the space between

upcycle, repurpose and reinvent your space

house tour video {before}

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Happy, happy Friday!!

We have made some serious progress on the living and dining room this week. Raise your hand if you love a little demolition. Yeah, me too!!

Remember the wall o’ mirrors??
wall of mirrorsWell, behind that was the omnipresent paneling, and then drywall and then what we’ve found under it all … painted Dade County Pine.
dade county pine wall paintedAnd then we did this …
dade county pine wall stripped

Lucky for me, and maybe you (you’ll have to decide on that), I took a little walk through of the house before we really got started. (I guess the part where I trip over the molding I had already taken down proves it wasn’t actually before I got started, but it was still day one.)  🙂

It was actually one of my friends, Emily, who suggested a little before walk through and I’m so glad she did. It will be really fun to look back on one day and ‘remember when’. Even only after one week of demo we can already tell that this little house is going to look so much different when we’re done with it. It will be so rewarding, and pretty humorous to have video evidence of where we started.

Our plan before moving in was pretty simple. Settle in to the master bedroom, kitchen and guest bathroom for living. Keep the living room and dining room empty for renovation and use the guest room for storage of things we’re not using. The plan has served us pretty well, in spite of my little slip up here.

And you’ll see in the video, our idea of ‘settling in’ is pretty primitive right now. But we’re so focused on the rooms we’re working on, we really just need the other rooms to function as a place to eat, a place to sleep and place to relax (luckily we have the backyard for that) … so well put in our little Facebook discussion about where to begin.

So, grab a beverage of choice and take a look at the house tour video {the before edition} of our little Key West conch house that we’re just getting started on making our very own little space in paradise.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMwtqKOkCbo]

And for those who don’t do videos and just want some cliff notes, here you go …

0:24 – The post I’m referring to is here, and you may notice we’ve already changed out the light fixture, but that’s not to say the new light has any bulbs yet. #onestepatatime
2:48 – By ‘little’ I totally meant ‘ginormous’, and we’re already brainstorming ideas for covering it up, in addition to painting the cover the same color that we end up painting the wall
3:13 – Who has yard sale tips for us? We can’t seem to make up our minds on this one. Joel wants to just donate everything, but then when I look at all of the furniture items I didn’t even get to show you outside it seems like a lot. Maybe craigslist the bigger items and donate the small stuff?
3:48 – Obviously the ceiling line would depend on what’s behind the drop ceiling and not the paneling. I am smarter than I sound, really. 😉
3:59 – I have not idea why I said “mice be a niece idea” instead of “might be a neat idea”
5:21 – Don’t let the water stains scare you – new windows are on the to do list
7:42 – I have no idea how I managed to fail to mention the tulip window treatment in the kitchen … trust me, it sounds much prettier than it is in real life
7:59 – On the fridge is a vintage tin foil/wax paper holder/cutter that was left in the house. I might make it into a planter. 🙂
8:24 – Clearly I have no idea how high the ceilings are, not sure why I just kept guessing

And I’m not exactly sure how many times I said we’re “not exactly sure” about our plans for a specific space. That should help you understand that we’re definitely in the realm of ‘take it as it comes’ DIY. With these old houses we’ve learned to not get our hearts set on any one plan because you really never know what you’re going to find when you start tearing down layers.

Because of it’s location in the room we had thought this would be a cool wall to strip down the Dade County Pine and create a cool accent wall … until we discovered part of it actually used to be a doorway and it wasn’t all Dade County Pine. Whomp whomp.
wall behind sofa during

Oh well, a different kind of accent wall it will be.

Update:  We have started the whole house renovation, check out these posts for more.

How about you? Do you make detailed mood boards before you delve into a room upgrade? Do you have a video of what your house looked like before you put your own touches on it? Do you wish you did?

Comments

  2. Best idea ever! After 22 yrs in my little cape, I love looking back at all the changes. I encourage every new homeowner to do photos at the very least–of where you began. Only wish the basement and upstairs were as empty now as then; 22 yrs of stuff is weighing me down. Guess I’d better get to it!

    • LOL about the 22 years of stuff. I always tell people the moving every few years prevents me from becoming a pack rat, moving just inspired purging when you’re too tired to unpack one. more. box. LOL

    • Thank you so much Zoe!! We could really use an artist around here for some fun ideas!! 🙂

      • Do you have any ideas for me? I just purchased a home and don’t like the wood paneling. I would like to remove because my living room is small as it is and it looks very dark and small with wood. I would like to add pictures, but I don’t know how to add pictures to this comment.

        • Hi Vicky! There are so many things you can do with the paneling, even painting it white or a light color will instantly brighten a room on a little budget. We opted to remove all of the paneling and it is really easy to remove with a pry bar and hammer, just start with all of the trim pieces and then pull up the paneling. Here is a post that has a short video at the end of it showing how to remove the paneling, https://thespacebetweenblog.net/2013/07/10/multiple-uses-for-a-pry-bar/. And feel free to email me pictures or upload them on my Facebook page, I’d love to see them and help where I can.

  5. WOW Karah … you’ll have taken on a big project. I have been there, done that and it was really a lot of work, but very rewarding. Fun to discover what is under paneling or carpet. We found pecan hardwood floors under the dirty carpet.
    Good luck with you plans … I know you will make it lovely.
    Blessings,
    Audrey Z. @ Timeless Treasures

    • Wow, pecan hardwood floors sound like a dream find!! We are excited to make this little place our own!

  6. Loved the tour Karah….and I am sure that you will be turning that great Key West home into a magnificent home for yourselves…I gasped when I read about the Dade County Pine…I guess you know how valuable that wood is!….I am so glad that you are restoring it…I look forward to your progress…and I am also so envious of that gorgeous Florida breeze…loved seeing the gals chillin’…Have a wonderful weekend!!

    • We have loved uncovering the Dade County Pine, so excited to have a few accent walls of it where we can. And we’ve grown to love the look of painted wood slat walls, too. Such a fun journey for us here in your town. 🙂

  7. Oh my God until this past August I lived in Tampa for 15 yrs. The tour of your kitchen made me smell Fl The heat, humidity, the ocean. Wow thanks for the tour and the memories. Miss the ocean! Phoenix doesn’t have a dog beach either. ;(
    looking forward to all the changes you have planned

    • That is such a great comment, Beth!! So glad I could bring you home for just a few minutes!!

    • Thank you so much for visiting, Brittany! I’m so happy we documented the before, we’re hoping it’s not even recognizable in the end. 🙂

  9. Love the video! I can’t wait to follow along on the journey! I know it is going to be AMAZING!!!!

    Have an awesome day!
    kariann

  10. I’m horrible about making before pics. I never use a mood board. Just my imagination. I might be more disciplined if I used a mood board. I never get my mind set on one thing just an overall feeling and then come across things that “will do” and a few things that I LOVE. That way I don’t feel bad if I keep changing things later. I like this for a lifestyle. However if I ever do my kitchen I will make it my goal to LOVE everything. I’ve lived with kitchens that “will do” for too long. Can’t wait to see what you guys come up with. It all sounds pretty exciting to me. I love the hard work phase.

    • We are exactly the same in our approach, Karen!!! I consider it to be ever evolving so I’m happy to use things we have around that ‘will do’, until I find just that thing I love (at the right price of course!). I am probably most excited about the kitchen upgrade, and the most anxious about it. I’ve compiled the most ideas for that room and go back and forth on exactly how to implement them. I figure, until I get a layout that feels just right we won’t even tackle that room yet … not that we’ll have any lack of things to do until that room comes together in my mind. LOL

  11. Loved the video tour, it gave me an idea of how all your rooms are connected and the flow of the house. Boy do you guys have your work cut out for you, but I am looking forward to following all the progress.

  12. What a great idea your friend had! I know we won’t even be able to recognize the place when you are done! Can’t wait to watch it transform =) My favorite part was your doggie following you around!

    • Hahaha, she sure is a cutie! The lead paint mask had her freaked out last week, she would wag her tail every time took it off. Gotta love puppy love!

  13. Karah, thanks for the tour. Love Key West! So glad you were able to land the house. I am excited to see what you do. With admiration, Susan

    • Thank you so much, Susan. We are so excited to have our own little slice of paradise in Key West, we feel so fortunate!!

  14. that was fun!!! i actually really like that light in the guest bath, too! such great bones ad can’t wait to watch progress.

    • thanks for checking it out! Joel would freak out if he heard everyone saying they like the light. I need to create a plan to warm him up to it … very, very slowly. 😉

  15. Aren’t they, my heart melts when I see them just chilling out there everyday. Fun to give them a little space they can watch the world go by. And HAHAHAHA, about being natural and at ease … one can try, right?!?! But the easy-breezy way of pointing out the projects … for some reason we are not overwhelmed by the work (yet). I think taking the break for over 3 years and living in a rental really put us in the right spot to just be ready to tackle this, and it’s a small house so every little project seems manageable … now, check back in 6 months and we’ll see. 😉 And we are definitely going to have to some exposed wood … we had thought about vaulting the ceiling in the living room, but we found something else fun up there instead!!

  19. How cute are you?! I loved this… I’m so far behind in my blog reading, but HAD to watch/read this one… you’ve got some fun ahead of you, Karah! Endless possibilities… :-). Happy Friday!
    xo Heidi

Trackbacks

  1. […] Update:  We did take the plunge and buy, but not this house, check out the house we bought here, and the full house tour video {before} here. […]

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