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