Project house #2 - COMPLETE

I haven't been able to do much to the outside quite yet (thank you Michigan weather), but I did take off the nasty awnings, and paint the door and shutters. The whole exterior cost me a whopping $23 ($11 for a small can of exterior door paint, $12 for a small can of black exterior paint for the shutters). That $25 went a pretty long way didn't it?

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Breezeway

The existing color actually wasn't bad but I wanted to cheer it up a little bit (if you haven't noticed, I love light colors). Paint and a new floor. Pretty simple. Check out my little $10 bench redo here.

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Kitchen

The kitchen was completely gutted. Lots of work done here. Removed walpaper, painted, new cabinets, backsplash, appliances, floor. I will post in more detail how I cut costs in this little kitchen! Many money savers here!

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Living Room

One of my favorite spaces in the house. Refinished the existing hardwood, painted, added some shelves - more details here.

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Bathroom

This room was in great shape! It just needed a new floor because the existing floor was poorly installed and had large gaps between a few of the tiles. Didn't even have to paint!

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Master Bedroom

More wallpaper! Yay! Painted the walls and window trim along with more refinished hardwood.

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Spare Bedroom / "Closet"

Removed MORE wallpaper (a bit bitter towards the previous home owners, if you haven't noticed...), painted, refined hardwood.  For more detail check out this post.

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Basement - Craft Space/Office

Welcome to my craft space! This basement was pretty nasty. Concrete floors and concrete walls with a ceiling covered in cob webs (gives me the shivers just thinking about how dingy it was). Dark, creepy, dirty. Nothing a little paint and a powerful shop vac can't fix! The shop vac is my greatest companion. Spiders don't stand a chance.

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Well, there ya have it! It's amazing to me how I can fit the past four months of my life into one short blog post. Hours and hours were dedicated to the revival of this little ranch. It was like another full time job.

I want to share a few things that I have learned since October due to this (what seemed like) never ending project:
1. You CAN tackle "impossible" tasks. So many days I was overwhelmed with all the little details. Have you ever painted trim? Like throughout an entire house? Primer, then paint, then more paint, then touch up. Then the electrician and carpenter come and then much more touch up, and so on and so on. Have you ever grouted an entire kitchen floor? I swear the skin on the end of my fingers wore to the bone (sorry for that visual)...But I did it! I made to-do list after to-do list and tackled it one at a time. Day by day.

2. I have learned how to overcome fears. The basement. Enough said.

3. I have learned how to remind myself that some of my inconveniences are blessings. Example - getting frustrated because I didn't have a fridge for a week or two. I had to recognize an attitude of entitlement and learn to be thankful for ample accessibility to food, much less a box that keeps it cold.

4. I have learned how to grout, paint, lay carpet tile, and sand walls, at 4:00am.

5. I have been humbled. People always tell me I'm so independent, brave, self-sufficient, etc. for tackling this project, living in this house by myself, blah, blah, blah, etc., etc. What people don't realize is how much help and support I have gotten. My Dad, who works full time, runs a business on the side, and has many kids to attend to who still live at home, helped me refinish the hardwood, installed my living room shelves, taught me how to tile a backsplash, taught me how to lay carpet tile, killed many bugs, and more. I had a few friends who helped me with many other details, and a giving mother who helped clean and sewed all my curtains because I didn't have the time. I am beyond grateful and humbled by the sacrificial love that surrounds me.


I hope you enjoyed this flip. I am looking forward to sharing more with you!

Have a beautiful day!
Han