Home Renovation 101: After

I do not remember the exact timeline but, I think it went something like this. 

October 2016, let's move in together and renovate Leif's house in Staten Island.

November 2016, let's get married. 

December 2016, start house renovations, starting planning wedding at courthouse.

January 2017, let's have an actual wedding.

February 2017, diet starts and I buy a wedding dress.

March 2017, I got my engagement ring.

April 2017, bachelorette party in Napa with my best girls.

May 2017, I move into mostly renovated house.

June 2017, house renovations continue and wedding planning and diet in full effect.

July 2017, wedding.

It was a busy time for us! But, we managed, I think...

If you do not remember the before photos from my previous post, do yourself a favor and go check them out!

We gave ourselves around six months to renovate the house before I moved in. It was touch and go for awhile and at the last minute, Leif decided to get the upstairs floors refinished the day before I was supposed to move in. I had to cancel my movers, who were going to charge me an arm and a leg to change days, find new movers and get all the paperwork into the building in just two days. Men.

For a month prior to my move, I had been bringing stuff to the new house. I tried to get everything but furniture and clothes. However, I did not realize how much shit I actually had. The movers arrived bright and early on a Friday morning. You see, my building only allows week day move ins and outs. So annoying. I had to actually take a day off of work to move. They loaded up the truck fairly quickly and we headed to the new house!

In traditional Alexis fashion, that evening, everything was completely unpacked and all of the boxes were gone. The only thing I had left to do was hang art and window treatments. Not to mention, buy a whole lot of new furniture, which I had already slowly started to do. 

In the Living Room, I bought a new area rug and chair, a coffee table and I picked up a love seat from my friend Craig. In the Dining Room, we bought a brand new dining table, new side chairs, a chandelier and a new console. For our Master Bedroom, we bought a KING size bed and mattress. For that moment that was all we needed. Since then, we have purchased many more things.

Without further adieu, our beautiful home!

The curb appeal was always very beautiful. Leif did a wonderful job of selecting color for the home. We did nothing but maintain it. 

I don't have a great photo of the Foyer. There were very ugly brown floral textured tiles on the floor which we removed and found beautiful blue mosaic tiles. We painted and added a new bench. 

When you walk in from the Foyer you walk into the Living Room. I found this piece of art at Pier One during a search for a specific color curtains. It was on sale and I felt it would be perfect for this spot. The console is from CB2 as well as the stool. Most accessories are West Elm.

The Living Room was difficult as there was no great location for the TV. This was the best spot however, the glare from the wonderful windows is a pain. However, we hardly have time to watch TV and we don't even have cable! Apple TV for the win! 

The area rug is from Ruggable. It is machine washable as we have a baby and three dogs. The new sofa sectional is West Elm along with the coffee table, curtains, chair and some accessories. The lamp is from CB2 however, they no longer make it.  The shades, which were pulled up all the way so we could watch tv, are from Manhattan Shade & Associates, the company I now work for. Typically, they're only up halfway. They are a bottom mount tontine shade and I love them!

The throw pillows are from Home Goods. The small metal and glass side table is vintage and was given to me by our old window treatment vendor at MAC II. Thank you Louis! 

Clearly, these photos were taken around Christmas as our tree was up! This sofa I got from my friend Craig who could not fit it in his new apartment. The bookcase is from West Elm and the Lucite chair is vintage and I purchased it from Aero when I worked there. 

The Dining Room was the most completed room downstairs for the longest time. The table, side chairs and chandelier are from West Elm. The side chairs are vintage Danish which I found on Etsy. One day I will have them reupholstered. The console is from Restoration Hardware. 

The small wood and cane chair is vintage and Leif actually had it. The area rug is from my old carpet vendor at MAC II. Thanks Rich!

The dresser is also one of Leif's pieces from when he was a kid. I changed out the old wood knobs for brass knobs and repurposed a marble top a client was getting rid of. The mirrors are from West Elm. One day maybe Leif will hang them for me!

The Kitchen was almost a gut renovation. We got rid of everything but the cabinet boxes, doors and drawers. Leif sprayed the cabinets and we added new hardware from Rejuvenation. We hired Leif's friend to do the tile work for the floor and back splash. We purchased brand new appliances as well. 

This little nook is one of my favorites in the house. The light bulb was given to me by a vendor as a sample and I bought the cord on Amazon. The solar shades are by MS&A, the table from All Modern and this perfect banquette from none other than West Elm! It's like it was made for this space!

The pillows are from Homegoods!

The Sunroom was also another gut job. Leif literally removed everything from this room. If you look at the before photos, you can really see how much work it needed. The woman he bought the house from had show cats and this was their room. Oh, you could smell it!

Everything is new. New drywall, new wainscot, new door from Home Depot, new millwork and counter top from a local Brooklyn Cabinet Shop, new lighting from Home Depot, new flooring from Home Depot, new furniture and area rugs from IKEA, new window shades from MS&A, and new hardware from Rejuvenation. 

We even added a split system for heating and cooling to make the room useable all year round. 

It took Leif a couple of months to finish this room as his "accident" happened in the middle of it. 

But, it was worth the wait. It turned out beautiful and is now one of our favorite rooms. It is also the dogs room. It serves many purposes. 

The basement. Oh, the basement. This was one area I really wanted to get done before the baby. As I mentioned before in Basement Renovation, Leif could have cared less about this space. I was the one who pushed and I am so glad that I did! I was doing laundry every weekend with just Leif. I couldn't image how much more laundry I was going to be doing with Leif and a baby! 

We decided to keep the old stairs and just paint them. We also tiled the landing between the basement and the Kitchen. There is a side door to the driveway which is a nice entry for us. I moved all of Leif's things in the basement as there was so much more room down there than in the little Foyer Closet. 

When my parents lived in midtown Tulsa at the Yorktown house, they had this awesome rubber flooring in the Laundry Room. I had always wanted that flooring somewhere in my own home. This was the perfect place! It is extremely durable as well.

And there they are, my beautiful new washer and dryer and slop sink for the little dogs baths. It's love. 

We even have a nice little pantry space for extra things that do not fit in the Kitchen.

We also gave the bathroom a huge facelift. This is a full bath with a shower. We only have one bathroom on the main floors, so this was a big plus!

I recently painted the stairs myself with an oil based paint. I was very proud of my work. I cut in all by myself too!

The stairs up to the second floor just needed some paint and a new runner. Again, my guy Rich came through with a beautiful runner! The privacy shade is from MS&A. This allows for us to have light in during the day, but no one can see in at night when the lights are on. This was important as this window is right outside our Bathroom and Bedrooms. 

The Bathroom was the largest job by far. This was a complete gut reno. I have photos of the entire process. It was not pretty. However, Leif did such a fantastic job. It turned out exactly how I wanted it. 

The toilet and vanity are from Home Depot. The flooring is from Cement Tile Shop. The subway tile is from Daltile. The fittings, fixtures and accessories are Brizo. The bathtub is Kohler.

We also added a NuHeat mat under the tile floor. This was probably one of the best decisions we made. It really keeps the bathroom warm all the time and feels so amazing on our feet, especially in the middle of the night. The dogs love it too. They lay outside the door if it isn't open!

The vanity is a custom designed vanity from Home Depot. It was custom in the way you had options to select from, not fully customize it. However, there were many options and it worked out perfectly. The hardware is from Schoolhouse Electric as well as the sconces and ceiling light. 

The baseboard heating cover is from Amazon. I really loved the sleek modern look for the Bathroom.

I, myself, stripped, sanded, and stained this door by myself. It was a labor of love people. This was the third door I did in the house. I was supposed to do four more. Those did not get done. Never again. 

I looked at many fixtures and fittings. However, we decided to order through a local company and they really recommended Delta Brizo for the fact that their finishes lasted and looked the nicest longer. We are very happy with the decision. 

Our Bedroom did not need much work. Two of the three doors I stripped were for this room. They came out the best and I am so glad I did it. This room needed paint and that was it!

The Guest Bedroom is so nice to have. This was my old bed and mattress from the past 10 years. It is still wonderful and I sleep in here sometimes when Leif isn't home. 

This room needed paint, which I did myself. I did an OK job. I never painted the doors or trim, which really need it. However, it will most likely not happen.

Sadly, these door did not make the cut. Maybe one day, I will strip them.

This room is basically a mix of all our old furniture. It turned out very nice for what it is. It is now also my home office.

Finally, the nursery! My favorite room. How adorable is this!

The chandelier is from Schoolhouse Electric and it was the piece that tied the whole room together for me. It was a tough sell, but in the end, I won....again...

The blackout roman shades are from The Shade Store, crib, rug, rocker and changing table from All Modern. The pouf is from CB2. The side table is from Homegoods.

The elephant basket on the floor and the elephant shelf is from Pottery Barn Kids / Baby & Child. 

These photos are some of my favorite pieces in the room. They are photos I took on our honeymoon in Kenya. I had them framed with Frame It Easy online. It was very easy and quick. 

The backyard did not need too much work. It really only needed some new trees, some mulch and plants along the side fence, the garage painted and some new sod.

A few weeks before the baby shower, which was our deadline, we had the driveway ripped up and a new one put down along with the sidewalk. Oh my gosh was Leif right, it looks so much better!

I had them add little planter beds on either side of the steps up to the Sunroom as well. We even got a new grill!

He finished painting the garage and we even got new sod!

Just a few days before the baby shower, we even got our new fence! It had all come together!

We only have two more rooms left to finish. One is the spare room in the basement. We are going to paint it all white, organize all the closets and set up our workout equipment. The last room is the Attic. This is going to be the playroom. This room needs a lot of work. Mostly, drywall work. But it also needs a split system, paint, new windows, new lighting, the existing closet needs to be completely redone and then we are good to go! Here is what the space looks like now.

I can't wait until it is finished and we can spend more time in there!

I love our house so much. We have both put so much time and effort into it and it really shows. I can't wait until it is completely finished. That will probably happen right around the time we are ready to move! Ha!