Wanna See Some Before and Afters?

We've been in Pennsylvania now for nearly 7 months now.  We are enjoying our new home.  I thought you might enjoy a little bit of before and afters.  Here we go....

Here's our front foyer before...

Here's our front foyer after.  Notice the new paint, new wrought iron railings and carpet.

Here's the very lame 'chandelier', if you can even call it that, and the very outdated white railing.

My friend Nancy and I bought this unique light fixture in Texas.  Nancy faux finished this beautiful medalian that was already attached to the ceiling.  This fabulous light weighs at least 75 pounds.  You should have seen  Bob on the very top of a 12 foot ladder with me about two rungs underneath him trying to hoist this bad boy into place.  We had to adjust it a couple of times to make sure it looked perfect through the outside window.  It's amazing neither of us broke our necks up that high with something so large and heavy.  We learned that there is a reason you call professionals to do this kind of work.  But, it turned out amazing!  We love it!!

The wrought iron railing makes such a difference.  We never saw a wrought iron railing the whole time we were looking at houses.  We knew this was a relatively easy change to make that would have such a huge impact.  We did all the work ourselves.  (Easy, peasy!)

Here is the the living room.  Soon to be music and library room before...

And here's our music room and library after...

Just a little side note... It's no secret that I loved my Texas house.  I loved the layout, the openness and especially my beautiful faux finishing that my amazing friend Nancy Schoen and her helper Judy Ronk painted throughout the house.  Knowing that leaving our beloved Texas was not going to be easy, as well as leaving the house that I loved, my sweet husband arranged to have Nancy and Judy fly to Pennsylvania and spend a whole week painting and faux finishing my new house.  Truly, I don't think I have ever been so surprised and touched to the point of absolute tears for such an unbelievably, kind gesture.  First, that my husband would think of such an amazing gift and secondly, that Nancy and Judy would actually come and spend a week away from their own families, finding their way through 'the sticks' to get everything they would need and working literally 18 hours a day to make my new house a home.  I'll never forget Nancy looking at me straight in the eyes and saying, "This is a gift of love.  I want you to know that everytime you walk into your new home that you are loved."  And I do.  I am so blessed by the gifts of friendship and love.  Amazing, truly amazing...

I love all of Nancy's paint.  A much needed improvement over the previous red, don't you think?  And my most favorite piece of all, the library.  Isn't it awesome?  I'd been looking at this piece for nearly 3 years.  When I knew I really was moving, I took my happy, little self straight down to Anderson Furniture, (where they know me by my first name, unfortunately) and bought this beautiful piece.  It fits this space perfectly!  I've already had one of the kids ask me if they can have it when I die.  (Is that a good thing?)  If you can't tell, I really have a thing for books.  I love them!!!!  Have you read a good book lately?  I have.  But, I'll leave that for another post...

Standing room only for this amazing mirror.  I love it!  It works beautifully here.  This room is a great place to sit and read or spend a lazy afternoon playing my favorite songs.  The kids even love (ok, maybe, like) practicing here, too.

A glimpse of the front door from the music room.

Here's some dining room pictures before......

Baby blue and beige paint on the walls.  And you gotta love that chandelier!?!

And here's the dining room after.....

After a little of Nancy's magic on the walls and the ceiling, it looks amazing!!

Another last minute purchase at Andersons Furniture.  When I saw this cabinet, I knew that my vintage Fiestaware would look absolutely amazing in it.  And it does!!!  It's little bit unexpected, which I love. 

Isn't this ceiling beautiful!  Nancy faux- finished these tiles just exactly like the one she did in my Texas dining room.  They truly are stunning.  It makes this an amazing one-of-a-kind room!  She also picked out this spectactular light fixture above the dining room table.  It looks like it was made for this space.



Here's a picture of the before of our butler's pantry.  It's small, but it's cute.

And here's the after...

Nancy's paint makes all the difference!

Here's some pictures of the kitchen before.....

Here's the kitchen after....

Nancy did her magic in the kitchen.  It's called crackle-plaster and it is amazing!  It gives that 'old world' feel to the kitchen.  I couldn't have asked for anything more beautiful. Nancy also picked out the light fixture.  I love it!

 Seating for eight is perfect.  I have two more identical chairs to seat 10 comfortably.  The more the merrier, right?

Door on the angle leads to the mud room and garage.

Notice Nancy's attention to detail in her paint above the pantry and mudroom door.  Nice!

One of my favorite quotes by President Hinckley.

"Life is to be enjoyed, not just endured." 

True, so true...

Here's a glimpse of the sunroom before....

And here's the sun room after....

Nancy rescued the previously bright terra-cotta colored walls. Such a lovely place to read and work on my computer. Next to the kitchen, this is where I seem to spend most of my time.  I wish you could see this awesome ceiling fan.  It looks like an airplane propeller.  I think every room needs just a little whimsy!!  The views outside this room are spectactular.  



Here's the family room before.....

Here's the family room after.....



So glad all my Texas-size furniture fit perfectly!!!

Here's Bob's office before..... (just close your eyes and think Emerald Green...)

 

And here's Bob's office after....

Nancy did an amazing faux golden leather look on the walls. It looks beautiful! 

I'm still looking for the perfect window treatments.  Any ideas?

 

And finally, the last thing on the main floor; the guest bathroom before....

The guest bathroom, after.....

Just a little love from Nancy in the form of paint. 

We added new faucets, blinds and just some overall 'prettiness'.

Here's a picture of one of my favorite things...

Our beautiful Grandfather clock.  I love it's sound as it chimes each quarter hour. 

That's it for the main floor. 

Stay tuned for the 2nd floor and the basement! 

You won't want to miss it!!