11_08_2012 Finally!!! Before and after photos of the House Remodel!!

We finally are catching up and wer able to gather together some before and after photos of the house remodel. The first thing I've learned is that taking before and after photos is hard!!!

I'll trying explaining the photos. Our home is three levels. The top level hase the kitchen, dining, master bedroom and master bath. In the remodel, the areas mostly redone on this floor were the dining and kitchen. The master bedroom got a new window and on old cedar beam was wrapped in sheetrock. And the master bath got a beam wrapped too. Not photos of the master bed and bath here. The first photo is of at the top of the stairs looking toward the kitchen. See that wall? It disappears in the remodel.

The second photo was taken standing at the kitchen door looking toward the dining room. You can see the ceiling over the living room on the second level. The second level originally housed only the entryway and the living room. It gets a new room in the remodel.

Photo three is at the kitchen door looking in the kitchen toward the back yard. See the stove there on the left? It gets relocated in the remodel. The sink, dishwasher and refrigerator stays in the same location (though replaced).

Photo four is stepping further into the kitchen, and looking back toward the door and the dining room. The wall that houses the stove disappears in the remodel.

And photo five is back at the opening of the door between the kitchen and the dining. See the wall on the right? All wall. That changes. As does the window at the far end. See how it's almost jammed against the wall on the right? That changes in the after photos.

Photo six at back at the top of the stairs. This is our dining room. The door/opening to the kitchen is just off-photo to the right.













AFTER AFTER AFTER AFTER AFTER AFTER

Okay, this photo, the first of the obvious "afters" is taken from the top of the stairs. You can see there is no longer a wall between the dining and the kitchen. Note the new skylights (there are three). The window at the back of  kitchen is larger and centered.And really, it just is hard to believe it's the same physical space!

The second after photos is taken in the kitchen, looking through where the old wall was toward the living room. You can see two of the new skylights in the dining room. And note the wood on the ceiling in the second level living room is now covered in sheetrock. We love wood as much as the next guy, but having this sheetrocked brightened the space like crazy! Don't miss the wood at all!

The third after photo taken in the kitchen looks at what used to be a blank wall. The entire wall of cabinetry and the stove/microwave being relocated really changed the feel of the place. This change was definitely for the better!

The fourth "after" photos is taken where the old entry between the kitchen and dining was. The window over the sink is original Clearly we got all new appliances, a new gorgeous granite counter-top and added a small peninsula between the kitchen and dining.  Honestly, it's so perfect, there is nothing we'd change about it!



So, let's move on to the front of the house.



BEFORE BEFORE BEFORE BEFORE BEFORE

The front of the house was hard to see initially. Mostly we had four HUGE trees that shaded the house. Unfortunately two were virtually touching the house. One was really crazy (limbs grew toward the grown vs. the sky - seriously they did). And one was  beautiful Silver Maple that was at the corner of the planned new room.

This first before exterior photo shows what the house looked like as one walked up the cracked and uneven cobblestone walkway. Not the wooden and somewhat worn looking front porch.

The second before exterior photos is taken from the street. You can see the idiotic ash to the left and the Silver Maple to the right. We had two huge evergreen trees at each corner of the house. (one is visible in this photos). Boulder gets big winds in the winter. These trees would knock on the house during these winds. Disconcerting!

Here is a third 'before' exterior. It is taken a little bit earlier in the year when there were a few leaves on the trees. We cut the trees early in the season since it was a rule that if any bird nested in the tree, all construction would be halted. Happily we got them down before any nests were built. This did not make the neighbors happy anyway. Cutting trees in Boulder always gains some grumpiness! (They were happy with the end result though).

The fourth before exterior shot shows the front from a slightly different angle. Plus, this is a few years before - it shows a tree in the front of this photo (the fifth big tree) that we chopped down a year or two before. The new room was added to the left of the house.







 
FRONT OF THE HOUSE AFTER AFTER AFTER AFTER AFTER

After: the new room is on the left. The rest of the house is the same with a few exceptions. First, there is a new window top right of the house. This is in our master bedroom. The new room blocked our view of Bear Peak which made us sad. the new window gave us that view back! We didn't put it in for that reason, but it was a nice bonus. We added it as it was clear that our home was woefully unbalanced. tons of windows on the left - none of the right.

The front porch is totally new! We love it! We love that it is covered. And we are so happy with the new flagstone walkway. It's gorgeous!

Check out the new beautiful grass. Without so many trees choking out all sunlight, it may grow. The perennials this year were gorgeous because the got so much sun. They are tough perennials as they survived all the construction. We added two new Honey Locust Trees. They are tiny compared to our old trees, but they'll be big shady trees in no time. And we added  a split rail fence. I really love this feature. It is hard to see, but there is a flower bed that goes all the way around the perimeter of the yard. There are some cool plants in it now (butterfly bush, evergreen, other bird/bee friendly plants). Next spring I'll add an ton of perennials! I can't wait!

Here is a view from the right. COMPLETELY different looking house!

And even further from the right - near the driveway you can see the entry view. The flagstone is inviting and beautiful, but the fence offers some defined space. Love it!

And here is an after of the direct front of the house. The new room is on the left. Does it even look the same to you!?!!??!










AFTER AFTER AFTER AFTER - New Room

My final photos are of the new room from inside the house. There are no before photos since before this space had a wooden front porch and big pine tree.

This first after photo is taken in the new room (my office/den/guest bedroom). It is looking up at the dining room. You can see the ceiling in the living room has been sheetrocked. So bright and airy! Best room in the house!

This second after photo is taken from the dining room looking down into the new room. What can I say? It's awesome!

This is my corner in the new room. When I can strong-arm the cat off this chair, I do a lot of work here.

And finally, from the doors (which are now sandblasted (the glass is) into the new room You can see this is just before the couch/sleeper sofa arrived. Awesome room!

Hope you enjoyed the before and afters! I will get more photos up in the Spring when I plant a ton of flowering perennials. Until then, we are enjoying the fireplace and what feels like a completely new home!     Free Blog Counter