Before & After or Come Into My Parlor....

....said the spider to the fly.

I believe that we never really have a house but that we are it's caretakers for the short time that we inhabit it. Every house has a character of its own and this old place has seen many, many inhabitants. Some that cared about her and, sadly, some that didn't. When I saw her, I knew she needed someone that cared enough to give her back her youthful beauty. After all, she was showing her age at 156 years old.

(click on any picture to enlarge)

Then....

Testing the paint color on the wall at left.

Wall of books.


What was I thinking??



Fireplace awaiting the gas insert.



Now......

Coming in the front door from the foyer

Looking to the left.


Straight ahead at the big window.


Around the corner to the right.


From the other side of the room.


Fireplace detail

Looking back at the front door. That's the foyer beyond.


Changes in this room are..... new crown molding, paint on walls, ceiling and trim, new trim around doorways, fireplace and floor, refinished floor, new bookcase, new lighting and chandelier, fireplace insert, mirror above fireplace, new carpet, old furniture and new artwork.

We did all of the work ourselves, so this room cost remarkably little to complete from Before to After.

This room was the original dining room but, since you couldn't burn the fireplace with a table sitting in front of it, we moved the dining room to the old carriage room on the other side of the kitchen. This room has had a couple of different looks since the "before" shown here. It was more of a library then. We have a computer room that has a wall of bookshelves that we use to store most of our books now as we never sat in here anyway. I think I like this look for this room the best. What do you think?

Stay tuned as I discuss in more detail several parts of this room in posts to follow. I'll also show several before and after make-overs in here that you can do for a few minutes and few dollars. You'll also see some secrets to this room that will surprise you.

Isn't she pretty now?? Not bad for 161 years old, huh?

I've added this post to Hooked on Houses Friday. Come see other fabulous homes and things bloggers are hooked on.... HERE!!