here waiting for your pics every step of the way. when are you moving into it?? are you doing it all before you move in?? I think you said before you had been checking out my thread, we moved in after the flooring and carpet was done. the kitchen was still a mess as well as the windows, bathroom, laundry and lighting. good luck Im so excited for you oh and btw you'll start off with great speed then as time goes on you tend to relax more and things take ages to get done lol.

Thanks! I'm hoping to move in by the end of May/early June. The drywallers are supposed to come next week, and they will take a week to do everything. After that, I want two weeks for the moisture levels in the house to settle before bringing in the hardwood. During that time, I will paint and install tile. Once the hardwood is in the house, I need to let it acclimatize for one week. I will have time to install toilets, sinks, etc. I need to buy appliances before I move in, and want to wait until the flooring is all done. I can wait to install doors and trim after I've moved in, if need be.

Originally Posted by LV Luvr

Oh I'm going to LOVE following this thread!! It's a beautiful house and the bones of it look great!! Can't wait to see the cosmetic changes. Congrats on your new home!

Thank you so much!

Fun thread! I'll be watching.

Love the pics! You're doing a great job! So very happy for you. I'll be watching this thread too!

Goodness that is a lot of work! I look forward to seeing the results!

its so exciting you will be moving in in no time. I'll be here to watch every step lol.

This is a lovely home, I'm very excited to be following your post along your journey! Can't wait to see the progress !!!!

Excited to see it! I love your house.

Best Wishes in your new home. It must be great to have your Dad be there to help with the renovations. How exciting to change things and do it your way. Then you will get a house you love. It is so much work but worth it. I think the house is very nice and it seems to be in excellent condition.

My neighbor in a old neighborhood had the railing like you do in the kitchen area overlooking her family room. She switched it out for silver metal with heavy pexiglass panels. It was very stunning. She wanted her house to have a modern theme and I never saw anyone do this before. She then did the staircase like it about a year later.
Our house is 10 years old, we are the second owners and I have a list of things I woudl love to do.
Good luck and continue to post pictures.

Originally Posted by Odette

Fun thread! I'll be watching.

Originally Posted by lorihmatthews

Love the pics! You're doing a great job! So very happy for you. I'll be watching this thread too!

Originally Posted by buzzytoes

Goodness that is a lot of work! I look forward to seeing the results!

Originally Posted by ecmf

its so exciting you will be moving in in no time. I'll be here to watch every step lol.

Originally Posted by Jeannam2008

This is a lovely home, I'm very excited to be following your post along your journey! Can't wait to see the progress !!!!

Originally Posted by Hclone

It really looks awesome when you complete your renovation. One thing I like most is your backyard. Just post once again when all done.

Originally Posted by VanessaJean

Excited to see it! I love your house.

Originally Posted by gillianna

Best Wishes in your new home. It must be great to have your Dad be there to help with the renovations. How exciting to change things and do it your way. Then you will get a house you love. It is so much work but worth it. I think the house is very nice and it seems to be in excellent condition. My neighbor in a old neighborhood had the railing like you do in the kitchen area overlooking her family room. She switched it out for silver metal with heavy pexiglass panels. It was very stunning. She wanted her house to have a modern theme and I never saw anyone do this before. She then did the staircase like it about a year later. Our house is 10 years old, we are the second owners and I have a list of things I woudl love to do. Good luck and continue to post pictures.

Thank you everyone!!

My plumbing and electrical inspections were approved yesterday which is great news!