Say that three times fast.
We recently added new after photos taken from several different angles to our house tour page, along with some before shots you haven’t seen. Readers often ask to see the other side of our living room and den, so we waited for a sunny day and photographed those spaces from viewpoints we hadn’t shared before. Because we love a good before-and-after, we’re showing what each room looked like when we moved in alongside how they look now.
Take the living room as an example. Here’s what it looked like the night we moved in:
And here is almost the same angle now. I removed that awful divider myself while John was at work and peeled back the strange linoleum square to reveal hardwood floors underneath.
Our den was just as dramatic a transformation. During the first walk-through it was dark and dated—this photo even features our realtor in the doorway:
Now the den feels bright and open. We widened the doorway into the sunroom and into the kitchen, replaced the faux-parquet linoleum with hardwood, removed an archaic wall sconce, and added several coats of fresh paint. The result is a much lighter, more inviting space.
On the house tour page you’ll find these new photos alongside the older shots so you can compare the changes side by side. We tried to photograph each room from angles we hadn’t shared before so you can get a better sense of flow and layout, and to highlight details like the reclaimed floor, updated trim, and how natural light moves across the rooms during the day.
We also updated our room-by-room source list, so if you’re wondering where we found a particular light fixture, paint color, or piece of furniture, there’s a good chance the answer is listed there. The source list is meant to be practical and easy to use: organized by room, with short notes about finishes, paint names, and hardware choices where relevant.
Why show both before and after? For us, the point is to be honest about what a space can become. When you see the “before” photos, the raw potential is clearer—sometimes the layout is awkward, finishes are dated, or a room is just dark and lifeless. But with a few targeted changes—opening a doorway, updating flooring, removing visual clutter, changing light fixtures, and choosing a fresh paint palette—you can dramatically improve how a home functions and feels.
If you’re planning your own projects, these paired photos can be useful inspiration. They illustrate decisions we made and the sequence in which we tackled tasks: demo and structural changes first, then flooring, lighting, and finally paint and styling. That order helped us keep the process efficient and kept dust and disruption to a minimum.
Feel free to take a look at the updated and expanded house tour whenever you like. Whether you’re browsing for ideas, trying to solve a layout problem in your own home, or just curious about the transformation, we hope the photos and notes provide helpful context. Come on in and make yourself at home.