Before and After {a.k.a. make-over!!!!}

QUITE some time ago, I started the process of re-thinking the form and function of our living room and dining room. As you may or may not know, we purchased and moved into our house on something of a whim. We also {embarrassingly, and much like MANY other people at the time} purchased the house with the intention of living there temporarily, fixing it up, and selling it at a profit. Yeah, we thought we were sooooo "Flipping Out."

Well, we moved in, got to work, and really just designed the house based on what was popular, neutral, and safe so that it would be appealing to future buyers. And wouldn't you know it, by the time the house was half way remodeled, we had fallen head over heels in love with the neighborhood. We loved the school, the neighbors, the huge yard, the neighbors, the quiet and safe street, and did I mention how much we loved the neighbors?

We also learned {mi-i-i-ighty quick} that having doting grandparents one street over was WORTH OUR HOUSE'S WEIGHT IN GOLD.

{Why hello there
"rebirth of a regular date night
with FREE babysitting,"
where have you been all our lives?!}

We soon realized that our
terribly grand
{not to mention OH so original}
"flipping" plans were over.

We had officially burned out on the "do it yourself" renovations once we got the top level semi-finished, so our basement remained an utter mess until last month. We FINALLY got that finished {woo-hoo!} so now we just have to completely redo the top level again and design it for OURSELVES rather than imaginary potential buyers and ...oi.

So, after much waiting, and even more work, I have finally completed a few re-do projects that are finished enough to be worth sharing.

So, I give to you...
My dining room and living room before and after.


{Pictured above.} See the cluttered baker's rack? Yeah, it has plagued my existence for the last five years. Talk about a broken window! Actually, that sucker was worse than a broken window. It was a black hole. Nothing could resist it's gravitational pull. I would spend 2 full hours tackling it's ginormous piles of clutter, then spend 5 minutes neurotically threatening the very lives of my husband and children if they set so much as a paper clip on it's pristine surface, only to have it look just as awful if not MORE SO two days later. Well guess what? It's gone. It can't accumulate clutter if it isn't there, and honestly, I am kicking myself for not giving it the boot earlier.

Moral of the story?
If you have a broken window that won't stay fixed,
SHATTER IT, and move on :)

Now, I know this looks just AWFUL, but in my defense, we were in the throes of finishing the basement and every room in our poor lil' home was feeling the effects at this point. You can kinda see our living room too - big, heavy leather sectional, huge red armchair, huge ottoman... not loving it.

So I  got all sorts of gangsta {yes, once again.}did a little bit of this:



I especially love the shot below because it includes the hubs' "Valentimes Truck" {see #21 on that thar post}
Isn't she a beaut?



And this is the final result!
I love it.
I know I'm weird for loving a collage of empty frames,
but I just do.
I love them.

And please note the beautious new {to me} table.
{Thanks Kristen!}
And the newly sprayed chairs.
{Thanks Krylon "Castle Rock" cans of spray paint!}

And here's a lil' sneak peak of what's going on in the living room:


I love spending time in this room already.
It isn't finished yet, the hubs and I are scouring craigslist and KSL DAILY in search of the perfect couch, but I am sure tickled with the pristine leather chairs that we scored for $75 a piece! Woot woot!

We still have a ton to do, but wow it is fun to finally see some of the pieces coming together! So that's what I've been up to, but the girls at communal global want to know what YOU are up to today.
Link up and share!