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Within the Grove

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Happy Houseiversary! Then and Now After One Year: Part 1

July 1, 2015

Before and After of owning a home.June 30, 2014 my husband and I started the adventure of home ownership and an adventure it has been.  We have had an absolute blast creating, building, and designing our new home here in Florida.  Not going to lie, there have also been those moments when we have said, “If we were renting we could just call the landlord. . . “.  You learn very quickly how to become a well-rounded person with house maintenance and DIY situations when owning a home.

New HomeownersI would not change those moments for the world!  Throughout the past year I have found a passion in decorating and taking DIY to a whole new level.  My husband, Ryan, has mastered the art of furniture building {hello farmhouse table} and tackling house maintenance and challenges {thank you YouTube}.  I can’t wait to share with you the progress we have made so far.  Just please keep in mind we are still turning this house into a home with projects to still be completed.

Welcome to Part 1 of our Then and Now: The Main Living Areas of our Home

Entrance

We started with messy concrete and a red door.  I love an amazing red door but I was itching to paint it!

The before picture of a red front door.I went with a darker teal to help bring out the original stained glass in the door and window.  We also spent the weekend painting the concrete.  Best decision ever!
Teal door makeover.

Foyer

We have a lovely foyer that flows into the living room once walking into our home.  It is also an odd space because of the size and where the front door is located.
Enntrance into the foyer of our home.In other words, I would love a bigger table along the wall walking into the space but I don’t think that will happen!

IMG_0812Living Room

Although our home is a ranch style home, it has somewhat of an open floor plan with the foyer opening up immediately to the spacious living room.

Before and after of an entrance to a living room.The living room was the first room we started on.  We knew with family and friends coming over we would need a place to laugh and come together.  We started with zero furniture for this space.  The only rooms in the house we had fully furnished upon moving in was our bedroom and the guest bedroom.

Before picture of a large living room.After going to many, many furniture stores, searching online for the perfect rug, and Ryan starting his adventure of building furniture, we designed and created a functional living room.

After of living room

Teal and Navy living roomMy next adventure will be finding a chair for the far corner.

Living room with gold and navy.The biggest change we made in the living room was completing a DIY project of painting over the brass fireplace screen.  We actually used black spray paint that you would use on a grill and it only took a matter of 20 minutes!

Painting over the brass on a fireplace.Dining Room

Not too long ago I featured my dining room makeover on the blog.  It is by far my favorite space in our home due to the unique angle I took with the stenciled wall and the farmhouse table and bench Ryan built.  A lot of time and love went into this room!   Read more about it here: Dining Room Makeover.

Dining Room makeover with stenciled wall and farmhouse table.Outdoor Patio

Our patio was pretty nasty and dirty when we moved in.  Therefore, it was a space we neglected and never enjoyed.

The before picture of an outdoor patio.One weekend I decided to tackle this beast of a job.  I scrubbed, cleaned some more, painted, and designed.  I love the end result!  I also did a blog post on this space: Patio Space Makeover.  It is now a space we enjoy on a daily basis.

The result of making over a patio.Kitchen

I love our kitchen!  It has so much space when it comes to counters, cabinets, and room for people to snack and mingle.  I am still debating about painting the kitchen cabinets.  It would be a huge undertaking, but so worth it I believe!

Here is the before of the right side of the kitchen:

Plenty of kitchen space.The after:

Gray and teal kitchen design

A grey kitchen with tealOur kitchen also includes a sunny breakfast nook thanks to the bay window that lets in amazing sunlight throughout the day.

The before of the breakfast nook:
Breakfast Nook BeforeThe after:
Breakfast Nook After

Laundry Room

As you can tell in the previous picture, the laundry/mud room is off of the kitchen.  It is an amazing space due to it’s size and having two doors that lead to the back yard and the garage.

 Laundry Room BeforeOur very first purchase for our new home was a washer and dryer.  I was so thrilled about buying our first set, that I named them Herb and Wilma.

Mint laundry and mud room.I love this journey of decorating a home.  I love even more sharing this journey with you and what we have accomplished in the past year within our lovely abode!

Part 2 of the “Then and Now” will debut on the blog next week where you will get a glance at our bedrooms, bathrooms, and backyard.  I am thrilled to share the other half of our home with you and hope you enjoyed the first half!

Let’s keep in touch!

We have a brand new community over on Facebook, House & Home, where we’ll be chatting, sharing, and helping one another when it comes to home decor and projects. Come join us! Check it out here.

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Filed Under: Home of the Rishels, Home Project

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Comments

  1. Holley Rankin says

    July 2, 2015 at 6:13 pm

    Beautiful!! I

    Reply
    • Elizabeth says

      July 2, 2015 at 10:45 pm

      Thank you so much Holley! Sure do miss you!

      Reply
  2. Meghan R says

    July 1, 2015 at 11:38 pm

    Everything looks great! You guys have done such a good job 🙂

    Reply
    • ElizabethRishel says

      July 2, 2015 at 12:40 pm

      Thank you so much Meghan!

      Reply
  3. Renee Rishel says

    July 1, 2015 at 3:10 pm

    I have always loved decorating too! Sewing, fabrics, textures, colors etc. gets the blood flowing! keep it up. The “Within the grove” blog is awesome!

    Reply
    • ElizabethRishel says

      July 2, 2015 at 12:41 pm

      Sounds like we need a house project when you arrive! 😉

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Home Project // Changing Bi-fold Doors to Barn French Doors for the Pantry - Within the Grove says:
    October 3, 2015 at 9:11 am

    […] all at the same time.  I knew that I couldn’t paint our front door black because it would darken our front porch space too much.  I knew then it would have to be our pantry door in the kitchen!  By adding black to […]

    Reply
  2. Decor Daydreams // Laundry Room Storage says:
    September 21, 2015 at 12:07 am

    […] often neglected for home decor and styling but is used quite frequently.   I happen to love our laundry room with how spacious it is and the natural light that comes in throughout the day.  You would think I […]

    Reply
  3. DIY Orb Chandelier For Breakfast Nook | Within the Grove says:
    July 17, 2015 at 9:28 am

    […] recently shared a then and now of our home in celebration of our 1 year houseiversary {part 1 and part 2}.  It was very exciting giving you a glimpse into our space we call home.  I also […]

    Reply
  4. Happy Houseiversary! Then and Now After One Year: Part 2 | Within the Grove says:
    July 11, 2015 at 2:10 pm

    […] ‘Then and Now’ houseiversary celebration! Last week you took a tour of our main living areas in Part 1.  It was such a fun day sharing our home with you from a before and after […]

    Reply

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