Last fall, we started having talks of chasing dreams. What it would look like and how we'd make it happen. We knew fixing up homes would be one piece of the puzzle, so we sought the Lord and He brought us this house to flip. And nine months later, here we are. We've finally arrived. Only 5 months late. And waaaay over budget. (I'll spare y'all the narrative of alll the things that went wrong. Maybe that should be another post. “What We Learned From Our First Flip” Would y'all be into it?) But we've arrived. We've arrived to “AFTER” photo day. And I may or may not have cried the morning I walked into the house to take these photos instead of sweat with hard physical manual labor. This project really was a spiritual endeavor for us in so many ways and I'm so so glad to share it with you!

As soon as I saw this house, I just heard it whispering “give me a porch.” The structure was there, we just needed to make it happen. And I'm so glad we did because it's just so darn charming. (And at some point in its lifetime, the cement porch was painted red and we spent hours scrubbing and scraping, but it still wasn't looking as shiny and new as we wanted it to, so we added two coats of this amazing Granite Grip paint from Home Depot and it was the simple fix it needed.)

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We tried really hard to salvage the original front door, but it just fought us too hard. So we replaced it with this gorgeous craftsman and as soon as we did I was glad the original wanted to die. It just perfectly complements the paint and completes the porch. Such an understated but welcoming statement.

Ok so we did pretty much every single thing you could possibly do to this house, but probably the biggest change we made was right here: knocking down some walls. The before pic shows that the kitchen was actually hidden behind a wall with just a tiny little galley doorway. So of course, just like we did in our home, we said “that's gotta go.” This opened up the entire living space, connecting the kitchen + small dining room + living room all in one open area. The square footage is small, but the space is so incredibly functional that it carries more of an impact.

One of my favorite touches we used: the ceiling. It's quite simple really (just sheets of beadboard with 4″x1″ MDF boards to cover the joints) but it makes such an impact. It adds texture and character and contrasts so well to the floors. A sneaky cost effective option to add some special flare.

Speaking of the floors- another original we were sad to have to say goodbye to. There was just too much damage and it would have been impossible to match, so we found this gorgeous 2-1/4″ natural oak planks from Home Depot Home Depot that looked close to the original and just installed it new throughout the whole house. Gosh, it's so gorgeous. I typically don't go for the oak hues, but it just feels so timeless in this home. And something I will forever be a proponent of: fluid flooring that carries throughout the entire house. We of course have tile in the bathrooms and mudroom, but carrying this throughout the kitchen + bedrooms + hallways just always helps open up small spaces.

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We had a small space to work with but I think we did a pretty killer job in maximizing it, if I do say so myself. Because we knocked the wall down we were able to add a small island + we chose a 10″ overhang for a little bar. Casmir was really nervous the white cabinets + backsplash + countertops would just be too much white. But I said that's impossible. Because we were working with a small space, my main goal here was to make it feel light and bright and open. I think the super light color in the quartz + the darker grout in the backsplash + the dark pendant lights + flush mount light + sink faucet + appliances did enough to add contrast but still keep the look understated and fluid. I know the simple answer would have been to use oil rubbed bronze hardware on the cabinets, but that just felt too easy. I went with the brushed nickel cabinet knobs + classic drawer pulls to tie in the stainless steel appliances and add a little contrast so not everythinggg was black or white. I'm glad I went with my gut here. I just wish I could cook up some healthy recipes in this gorgeous kitchen!

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Because we rearranged the bathroom, we put in a sliding barn door to save some space. Of course, it adds some character and texture, but it also adds great functionality when you're trying to maximize space + reduce the need for swimming doors. We used one we found second hand, but I also found this similar one from Overstock.

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Ah, the marble bathroom. First of all can we just take a moment to appreciate how incredibly horrendous it was before? I'm not a large human and I could hardly stand in that rainbow colored shower. And that corner sink. Wow. We knew we needed to make some big changes to this baby, so we started entirely from scratch by carving out a new space. I wanted to keep with the grey and white and black classics of the rest of the house, but I wanted this master bath to be stepped up a knotch on the boujee scale. I had this vision for a mixed marble shower but since I don't even want to know how much this shower would have cost if we used actual carrera marble, we cheated and found this really amazing faux marble ceramic tile with a light grey grout.The marble-topped vanity completmented it well and then the black sconce lights + sink faucets + super dreamy shower head added the perfect contrast again.

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Y'all, I live for this mudroom. Utility room. Laundry room. Whatever you want to call it. The master closet you see up above? That was actually the laundry room that you accessed from the hallway outside the master. And the master didn't have a closet. And this room was just an awkward almost room that you just didn't quite know what to do with. So we decided to swap some doors around and move the washer/dryer hookups to add in a spacious walk-in closet for the master and make this room a large utility room. I really tried to keep my design choices neutral on this home since I didn't know who the buyer would be and I wanted it to appeal to all audiences. But the mudroom just felt like the perfect place to sneak in a fun, more adventurous choices. And as soon as I found this florentina ceramic tile I knew it was a perfect fit. And the vintage barn metal light fixture from Amazon felt like just the right contrast.

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Ah the second bath. Equally as dreadful as the master. But we were able to keep this reno pretty simple and yet super effective. We kept and resurfaced the original tub because I just loved the character of it. And we were planning to keep the original tile on the floors because I actually loved it, but it got damaged during the reno (nothing's worse than contractors who don't respect your things…) so we replaced it with this onyx/white hexagon mosaic tile. We used a vintage brushed nickel light fixture + ORB sink faucet + shower/tub faucet + a black circle wall mirror and I just love the way it all tied in. (Oh and I almost forgot we removed a window, because I mean look at it, it was literally in the shower…)

And there you have it! 9 whole months of blood, sweat, tears and vision coming to life. I really do have all the feels for this house. Mostly relief that it's finally done. But also joy for the vision. And gratitude for the process. For all the things that went wrong. For all the mistakes we made. For all the bad contractors we hired. Because we learned so so so so so so so just so much. And we endured. It challenged our energy and our marriage and our faith and our discipline and our endurance in way too many ways. But ways I'm grateful for because of the growth it produced. And of course the beautiful little house someone lucky is going to get to call home. Endless prayers over the family that will make our canvas their own, and all trust in the Lord for whatever home is next for us to breathe new life into. 

xx, molls