New home and family room makeover

So homeownership has been a kick in the fix-it pants in the 3 months we have lived in our new home!  We knew there would be plenty of work to be done, but little did we realize just how big or just how urgent they would be!

When we first moved into our first house in September, we were ready to tackle a few cosmetic challenges and were excited to finally be able to put our design stamp on the place we live instead of living with the choices of our landlords.  (Landlords affectionately known as: Baby Blue Franco and One-Coat Berard).  Our first fix-it project was to repair the pantry closet that for some reason had been removed and poorly replaced with a built-in.  The built-in was never completed and the pantry was just some random shelves hung on the unfinished side of the built-in.  I wish I had a picture, but will save that for when we actually rebuild the pantry. (Hopefully this winter!!) 

After being in the home for only 2 days there was a torrential downpour.  We noticed water in the basement and leaking under the patio door in the family room.  After consulting with numerous professionals we did a temporary fix for the water issue in the basement (driveway needs to be removed, lowered, and re-graded).  Needless to say, it's going to be an expensive fix that we can't afford to do at this immediate time but we plan to add a garage on in the future, so the issue will be taken care of then.  The water in the family room then took priority. 

We already had plans to remove the panelling (shed siding...*sigh*, yes, shed siding) that went around the perimeter of the room, repair the patio door, paint, and replace the carpet. It's amazing how everything happened because after Superstorm Sandy, we realized that we needed a new patio door to effectively repair the water leakage

Before with panelling, old carpet, and mantel:

 

Old patio door that leaked and corner cabinet that is now removed:

 

 

 

So we started working on the walls and found this:

 

 

If you have never seen termite damage, that's what it looks like.  Talk about taking the wind out of your sails.  Just when we thought we couldn't find anything else, we found that.  At least nothing was active and it was a relatively easy fix.  Just a bunch of drywall compound to cover and smooth it.  Only one small piece of drywall needed to be replaced from behind the original fireplace surround, but nothing unmanageable...thank goodness!!

 

So now that we had that taken care of, we could finally get to the fun part...painting!  Many of you, I'm sure, hate to paint.  But after all we had been through to get to that point, I was so happy to slather on a coat of paint!

 

And what a big change!!  We chose Martha Stewart's Sharkey Gray.  It's a nice neutral color with a hint of brown, so it really goes well with all of our current furniture and I can add any accent colors I would like!

 

 

We added a new mantel surround, a few Christmas decorations, and I couldn't be happier with the outcome!

 

 

 

What do you think?!  I can't wait to work on our next project...fixing the pantry (finally), and new flooring for the foyer and kitchen!

 

A BIG thanks to One Project Closer for their advice, encouragement, and nail gun!  The mantel surround would not have happened without you!  Love you guys!