The Little House: Is finally complete! Before and after of the entire remodel!

Jun 05 2017
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I am so excited to finally show you guys the before and after of the entire little house remodel! It took me about fifteen days in total to get this place up to snuff and around $3,000 to complete it. I had a serious plan and took a few hits when that plan collided with reality – I also tried a new product (styrofoam ceiling tiles!) for the ceiling in the main room and in the bathroom. I also purchased the most expensive plywood I have ever purchased (nearly $100 for a sheet!) that my husband helped me cut and get into place in the kitchen for the counter tops.

A veggie garden with railroad ties, some mystery seeds, new flower boxes and a new remodel project called the little house!

First a little history (feel free to skip this paragraph if you’ve been following along…): On the lot beside us this little place (all of 500 square feet) has gone through many “renovations” since my Grandpa built it over 60 years ago. It was built for my Grandpa’s dad and then it also housed my Grandma’s dad for awhile. Way back then it didn’t have running water and was as simple as you can imagine: just a 300 square foot box with a dirt floor basement beneath it. Literally decades later my dad and brother dug a septic, a well and added a bathroom, a closet and a bedroom, insulated it, sheet rocked it and gave it new siding and shingles and added a little kitchen. They also poured concrete in the basement and carpeted the floor down there to increase the living space. I remember several friends and family living here on and off over the years (including my brother when he was first married) and then my dad lived here for the last ten years after my folks’ divorced.

A remodel checklist and timeline, getting organized and getting everything before I start the work.

There is really only one thing you need to know about my dad to completely understand the state of this place: He doesn’t care what anything looks like, he doesn’t like paying bills, cleaning is not his strong suit and the man apparently believes that Everything can be fixed with spray foam. EVERY. THING. Hence: eight inches of foam board glued to the walls, windows bulging with 6-8 inches of spray foam around them and the entire house is still covered in cat hair from a cat that’s been gone for many years. Let’s take a trip down memory lane to what this place looked like before I tackled it.

After two weeks and $3,000 the little house remodel is finally complete! Come see the before and afters pics and how we did it fully diy!After two weeks and $3,000 the little house remodel is finally complete! Come see the before and afters pics and how we did it fully diy!

My main goal was so simple: Bring back in the light of day! Seriously, two windows were totally covered up with foam board! I only realized one of them even existed when I walked outside the house to get the plan on paper. I had no intention for this little home to be “feminine” or “girly” at all. (The Universe knows that I’m not much of a girly girl…) But to me it actually turned out quite lady-like in its own way. Everything is so light and airy now, the house feels twice as big as it did. They always say that it is amazing what paint can do and this little place is definitely testament to that. Between primer and a couple different shades of paint all in there were over twelve gallons put on this little house in different applications.

After two weeks and $3,000 the little house remodel is finally complete! Come see the before and afters pics and how we did it fully diy!After two weeks and $3,000 the little house remodel is finally complete! Come see the before and afters pics and how we did it fully diy!

The walls also received over 60 pounds of sheetrock mud. (Yup it was like working in a tropical jungle for a couple of days while all that moisture dried.) I used a technique with the mud that I’m calling my “pallet knife” application, it turns out looking like stone, or concrete… or something. Well it is definitely different and certainly won’t be everyone’s style but with how those poor walls were DESTROYED by glue and foam I decided this technique was our best chance to save them in the least amount of time as possible. It is two heavy coats of mud with NO sanding, just smoothing as I go. I’ve done this before and, actually, I wish I had just done this in my house too. It only took me about eight hours to do the whole house and then I was ready for primer and paint.

I laid down linoleum floor tiles in the bath, hallway, bedroom and bedroom closet over the concrete slab. Check them out here on Amazon. Linoleum stick down tile is actually not my favorite thing to work with however the price is so incredibly good on them that there didn’t seem to be a better alternative and, quite frankly, I think they really turned out nice!

After two weeks and $3,000 the little house remodel is finally complete! Come see the before and afters pics and how we did it fully diy!After two weeks and $3,000 the little house remodel is finally complete! Come see the before and afters pics and how we did it fully diy!After two weeks and $3,000 the little house remodel is finally complete! Come see the before and afters pics and how we did it fully diy!

We chose a light gray paint for everything and a darker gray of the same shade for the floor. The front door got several coats of gloss royal blue Rustoleum on the outside and white gloss Rustoleum on the inside. (I also went ahead and painted the ugly vent pipe coming up from the basement and the bathroom door in gloss white too.)

I love how the floors turned out in this little house! Those are 60 year old tongue and groove pine floors. Are they perfect? Heck no! I even had to patch the middle of them with some barn wood. They are incredibly my style and, after two coats of primer, three coats of paint and four coats of poly acrylic, they are also practically indestructible!

After two weeks and $3,000 the little house remodel is finally complete! Come see the before and afters pics and how we did it fully diy!After two weeks and $3,000 the little house remodel is finally complete! Come see the before and afters pics and how we did it fully diy!After two weeks and $3,000 the little house remodel is finally complete! Come see the before and afters pics and how we did it fully diy!After two weeks and $3,000 the little house remodel is finally complete! Come see the before and afters pics and how we did it fully diy!After two weeks and $3,000 the little house remodel is finally complete! Come see the before and afters pics and how we did it fully diy!After two weeks and $3,000 the little house remodel is finally complete! Come see the before and afters pics and how we did it fully diy!

The lights took us a while to find but I’m quite happy with them (though they’re not actually “white” they’re more of a gray…) They were VERY inexpensive from Amazon (check them out here) and I chose them because I wanted something to create more interesting indirect lighting. (My preference would have been to replace all of it with recessed lights but that wasn’t in our timeline OR our budget and these lights were our best solution.)

After two weeks and $3,000 the little house remodel is finally complete! Come see the before and afters pics and how we did it fully diy!After two weeks and $3,000 the little house remodel is finally complete! Come see the before and afters pics and how we did it fully diy!After two weeks and $3,000 the little house remodel is finally complete! Come see the before and afters pics and how we did it fully diy!

I built the upper kitchen cabinets out of pine and we purchased stock white Menards cabinets for all of the lowers. The cabinet doors and counter top are made of mahogany veneer plywood that my husband helped me cut and get into place. To tie it all together I added barnwood (from our barn of course) to the backsplash and behind the stove as well as little wood knobs throughout. (those knobs were only $8 for 20 of them!) Above the kitchen sink I built a utensil hanging rack and, get this, my Grandma’s fifty year old light from her kitchen that still works great!

After two weeks and $3,000 the little house remodel is finally complete! Come see the before and afters pics and how we did it fully diy!After two weeks and $3,000 the little house remodel is finally complete! Come see the before and afters pics and how we did it fully diy!

The bedroom was the room that needed the least amount of work, just taking down the foam board to unearth that window helped this room out dramatically! A new light fixture, trim, paint and new floors and this room looks 100 times better.

When it comes to the bathroom there is only one word that comes to mind: GROSS. So. Gross. It was probably the biggest aggravation in the whole remodel too. First thing we did was break the water pipes before I barely even got started and then, after I fixed the drain the first time, I realized I hadn’t put it in far enough to the left so I had to redo all of that work. Then we had to cut said drain to get the vanity installed so, after three attempts, I finally had the sink drain DONE for the last time. Breaking the water lines turned out to be a good thing because I was able to replace the whole run (from ceiling to floor) and put it INSIDE THE WALL like they’re supposed to be. The entire room was crazy wonky and there really wasn’t much I could do about it in our budget and timeline. I did install a “new” medicine cabinet (from the thrift store) that includes lights and I also happened to have one recessed light left over from our own renovation that I installed above the shower. (Really, you just can’t have too much light in my opinion…)

After two weeks and $3,000 the little house remodel is finally complete! Come see the before and afters pics and how we did it fully diy!

Whoever put the plumbing in (I.E. that horribly placed bathroom sink drain) clearly never thought there would need to be a door on the bathroom. There was just nothing I could do about the door hitting the drain so it will never open all of the way because the only alternative was to either cut the door or jackhammer out the slab to move the drain two inches. (The “hall” was just too small to have the door swing OUT into it so flipping the door around wasn’t an option either.) It remains one of those things that will always bug me that I’m just going to call “character” for lack of anything else that I can do. I added yet more wood to the bathroom to cover up those two drain pipes by building a “shelf” that we figure we’ll put a waste basket on top of at some point… or something. To add insult to injury this bathroom is actually really quite big, if they had moved the drain to under the window it would have easily accommodated a double vanity! Now it is simply the perfect example of how you can take a decent sized space and make it incredibly inefficient and impractical.

After two weeks and $3,000 the little house remodel is finally complete! Come see the before and afters pics and how we did it fully diy!

From there I spent nearly a whole day getting all of the water lines (that were run outside the walls along the ceiling) covered with trim/a soffit. I also built a door (out of 2x4s and leftover beadboard) and put it on the “water closet” to finally hide the water heater. Of course whoever put all of it in didn’t account for the size of the pressure tank so I had to build a removable “shelf” to cover that ugliness up too. I thought I was finally in the clear until we installed the toilet and turned the valve on and (of course) it leaked. Arghhhhghgh. So then I replaced that valve too… On top of all of that the walls were this weird shiny bathroom plywood that was very thin and I honestly just said “f*ck it” and gave them the same sheet rock mud treatment I did on all of the sheet rock. Rather weird but it has totally grown on me. Again, we’re calling it “character” 🙂

After two weeks and $3,000 the little house remodel is finally complete! Come see the before and afters pics and how we did it fully diy!

I had given myself ten full days to get this house done or, at least, that was the amount I took off from my day job to get MOST of it done. After those ten days it was a waiting game for the lower kitchen cabinets and bathroom vanity. I would guess it was probably another total five days all together after that as there were a few afternoons I took to putter around, touch up etc. Not to mention time spent tinkering here and there on the weekends too.

After two weeks and $3,000 the little house remodel is finally complete! Come see the before and afters pics and how we did it fully diy!

The trim was the job I underestimated the most: both in material and time. I felt like I was trimming this little house out FOREVER and I had to make a call twice for yet MORE 1x4s. It was crazy but not surprising, I did the same thing getting our own home trimmed out. It was a really great moment when I was able to take my miter saw home for good and get it out of there and, yes, I danced after finally putting up that last piece of trim!

After two weeks and $3,000 the little house remodel is finally complete! Come see the before and afters pics and how we did it fully diy!

If anyone had told me just how much time I was going to spend on this little house caulking I simply would not have believed it. I caulked the ceiling tiles up, I caulked around the shower (and in a ton of places in the bathroom) I fixed all of the windows with even more caulk, I added caulk to help stick down some of the linoleum floor tiles and after nearly thirty tubes of caulk you would think I would be good at it by now. I’m not. Caulking is NOT something I am good at.

After two weeks and $3,000 the little house remodel is finally complete! Come see the before and afters pics and how we did it fully diy!

As I mentioned before this little house feels feminine to me now, maybe its because I (a lady) did the majority of the work and a lady (my mom) hired me to do it. But I think its more then that, I think it was unconscious actually – this place was SUCH a bachelor pad for SOOOOO long and it just screamed brown and dark when we first walked in it: Seriously, it had a duck wallpaper border! I don’t think we meant to go in the exact opposite direction but that is definitely where we went.

After two weeks and $3,000 the little house remodel is finally complete! Come see the before and afters pics and how we did it fully diy!

I am very happy with it 🙂 It feels (and smells!) so clean and nice now, it also feels so much bigger it is almost hard to believe! And, of course, my favorite thing is that it is still the little house, we didn’t cover the 60 year old wood floors because they weren’t “perfect” instead we let them shine. And that’s true of a lot of things here. This old place was built by my grandpa and I was able to bring in my grandma’s old kitchen light and a whole bunch of wood from his old barn, anything less and it just wouldn’t have been right.

After two weeks and $3,000 the little house remodel is finally complete! Come see the before and afters pics and how we did it fully diy!After two weeks and $3,000 the little house remodel is finally complete! Come see the before and afters pics and how we did it fully diy!

Comments

  1. Jenny Young
    June 5, 2017 at 1:37 pm

    Such an amazing transformation! What a gift to your mom too, to know that her daughter did this for her.

    I wondered if you could fit a pocket door in the bathroom rather than one that swings open? We have one to our mud/laundry room & I love it. Mine is inside the wall but maybe you have space to add one that works like a barn door? Just a thought.

    Reply
    • Tarahlynn
      June 5, 2017 at 2:21 pm

      Jenny, thank you so much! We definitely talked about a pocket door! The only place we could put it though was where the electrical was for the bathroom light switch and I fear we’d be opening a can of worms lol

      Reply
    • Sandra
      July 16, 2017 at 4:29 pm

      What about a bi-fold door?

      Reply
      • Tarahlynn
        July 17, 2017 at 2:19 pm

        Hey Sandra, I think that might be the ticket! We’ll see how it goes and if we can’t stand it anymore lol then we’ll look into bifolds!

        Reply
    • Gloria St. Pierre
      August 27, 2017 at 12:41 pm

      I love it. I watch the Tiny House Show all the time, they have fantastic ideas. When you get it furnished can we please see a picture. Keep up the good work, it became a treasure.

      Reply
      • Tarahlynn
        August 28, 2017 at 3:11 pm

        Gloria, I’ll definitely be posting more about the little house, we have it all furnished now with thrift store finds but many of them need some work so that’s going to be my winter projects!

        Reply
  2. Karen Del Tatto
    June 5, 2017 at 4:34 pm

    Quite the journey.

    Thanks for taking us along. 🙂

    Reply
  3. Leanna
    June 5, 2017 at 9:47 pm

    So much work, how did you know where to start? I have been reading along as you tore it apart, did the ceiling tiles. You basically redid everything except the outdoor siding. Obviously its night a day different and you can be really proud of your job. Congratulations.

    Reply
    • Tarahlynn
      June 6, 2017 at 3:31 pm

      Thank you so much Leanna, it really turned out pretty well I think considering where it came from! It was time consuming but I’m so happy to be done!

      Reply
  4. Gentle Joy Homemaker
    June 6, 2017 at 1:45 am

    What a big difference! Big project… it must be a relief to be done. 🙂

    Reply
    • Tarahlynn
      June 6, 2017 at 3:31 pm

      Thank you so much and YES I am very relieved to have it done!

      Reply
  5. Joy@aVintageGreen
    June 6, 2017 at 2:43 am

    Hi Tarahlynn

    Glad to read your post wrapping up the incredible job you did making this into a livable home again. (yes thank you to your helpers too, they sure helped keeping the job in the timeline you were working with).
    Joy

    Reply
  6. Mary
    June 6, 2017 at 7:52 am

    Wow huge transformation Tarah!! Respect to you for sticking it out! Your dad sounds so funny. I too have seen plenty examples of foam gone wild in my house… ouch!

    Reply
    • Tarahlynn
      June 6, 2017 at 3:39 pm

      Thanks Mary! Yeah its easy to get carried away with spray foam I guess lol!

      Reply
  7. kristin mccarthy
    June 6, 2017 at 1:25 pm

    Wow! Talk about a top to bottom inside out project! Great job!
    #jenerallyinformed

    Reply
  8. Ashley Sunshine
    June 6, 2017 at 1:34 pm

    I love this! What a transformation, I feel like it actually even looks bigger with the great neutral clean color scheme you have going on. Love it!

    Reply
  9. Jess
    June 6, 2017 at 3:00 pm

    Oh gosh…this looks so great!!

    I would love for you to share this with my Facebook Group for recipes, crafts, tips, and tricks:

    Thanks for joining the 100th Cooking and Crafting with J & J!

    Reply
  10. Julie- Logger's Wife
    June 6, 2017 at 4:57 pm

    That is such a different looking place now! Good job. All that foam. Oh my! lol #HappyNow

    Reply
  11. Nellie
    June 6, 2017 at 7:10 pm

    Wow…….you should be very proud of yourself, what a big job and what a transformtion but what a great thing to do.
    Love the ceiling tiles, so pretty! How neat that you have your Grandmothers house and furniture.
    Blessings to you, hope you have much joy and delight in living there.
    Nellie

    Reply
    • Tarahlynn
      June 6, 2017 at 7:59 pm

      Thank you so much Nellie – I can’t wait to go thrifting to furnish it!

      Reply
  12. Julie@CutOffintheKeweenaw
    June 7, 2017 at 12:11 am

    You did a great job with a lot of sweat and a tiny budget! Congratulation! I really want to see an outside shot with the new door color, too!

    Reply
    • Tarahlynn
      June 7, 2017 at 3:09 pm

      Thanks Julie! Yup as soon as we get the outside cleaned up a bit I’ll add that before and after of the door too!

      Reply
  13. Tania
    June 7, 2017 at 1:58 am

    Wow! That looks amazing! You did such a great job.

    Tania

    Reply
  14. Kate Hollingsworth
    June 7, 2017 at 10:42 pm

    Amazing transformation Tarah! I’m in awe of people who can renovate on a tight timeframe – I’m so amazed by you. Plus it’s great to know there’s a guest house available if I ever visit – it would totally fit a family of 5 right?? ? xx

    Reply
    • Tarahlynn
      June 8, 2017 at 3:06 pm

      Lol well I’m sure you guys would fit though I don’t know how comfortable you would be! 😉 But you would be totally welcome for a visit, thanks Kate!

      Reply
  15. Leslie
    June 8, 2017 at 3:20 am

    What a transformation! The house looks infinitely better, and I can’t believe all that work was done in roughly two weeks’ time. Thanks so much for sharing at the #happynowlinkup!

    Reply
  16. JoAnne
    June 8, 2017 at 1:39 pm

    Wow – it looks really fantastic. Your Dad sounds a lot like mine. He has no interest in what his home looks like or even if it’s clean. Your hard work has really paid off!

    Reply
    • Tarahlynn
      June 8, 2017 at 3:08 pm

      Thanks JoAnne, yeah a part of me totally understands my dad but that house ended up so gross and bad lol every night I went home and I cleaned something!

      Reply
  17. Carol ("Mimi")
    June 8, 2017 at 5:18 pm

    This Is an incredible renovation, especially considering you completed it in just 15 days. Congratulations!!

    Reply
  18. Sandra L Garth
    June 8, 2017 at 6:21 pm

    You breathed new life and love into this house. Congrats on a beautiful renovation!

    Reply
  19. Cherryl
    June 8, 2017 at 9:11 pm

    Such an improvement! It looks so much brighter and fresher!

    Reply
  20. Cathy S.
    June 9, 2017 at 1:48 am

    I can’t believe you did all that in just 15 days! It turned out really well.

    Reply
  21. Sonya Choate
    June 9, 2017 at 1:21 pm

    I have been thinking about buying an unfinished cabin to put at the family place in West Texas. Your post let’s me know​it is doable, yet daunting. I want to insulate well and know that the electric and plumbing need to go through before insulation. Sheetrock is not my friend, as caulk is not yours. Lol. Can you give me any ideas as to what to put up for walls other than sheetrock? And as far as the ceiling I love the idea of the styrofoam but I’m not sure what to put up over the insulation, any ideas would be greatly appreciated.
    Thanks, Sonya C.

    Reply
    • Tarahlynn
      June 9, 2017 at 2:32 pm

      Hey Sonya, we decided to use spray foam insulation in our home because it was only 2×4 walls and 100 years old, it was VERY expensive but it has definitely paid for itself many times over! Other then spray foam though it is not as mandatory to get all the electrical and plumbing done before you insulate, especially if you’re doing it yourself. I actually found if your using fiberglass batting its easier to get all the batting in first and then run your electric and plumbing through/around it. As far as sheet rock alternatives unfortunately there are not many and they are a LOT more expensive then sheet rock. But if its a small place it might really be worth it for you! There’s the old school look of wood paneling, you can flip it over though and use the smooth back side of it and paint it, I find it really can look pretty darned good if you do that. Or even if you use the side with the grooves in it and paint it, it really isn’t as bad as everyone makes out. Beadboard is an option, I used that on all of our ceilings, it is expensive at around $20 for a 4×8 sheet. Tongue and groove (or any kind of wood board or board and batten) is an option too and that would require less labor. Hope that helps! Good luck!

      Reply
    • Cynthia
      August 28, 2017 at 2:01 am

      Sonya, car siding might be an option. It gives the look of barn siding and can be painted any color you like. Sometimes Menard’s will have it at a pretty good discount or you can get it on one of the 11% discount weeks and use the savings rebate for something else. It’s tongue and groove so will slide together and will give a rustic look if that’s what you like. We have a new 16 x 24 shed that we’re working on and we’re doing the floor with what is basically the same thing except it is salvage from the roof of an old, old garage we tore down. Ran it through the planer to smooth it all out and make it the same thickness. My husband has wired the whole building up for lights and outlets even though we don’t have electricity out there yet. I haven’t decided what the walls will be yet as it will be a multi-use building for garden tools, potting, and who knows what else.

      Reply
  22. Jen
    June 10, 2017 at 5:39 pm

    Way to go! This looks amazing! Thanks for sharing the pictures and all of your tips with us at the #happynowlinkup

    Reply
  23. Rosie
    June 11, 2017 at 3:45 pm

    I am so impressed…. great job!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    I cant wait to see it decorated.
    Be VERY PROUD of yourself.
    Again, I am so impressed

    Reply
  24. Marlene Stephenson
    June 11, 2017 at 8:12 pm

    It is a great little house, you did a wonderful job. Looks so different and bright.

    Reply
  25. nancy
    June 12, 2017 at 3:44 am

    Great job!!! Is this going to be a rental or?

    Reply
    • Tarahlynn
      June 12, 2017 at 3:19 pm

      Thank you Nancy! For now it will be our little guest house but my mom ahs plans on selling her place and while she’s building her dream home, this will be where she lives!

      Reply
  26. Jean | DelightfulRepast.com
    June 12, 2017 at 4:46 pm

    Tarahlynn, I’m sure my husband wishes I had your power tool skills! What a transformation — your mother must be so proud of you!

    Reply
    • Tarahlynn
      June 12, 2017 at 5:08 pm

      Thank you so much Jean! I am VERY relieved to have it done finally! 🙂

      Reply
  27. Toni
    June 13, 2017 at 8:56 pm

    Taralynn, you are my HERO!

    Reply
  28. Marci @ Stone Cottage Adventures
    June 14, 2017 at 9:18 pm

    Oh, wow! What a transformation! I love the gray and white mixed with barn wood! I think my favorite touch, though is the tile you chose for the ceiling. It’s so pretty! -Marci @ Stone Cottage Adventures

    Reply
  29. Diana
    June 15, 2017 at 3:38 am

    What a process, Tarah! You worked your butt off and the results are amazing! Thanks for sharing your project with us at Vintage Charm 🙂

    Reply
  30. Christina Makri
    June 15, 2017 at 6:33 am

    It is a whole different place. You made excellent job!

    Reply
  31. Michelle Leslie
    June 15, 2017 at 10:33 am

    You did such an amazing job, wow. I am so incredibly proud to be a woman right now Tarah. You rock on so many different levels. Well done. I’m sure a long line of past generations of strong, determined woman in your family are cheering and smiling from ear to ear seeing what you did here.

    Reply
    • Tarahlynn
      June 15, 2017 at 3:01 pm

      Michelle, thank you so much! I also come from a line of many strong and ubber stubborn ladies! I learned from them that the only thing us ladies can’t do is what we’re not willing to do 🙂 After that its just about determination!

      Reply
  32. Danielle
    June 15, 2017 at 2:11 pm

    It looks much cleaner! I like what you did with the stove and the island. It gives the room more of an actual kitchen. I’d like to see what it looks like filled up with stuff! Would a

    Reply
    • Tarahlynn
      June 15, 2017 at 3:03 pm

      Thank you so much Danielle! We’re pretty darned excited to start thrifting and filling the whole place up with furniture, we already hit one estate sale and found the CUTEST old chair and an old table and I plan on building a custom bed for the bedroom with storage underneath 🙂

      Reply
  33. Elaine
    June 15, 2017 at 3:26 pm

    WOW! You did an amazing job! It’s a cute, clean and very nice space now. Congrats!!

    Reply
  34. Gale
    June 15, 2017 at 6:28 pm

    Great job! Lots of love, sweat and tears and decisions are obviously in your grandmother’s old home. Congrats!

    Question: Why did you patch floor in opposite direction of floor?
    Suggestion: Why not run a floor to ceiling shower curtain?

    Reply
    • Tarahlynn
      June 15, 2017 at 8:13 pm

      Hi Gale! Thanks so much! Because of the way the joists ran it was a much easier endeavor to patch the floor in the opposite way and, I figured, it would look like a patch regardless of the direction it ran so I opted for the easier solution! And I’m on the lookout for a tall enough shower curtain, for now this was the best that walmart offered lol!

      Reply
  35. Chrstine
    June 16, 2017 at 12:12 pm

    That looks great, loved seeing ll the befores and aftes. Thanks for sharing at the Dishing It & Digging It Link Party. We loved reading it.

    Reply
  36. Theresa
    June 20, 2017 at 12:31 am

    Such a transformation. Thanks for sharing at the #InspirationSpotlight party @DearCreatives

    Reply
  37. Susan @ Culinary Envy
    July 12, 2017 at 1:41 pm

    You should have your own show! That is absolutely incredible. I’m ready to move in!

    Reply
    • Tarahlynn
      July 12, 2017 at 2:59 pm

      Thank you so much Susan, have a great weekend!

      Reply
  38. Amrita Basu (Misra)
    July 21, 2017 at 6:05 am

    I loved the renovation. You are a wonderwoman to have done this in roughly 21 days. It’s inspiring. I love how light airy and free this small space looks.I love the floor !It’s giving the house loads of character .#Bloggers Pit stop

    Reply
    • Tarahlynn
      July 21, 2017 at 2:41 pm

      Thank you so much Amrita! The floor is my favorite too!!

      Reply
  39. Lisa
    July 21, 2017 at 9:35 pm

    You did an incredible job making your little house livable. It’s so great that you were able to preserve the original floors that your grandfather put it. I love the ceiling tiles. They are pretty and they cover up a multitude of sins.

    Reply
  40. Sheena
    July 23, 2017 at 11:28 pm

    The transformation is amazing!!! You did a great job!!

    Reply
  41. Carol ("Mimi")
    July 24, 2017 at 8:12 pm

    You did an incredible amount of work, here, and the results are fantastic! I commented a few weeks ago when I first saw this post. Thank you for linking up at The Blogger’s Pit Stop. I’m sharing your link on social media.
    Carol (“Mimi”) from Home with Mimi

    Reply
  42. Kathleen - Bloggers Lifestyle
    July 25, 2017 at 9:21 am

    Let’s give this wonderful transformation a feature on the Blogger’s Pit Stop.

    Kathleen
    Blogger’s Pit Stop

    Reply
  43. Richella Parham
    July 27, 2017 at 1:20 pm

    I’ve always known you had some serious DIY skills, but you outdid yourself on this project! My goodness, girl, is there anything you can’t do?? Congratulations on transforming this sad space into a lovely little house!

    Thanks for joining the Grace at Home party at Imparting Grace. I’m featuring you this week!

    Reply
    • Tarahlynn
      July 27, 2017 at 2:14 pm

      Oh thank you so much Richella! I am a firm believer that with total stubbornness we can accomplish almost anything lol!

      Reply
  44. Michele
    July 28, 2017 at 1:31 am

    Wow! Kudos to you. This is an amazing transformation. I would love to see it all done up with furniture and artwork etc. I love the countertops in the kitchen!

    Reply
    • Tarahlynn
      July 28, 2017 at 3:17 pm

      Thanks so much Michele! We’re working on furnishing it right now, can’t wait to show it to everybody!

      Reply
  45. Karen
    August 27, 2017 at 1:43 pm

    What a wonderful transformation, and I love that you saved a piece of of your family’s history. It’s clean, bright, adorable, and will definitely make a cozy little home for the person lucky enough to live in your labor of love.

    Reply
  46. paulette
    August 27, 2017 at 3:30 pm

    I guess I am a bit confused??(not unusual…lol) but are you going to paint all the trim you put up? For me…it would make the space look even larger?? Or maybe I missed something?? You did a GREAT job!!! I think a barn door for the bathroom would give it lots of character!! If not inside bathroom, sliding across hall would look pretty good!! Fabulous job!!! Cant wait to see it decorated!!!!

    Reply
    • Tarahlynn
      August 28, 2017 at 3:13 pm

      Hi Paulette, we ended up deciding not to paint the trim mostly due to time restraints! Maybe someday I’ll paint it all white because you are SO right, it would brighten up that place even more! Thanks for coming by and reading!

      Reply
  47. Corinne
    August 28, 2017 at 10:35 pm

    Hey Tarahlynn, love the little house makeover. Can’t wait to see it all decorated!

    Reply
  48. Ron Pickle
    September 19, 2017 at 9:42 am

    Its hard to find a small house with such a long history in a family, so many generations lived there and made it their own. But you seem to be the only one who is sincere about making it a better place and your did a brilliant job, it looks much better and a livable place.

    Reply
    • Tarahlynn
      September 19, 2017 at 2:43 pm

      Thank you so much Ron, it definitely means something to me and my family to hold on to our history!

      Reply
  49. Violet
    November 2, 2017 at 12:48 pm

    Great job, just wondering why you didn’t paint the upper cabinets white to match the others? It looks a bit unfinished to me. Not trying to insult you, just curious! BTW, I love your blog but geez, where does all that energy come from???? You’re amazing!

    Reply
    • Tarahlynn
      November 2, 2017 at 2:02 pm

      Hi Violet, oh my goodness we talked and talked about painting those white! The upper cabinets I built from scratch, the lowers we purchased as is but we decided to leave the uppers because the upper doors I made out of the same wood that I used for the counter tops, thought keeping that tie together helped bring everything together a bit more. I still wonder if we should have painted them though lol. Thanks so much coming by!

      Reply
  50. Deborah W.
    November 5, 2017 at 11:16 pm

    I think you did such an awesome job. Love the wood backspash! Did you varnish or use another sealant? I love all the touches! I admire your tenacity.

    Reply
    • Tarahlynn
      November 6, 2017 at 3:27 pm

      Deborah I used MANY coats of poly acrylic! 🙂 Thanks for coming by!

      Reply
  51. Cindy Magee
    November 16, 2017 at 5:52 am

    WOWOWOW! LOVE the transformation! I found your blog through the #WonderfulWednesday blog hop. 🙂 Thanks for stopping by!

    Reply
  52. gregg
    April 2, 2018 at 10:08 pm

    You need to do a teardrop camper next 🙂 Really is amazing work!

    Reply
  53. dawn hollands
    July 30, 2019 at 5:41 am

    You are one very clever lady! I take my hat off to you! Congratulations!

    Reply
  54. Carol
    July 6, 2020 at 8:05 am

    Wow what a cute little house. You did a wonderful job.
    When can I move in.

    Reply

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