Linen Closet

And my mom told me I couldn't fit all my toiletries into a one-bathroom home. I even had enough room to take out a few shelves and fit in my hamper.

Living Room/Office Pull Double Duty

The After

The Before: Previous tenant loved her blues.

The Before

The Before

 The Afters

Here's how I made the toilet paper art

I slid an office nook behind the couch.

Now the filing cabinet also plays as an end table. I've since papered the top.

Bench works as seating and office storage.

Laundry Room Revamp

The third basement room--after the playroom and my bedroom--is the laundry room.

Laundry room/storage room. The hanging screens were old window screens left in the room that painted and papered.

The Before. I can't imagine having clean laundry in this room. Yuck. I still use the drain, but now I've ducktaped a trashbag around it and the hose and laid carpet over it. That's when you know you're fancy.

These are now nicely hidden behind my shoji screen.

The Porch

The main reason I fell in love with this house was the enormous screened-in porch.

The After

The Before

Basement to bedroom

Anyone who saw my play room post awhile back, knows that the basement of the new digs was a little dank, dark and dirty. It also needed to be my bedroom.

This came from...

Of the three basement rooms--the other two being the storage room-turned playroom and laundry room--this one is in the best shape. The original listing called it a "rec room," but I could only assume recreation for the previous owners would have been sitting in a dark paneled room. And apparently working a wood-burning stove due to the scorch marks on the wall.

The Befores:

...this

My mom and I put temporary wall paper over the paneling and added the same cheap vinyl tile as we did in the play room.

How I made my corkboard shoji screen.

I papered the back of the built-in shelves for shoe and bag storage.

Wall o' Photos

I much prefer the candid to the posed.

The Kitchen

Downsizing from a separate dining room to eat-in kitchen - this room is now full service. The good news is that we now eat more meals at the table. The dining room never seemed a casual enough spot for just us. The table was a craigslist find that I stained to match my chairs.

Apron Nook

I'm toying with the idea of using appliance paint to update the fridge and stove.

Message board and spices

I adhered Velcro to my pantry door to hang my meal list and calendar so I would still be able to take them down without putting in nail holes.

Love my hanging mugs and above-sink shelf space for my herb garden.

This metal mirror is monstrously heavy--I found it at a garage sale a few years ago. But it's the perfect spot to put my keys and sunglasses so I never misplace them again.

Papered shelves are so much prettier.

Amia's Room

House and tree are just made with paper. I used spray adhesive on the back to make them stick.

$1 Butterfly chandelier. See how I made it here

Before, with the previous tenant.

Keely's Room

Preteens seem to have a penchant for magenta animal print. There is also a matching area rug just out of view.

A reading nook between the wall and the dresser. I papered the back of the dresser shelves.

Homework area. All of the little stickers around the windows and boards are actually paper cut-outs. I just used spray adhesive on the back to make them stick.

$2 Chandelier. See how I made it here.

Bathroom Makeover

I've come to realize real estate photographers are geniuses, because taking pictures of other small spaces is not an easy task. Nevertheless, here are some images of our bathroom redo:

This is how the bathroom looked with its previous owner--with a serious case of the blues. We needed way more space. And color.

I stained the vanity for an antique-y look and spray painted the hardware to match the other fixtures.

This over-the-toilet shelving unit was much needed after going from 3 bathrooms to 1.

I fell in love with this shower curtain from Urban Outfitters. Believe it or not, this was one of my biggest splurges, at least relatively.

The bathroom has this weird long path to the door with some awkward wall space, but a towel rack and some cheap art helped to fill the void.