Before there was Pete & Cass, there was just Cass. Let me preface this post by giving credit where credit is due. I couldn’t have accomplished any of this without the help of my family and friends. Dad, Mom, Mel, Rita – I will forever be grateful for your expertise, help, and patience during this journey.  

My first home & first flip:

I’m 90% sure my family thought I was 100% crazy when I took them to look at this 1926 abandoned foreclosure. The house sat empty for nearly two years. The paint was chipping, the windows needed replaced, and it was overgrown with Mulberry trees and weeds. However, it was priced JUST right at $42,000. For a part time temp, and real estate obsessed full-time college student, the price and condition of this house couldn’t have been any more perfect. Especially considering the previous owners paid $78,000 for it just three years earlier.

Was the house rough around the edges? Absolutely.

Was it ready for the dozer? Absolutely not.

Did it have an abundance of charm?? Oh, hell yes!

This home was filled to the brim with character. Original hardwood floors, original trim, a fireplace, a built-in buffet with leaded glass doors, a cedar lined closet, high ceilings, the list goes on and on.

It may have been a little hard on the eyes, but the potential was there for it to be an incredibly beautiful home.

*This is where I tell you that I watched WAY too much HGTV and DIY growing up. Pinterest only fueled the fire (& still does today…hehe). The only home remodeling I had been involved with was at my parents house, and that was on their dime.

P.S. It’s way more fun remodeling when you’re swiping someone else’s card to foot the bill. 😉

Anywho, thousand’s of dollars and four year later this is what we accomplished.

Master Bedroom – Before

Master Bedroom – After…..nothing a coat of paint & new engineered hardwood floors couldn’t fix. Floors from Lowes “Handscraped Plantation Hickory”.

P.s. I absolutely adore these floors. Not only do they look amazing, but they are incredibly durable. I loved them so much, we installed the same type of flooring throughout the entire first floor of our new home. “Jack & Jill” ran up the hill to get away from this horrid bathroom.

After: Removed the wainscoting, textured the walls, polished the floor tile, added a new sink & vanity, and a new light fixture. WaaLaa! We have a bathroom with life again.

Office Space – before

This was the awkward little booger of the house. Sandwiched between the hallway and the master bedroom, we couldn’t truly call this space a “bedroom”.  Thus, the office it became.

Dining Room Before

Dining Room After

We painted the ceiling, refinished the original hardwood floors, and slapped a coat of paint on the walls. It’s amazing what a little elbow grease can do!

Spare Bedroom Before

If these before pictures look frigid and cold, that’s because it was. I took these pictures at the beginning of January when I was first looking at the home. It was foreclosed, and all of the utilities had been shut off and winterized.

We warmed up this bedroom with a cozy neutral on the walls, and crown molding.

Living Room Before

Living Room After

Did I mention we installed new windows it the entire house? Look at all of that natural light! *wolf-whistle* 😉

Meet Jager & Grizzly. They’re my P-I-Cs. ^

Now for my favorite room remodel….drum roll please…………the kitchen!

Annnnnd AFTER!

We kept the base cabinets, replaced the wall cabinets with unfinished stock cabinets from Lowes, and painted them all “Peppercorn” by Sherwin Williams.

The countertop is Formica 180fx Calcutta Marble, also purchased at Lowes. The backsplash is a glass and marble mosaic tile I picked up thru a seller on eBay.

It sounds like a simple remodel when I just list the things we changed; however, this home was built in 1926. Nothing was square. The wiring was outdated, and the mice had made themselves at home in the kitchen walls. You smelling what I’m stepping in here?

We had to start from scratch. The walls with the cabinets on them had to be completely gutted, rewired, and sheet-rocked before we could move on to any of the “fun” jobs (painting, tiling, etc.).

I got more than my feet wet with this flip. There were times I felt like I was drowning in pool of renovation. But I learned a lot about my self along the way. Eh-hm your design tastes can and will change!

Still thinking about remodeling? Find your inspiration and go for it! Stay true to you. If you love rustic, go rustic. If you love modern, go modern. Design the space for you and your family, and you’re bound to love it!

Shout out to Chadrock Memorabilia of Warsaw, IL for that beautiful, antique butcher block! Handmade and absolutely gorgeous.