Before and After Tour of Our Home {Four Years Later!}

Our four year before and after home tour!

Welcome to the before and after tour of our modern Craftsman home with tons of custom DIY touches.

Can you believe it...we've been in our "new" home for more than four years now!

It feels like we've lived here MUCH longer. Not sure if that's a good thing or not. ;)

While we were building I had so many people ask what I was going to do with myself in a new, finished house.

Haha!

Well...plenty. :)

I love sharing how our home has changed year after year! I'm sharing photos from when we moved in and how those rooms look now.

You know how much I love good before and after pics!

Keep in mind...working on our home is my job. I'm so lucky to be able to do this as my business...but I never want anyone to feel like this is the normal pace for DIY projects.

DIY is my passion, so I'd be doing it no matter what!

If you'd like to see how these rooms looked at the three year mark, check out our three year before and after tour.

First up, let's take a look at how far my office has come!

Here's the view shortly after we moved in...after I stopped using it as our storage room. ;)

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I knew all along I was going to build a wall of bookcases along the back -- it was calling out for it!

It worked perfectly with my plan to float my desk in the middle of the room.

After that built in project and a few more updates, this is where we are today:

It's funny -- that rattan light fixture made all the difference in here. The smallest thing tied it all together!

My other favorite purchase for this room was that modern wood chair...can you believe that's from Walmart?

**That one is sold out right now, but this option in a darker stain is very similar.

The other side of the room was pretty plain before:

But my giant upholstered bulletin board made a HUGE difference!:

I like that I'm not looking at a blank wall while I work -- now it's full of ideas and mementos.

The Foyer

Our foyer hasn't seen a ton of changes, but the ones I've made make it feel bright and modern.

Here's the before -- at first I was putting every item in the same exact same place it was in our last home:

I realized after time that it's OK to not keep things set up as they were there.

It's a new house, change is good! :)

I added a super inexpensive $15 board and batten wall and added molding like crown and new, thicker door headers:

foyer with simple board and batten white wall

I also moved my favorite console table up to this spot and LOVE it here.

This space is the perfect example of how much trim and molding adds to a space! It feels so much more "us" now.

The Kitchen

Our kitchen was ready to go when we moved in, but I'm always on a mission to add character and interest in brand new spaces.

Here's a look at our kitchen four years ago:

It was lovely!

You know me though...

I've done so many small updates in here, too many to list!

But extending the sides of the island to the front and finishing off the sides of our basic cabinets were a couple of my favorites:

I also built a new wood vent hood right over our old one, and added little details like DIY decorative cabinet feet.

This is the side view before:

One of my most recent projects was building those thick floating shelves next to the fridge:

Our black and brass pendant lights were in my head from the start and I still LOVE them!

See how that extended island makes it feel so much more substantial? I'm so glad I tackled that project.

The Basement

I feel like 2021 has been The Year of the Basement in our home. ;)

I've worked on SO MANY projects down there. Let's take a look at some of the big before and afters!

The biggest was probably the largest DIY build I've ever done.

We have a really long wall in our basement family room that was calling out for something BIG:

So I built this built in entertainment center wall with kitchen cabinets:

large built in entertainment center wall

It's massive! Eighteen feet to be exact. I would have paid a small fortune to have someone build that for us.

Have I mentioned how much you'll save with a little DIY knowledge? :)

Our walls were all Agreeable Gray before:

I started with one accent wall, then eventually painted all of the walls in this moody Westchester Gray color:

I also added decorative molding trim boxes to the walls, and I can't believe what a difference that update made down here:

A few months ago I continued that look at the base of our stairs.

Here's how that spot looked before:

And now after I added a sconce, paint and molding to create a modern accent wall:

Last year we added a small wall down here -- we wanted to break up some of the open concept layout.

It allowed us to add a game table in the middle. What was once a blank wall:

Turned into a wall of game storage and those super long picture ledges!:

We are thoroughly enjoying our basement space, and will spend a ton of time down there this winter. :) I would hibernate down there all the time if I could!

The Family Room

Our family room has been warmed up over the years with deep color and decorative trim.

Here's how it looked shortly after we moved in:

great room with tall ceilings and fireplace

And now with that moody dark Cyberspace color I love so much!:

It's funny, because this room is SO open and has tall ceilings, but I think it's one of the coziest spaces in our house.

We just love it!

I get asked about that grid trim on the tall fireplace more than just about any other project.

I built bookcases on each side of the fireplace, and later added a board and batten wall under the stairs.

Here's how that area looked four years ago:

And that spot now:

The Hallways and Nooks

This house has a lot of little nooks and hallways that we didn't have before, and I've really enjoyed giving them all special treatment!

Our basement stairway landing started out pretty plain:

But later got an inexpensive wood shiplap wall:

This little alcove off our foyer got a makeover with pinstripe wallpaper.

I LOVE how that turned out!:

My first wallpaper project was in this little hallway:

And now it makes a statement with this beautiful blue and white floral wallpaper that I love so much:

Our Cozy Bedroom

Our bedroom had so much potential -- we loved all of the big windows and the tray ceiling:

One of my first big projects in here was painting the ceiling a dark gray and then adding faux wood beams around the raised ceiling:

I later cozied up this space even more by installing peel and stick grasscloth wallpaper and a dark gray chair rail around the room:

All of those changes have made this room so cozy and warm...it's such a calming space.

The Morning/Dining Room

Our dining area/morning room hasn't undergone any big changes lately, but it's come a long way in four years!

It's always been a pretty space:

I have a deep love of window seats and knew this room would be a perfect spot for one.

I even made to sure to adjust our light fixture placement because I was so sure we'd add one along the back wall:

The window seat and bookcase combo added tons of character to this room!

I later painted the walls that same dark blue Cyberspace that is on the family room fireplace:

And the simple squares trimmed out on the walls added even more interest.

The window seat is very popular with the cats! :)

We love the cozy additions in here:

The Mud/Laundry Room Combo

I never thought I would say this after our teeny tiny laundry and mud room combo at our first house, but I LOVE having those combined now!

It's all about the space and layout...if you have enough space and a smart layout, the two work really well together.

I was on a mission to add a ton of storage in this room and that turned into big makeover!

We had this folding table to start:

But this set of base cabinet drawers and uppers works SO MUCH better!:

I customized stock cabinets from the hardware store to create these custom looking beauties!

Here's another angle to see how much this room has changed!:

Wondering where the cat litter went? Check out the cat litter and cleaning supply closet. :)

You can see the whole redo and all of the details about our mud/laundry room here!

My Closet Makeover

I recently shared my closet makeover...this one looks great, but the way that it functions now is the real star.

I wish I had done this a long time ago!!

It didn't look bad before...but the problem was it never stayed like this:

I really needed more space for folded items, and the answer came in my new IKEA Pax closet build:

I'm adding some decorative details slow but sure and can't wait to share how I've made this space even prettier!

The Back Patio

And finally, the one outdoor space we've tackled so far...the back patio.

We didn't have this when we moved in. I later designed a large, basic concrete patio with a round fire pit area:

You can read why we went with plain concrete without any fancy finishes.

And now our back yard is one of our favorite places to be! It is just DREAMY out there!:

Adding those cafe lights over the patio was a game changer -- make sure to check out that tutorial if you don't have big mature trees and need something that will hold a lot of weight!

Whew!!! That's a lot, I know!

I'm always working to create a cozy and welcoming house that still feels classic and sophisticated. So far I feel like I've accomplished that.

We LOVE OUR HOME!!

It's so fun for me to look back at these photos, I hope they inspire you to create custom touches in your home as well.

If you have any questions about any projects or paint colors, let me know in the comments!

If you're interested in any of the items pictured, check out the shop our home tab for links to the items in all of these rooms.

See more of our home and shop items in each room here.

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Comments

Rose LNovember 18, 2021 at 2:56 AM
It looks great! I love the blues. You all did a great job.
AnonymousNovember 18, 2021 at 7:20 AM
Seeing the before pics and the after is amazing. I love your style.
SheilaNovember 18, 2021 at 7:47 AM
Your projects are absolutely amazing. So impressed with all the colors you use. Now that you're done with your home, could you come stay with us for a while and makeover stuff for us? Lol I really love the foyer area, I can't decide what to do for ours because it's not a big space and I don't want to put something too big that sticks out too far. But I like having the idea of the tables with the drawers.
JennibellNovember 18, 2021 at 8:36 AM
Gorgeous!!! So much work and inspiration to admire here :)
UnknownNovember 18, 2021 at 8:52 AM
Amazing!! Your home looks so warm and inviting. Your projects are truly inspiring!!
VickiNovember 18, 2021 at 9:09 AM
Whew! I'm tired just seeing all you have done in four years. I've been along for the ride the whole time and prior but seeing it all together really tells the tale! You have completely transformed a beautiful house into a warm, inviting, gorgeous home! Well done! You are such an inspiration!
UnknownNovember 18, 2021 at 9:27 AM
wow!!! great inspiration, and everything is gorgeous!
Jennie JohnsonNovember 18, 2021 at 11:32 AM
I just love your home-- your style, your vision and all the love that you've obviously put into all these projects. Th+anks for sharing with all of us!
AnonymousNovember 18, 2021 at 11:42 AM
Every room looks amazing! I wish I were younger and could take on some of these projects. I love diy and you have so many unique ideas. Love them all.
AnonymousNovember 26, 2021 at 9:33 PM
Everything is SO beautiful, warm and inviting. Thank you for sharing this!
UMZNovember 30, 2021 at 11:19 AM
Can you come transform my house now??? This is AMAZING!!!
The Anderson FamilyJanuary 15, 2022 at 10:04 PM
Your projects have inspired me!
What is your favorite/go-to color for an interior white wall?

If you have a specific question I will do my best to answer you back here!

You can find our paint colors and links to items at the "Our Home" tab at the top of my site.

THANKS so much for reading!

Thrifty Decor Chick | Thrifty DIY, Decor and Organizing

Before and After Tour of Our Home {Four Years Later!}