Overwhelming Fixer Upper

If you are currently fixing up your fixer upper or thinking about buying one, you know just how overwhelming it can feel. When we started, we literally had 2600 square feet of the 60s. Talk about blast from the past! That's 15 rooms of old carpet, wallpaper, pink bathtubs, and finishes that I was less than fond of. But, our house has great bones and I knew we could make it beautiful. The only problem was wrapping my mind around designing each room (on a budget) and actually executing the plans. I get so easily distracted and overwhelmed, I needed all the help I could get.

My biggest tool - Pinterest! Not only did I use Pinterest for ideas, but I used it to pin things I found on various websites that I wanted to buy for each room. I used this as an organizational tool and what's nice, things can easily be deleted or changed. 

Check out my Pinterest board for our den: Alisa's Den Inspiration Board

You will see I have an inspiration room that I just LOVED the look of (see below) as well as other inspiration pieces and items to think about buying. 

Below: A little sneak peak of my Mom painting in the Den - wait until you see the finished product!

In a future post I will share the results of our Den (office) design and you can see how much I used my Pinterest board as a guideline. We still have a few more finishing touches before the big reveal. I did this with EVERY SINGLE ROOM in our home and it helps me stay on task. I refer to my Pinterest when I am garage saling, shopping sales or looking for specific items. That way I make sure I don't purchase anything that won't fit the style I have in mind. 

In a nutshell:

Step 1 - Take a deep breath and KNOW that by buying this project house you are making an investment for your future

Step 2 - Create a board for each room that needs fixing (in my case...ALL)

Step 3 - Start by finding an inspiration photo that helps you visualize the style and colors you are looking for (remember: you don't have to stick with every aspect of the inspiration photo, just see where it takes you)

Step 4 - Start researching paint colors, look for decor on the website's of your favorite stores and pin away

Step 5 - Put in a little sweat equity by removing wall paper, sanding/painting trim and painting the rooms you are improving

Step 6 - Step 5 takes a LONG time, but that's okay - because while I was completing the process I was able to shop around, look for deals and only buy things that I found good deals on and that were perfect for our space

 

Dining Room Before and After

Dining Room Before:

 Nasty smelly carpet, "retro" light fixture and 70s wallpaper - maybe this dining room was stylish about 50 years ago, but I am happy to see it go.



Dining Room After:

As you can see, we made a HUGE improvement, and I now feel good about inviting guests over for dinner. We still need to get white trim, but for now - I am one happy wife! 

Table: Made by my husband and stained with Ebony stain from Home Depot. This table took him a LONG time - maybe because he works 11 hour days. We were literally staining two days before Thanksgiving because we were hosting. Talk about procrastinators! The days of having guests eat at a picnic table in our dining are over. 

Chairs: Target and believe it or not, Goodwill. we already knew we wanted the metal chairs from Target and I just happened to be perusing at Goodwill and found a set of 2 still in the box in perfect shape. Turns out Goodwill and Salvation Army often get new merchandise from Target still in it's packaging. Since then, I have purchased a set of decorative mirrors, dishes, a vase and a bedding set all brand new and all from Goodwill/Salvation Army.

Rug: Lowes (and it was very cheap, thank goodness - seeing as our dogs use it to nap on).

Flowers; One of my go to centerpieces is Hydrangeas. They are simple, beautiful, long lasting and better yet - I can get them in my front yard! These are just placed in super cheap Ikea Vases and made a STUNNING Thanksgiving centerpiece. 

Hutch: Fred Meyer and massively marked down. We had been looking for ages and all of the hutches we found were $400+. We ended up getting this one on sale, plus used a 10% off coupon and got an additional 10% since this was the floor model. In the end it was around $239.

Love getting to show off my Grandma's copper she recently passed down to me

                                               

I keep all my vintage Pyrex and some special occasion items in the top for display

One of my Thanksgiving tables from last year (we had so many people we needed two) 

We still need to get white trim and figure out the window situation - either blinds or curtains. It gets quite sunny in the summer.