Our second home was the result of our second relocation, where my job moved us to Charleston, SC in 2013. We knew that it was unlikely that we would be staying in the area long term, so we decided to go for a project home! With a few projects under our belt from our Maryland home, we felt confident enough to look for a fixer-upper that was in the right price range, needed some TLC, and would be a good investment and neighborhood.
We downsized a bit moving into this home. It was about 1500 sqft, with 3 bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms, sitting on 0.15 acres. It was the perfect sized starter home for a couple with maybe 1-2 kids. The kitchen had an amazing footprint, which was one of the top needs on our list. It almost made up for the lack of storage areas and a workshop.
We tackled so many projects on this house, I look back and find it hard to believe that we accomplished all of them in 2 years, both of us with full time jobs. You can see from the below before and after pictures that basically every room in the house got a complete makeover!
Here was the floor plan of the house.
First Floor
Second Floor
Front Yard
The exterior of the home was in relatively good shape (except for the roof!), and just needed some cosmetic help. The front door got a fresh coat of (yellow!) paint, the light fixtures got updated, we added some cute hardware to the garage doors to try and break up the whiteness of the house, redid some landscaping, replaced an exterior door that was deteriorating and also fixed up some of the vinyl siding that needed some help. Oh, and replaced the entire roof.
Before
After
Back Yard
The backyard was a barren wasteland. We tried to fix up the grass, added a garden and a DIY composting area, installed a concrete patio and redid some of the landscaping.
Before
After
Living Room
The living room was nice and open to the rest of the house. Here, our starting point was the flooring. We replaced the entire first floor with bamboo plank floor, repainted all of the dingy molding and walls, installed a nook for our projector, and updated the ceiling fan.
Before
After
Dining Room
Here we decided that the popcorn ceilings had to go. We scraped them clean and patched them up. We added crown molding, installed a new light fixture, and made some DIY pallet wine racks.
Before
After
Kitchen
The kitchen was our inspiration for this home. The footprint was perfect, but it need so much help. We removed the popcorn ceiling and added crown molding, ripped out the old vinyl floor and added bamboo, rewired and relocated the light fixtures, removed the upper cabinets and reinstalled them so they touched the ceiling, and added shelving underneath the upper cabinets. All of the cabinets got sanded down and got a fresh coat of white paint and new hardware. We installed a back splash and ripped out the wallpaper and painted the room a grayish-green. This room was definitely the biggest project we had done yet.
Before
After
Powder Room
This was such a fun little bathroom to design. We decided to go out of our comfort zone and try out some wood wall treatments, and this got some planking. We also replaced the hardware, toilet, vanity, mirror and frosted the window. The vinyl flooring was also replaced with bamboo and the ceiling was scraped of the popcorn and painted a light blue.
Before
After
Laundry Room
The laundry room was right off of the kitchen and the only way to get to the garage so it had to look good. We replaced the floors and molding, scraped off the popcorn ceiling, installed more shelving, painted, replaced the light fixture, and built a little hidden nook for the dryer vent.
Before
After
Master Bedroom
The entire second floor had carpet that was in the worst shape ever, so it was all replaced. The master bedroom also got a fresh coat of paint on the walls and molding.
Before
After
Master Bathroom
Talk about some awful wallpaper. The master bath definitely needed some TLC. We ripped out the wallpaper, replace light fixtures and hardware, installed a new vanity and sink, framed out the mirror, tiled the floors, scraped the popcorn ceiling and installed crown molding, and refinished the tub and shower tile.
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After
Guest Bedroom 1
The guest bedroom got a refresh with some new paint and new carpeting.
Before
After
Guest Bedroom 2
Same as above, new paint and new carpet.
Before
After
Guest Bathroom
Here, we decided to try out some more wall treatments, this time going for some board and batten. We replaced the mirror and vanity, installed new floor tile, scraped the popcorn ceiling and installed some crown molding.
Before
After
