Wednesday, November 5, 2014

31 Days to a Complete Home Renovation: Day 19



Update (August 2018): I have created a new + easier to navigate website: www.elitafriesen.com  Come visit me over there, y'all!  


After 28 days of renovating, working into all hours of the night (including quite a few 5 am mornings and installing the floors the night before we moved in), we did it.  Or actually, Ryan did it.  He had tons of help along the way from friends and family.  But I am massively proud of him and I love living in something we dreamt of together and he created.

On to the pictures! {Today we'll focus on the main living area.}  

Remember the lovely entrance to the dump? 


Here she is now.  Come on in y'all!




Let's have a look back at that lovely entry-way:




And now:





This was the layout of the kitchen, dining room, and living room before:





Standing in the same spot, here's the new view of our open-concept living/dining/kitchen area:



The living room before:




And then mid-way through construction:




And the living room after:






And finally, the living room looking into the dining "room" … but really it's more like a dining area.



We bought this map from Ikea after looking at it for a little over 2 years.  This giant wall seemed like a perfect fit for the map and we absolutely love it.  It's completely changed our dinner conversations with the kids. Each week we take turns picking out a country and then we study it for the week.  It's been so fun learning new things about countries like Iraq (liquorice is one of their main plants!), Turkey (it's larger than the state of Texas!),  and the Kerguelen Islands ("the Ker-what" you ask?  Oh, it's a real place. It takes 6 days on a fishing boat to get there from Madagascar. We can thank my 4 year old for picking that one out).  We do powerpoint presentations and then by the end of the week we learn how to pray for that specific country.  Oh!  I love it, I tell ya.  And so do the boys. Apparently I miss homeschooling.  



Well, I hope you're just as thrilled with how it's looking as I am.  There are things we still have on our list to do.  But for now, we are settled and oh so happy!  Come back tomorrow for more after pictures of our kitchen and the rest of the upstairs! 

Happy Wednesday Y'all!
E

82 comments:

  1. You are such a rock star! Love the map convos!

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    1. Thank you for sharing this amazing DIY. Our home is similar and I now have my idea that I can for sure implement.

      GREAT JOB and INSPIRING!

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    2. Very good points you wrote here..Great stuff...I think you've made some truly interesting points.Keep up the good work. renovation singapore by going to 3d innovations

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  2. It's beautiful!! Wonderful job to your hubby and you (b/c I'm pretty sure you were the boss when it came to decorating)!

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    1. Thanks Mandy! Yes, I got to pick out everything and he installed it. So much fun! I also learned to love re-purposing what we already had for decorating purposes. :)

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  3. Where did you get the chandelier? I love it!

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    1. I got the chandelier from a local place here in town (Pine Lighting). But I originally found it on amazon!! If I could do it again, I'd definitely order through Amazon because the shipping would have been waaaaay faster than the place we dealt with.

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    2. I am in LOVE with that chandelier. Now to hunt for it on Amazon and hope it has matching pieces. I found your blog through Pinterest.

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    3. Do you happen to have a link to your light on Amazon? I just moved into a split level and wanted to get a similar light for my entry way and haven't been able to find one. Can I ask what size you got, I was thinking I needed to get about 24 inches? I love what you've done!

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    4. Ooh, I think I just found it! I think it's perfect. :-) I'm so excited, thanks so much for the inspiration!

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    5. Would anyone happen to have the link for the chandelier? If so, would it be possible to post? Thank you!

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    6. This is what I bought: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LB0ALN4?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s01

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    7. Hi Jamie! Here's the link to the chandelier we bought (I removed the little crystal at the bottom:
      http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0044CKI9S/ref=pd_aw_fbt_60_img_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=1QZNCKY9TCQR6JYCPW8M

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    8. For those who ordered from amazon, dos you find the chandelier to be more circular than the one pictured here? (It looks more oval to me but hard to say if it's just the angle of the photos). Thanks for your help!

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    9. Hi heather-- this light was from amazon and it is definitely a circle, not an oval. I think if you scroll down a little further, you'll see the circle-shape in the living room pictures. :) Hope that helps!

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  4. Where did you get the wall paneling for the entry? Thanks!

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    1. Hi Jen! Thanks for stopping by. :) I get so many questions about the wall paneling so here is the 411 from my hubby: The material used is 1x8 MDF (available at any lumber store). He used 1/8" spacers, then glued and nailed it to the wall. It took him and a helper 1 full day to complete the walls. It's been primed and painted a satin finish white. Hope that helps! :)

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  5. Hi Elita! I love you reno project! It is so beautiful! My husband and I recently bought a bi-level that looks exactly like yours. We too were wanting to take down the kitchen/dining room wall into the kitchen and I was wondering if when you took that wall down you had to replace the support from it? I really appreciate your help! Thanks!

    Tessa

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    1. Hi Tessa! Thanks for having a look at our little reno. :) I had to ask my husband about your question, so here is his very detailed response:
      First: whether or not you need to replace the wall support depends on the pitch of your roof. If your roof is a 4/12 or greater then you have structural trusses that have transferred your load point to your exterior walls. (So no new wall support is needed). But if your roof pitch is less than 4/12, then it's likely that it was hand-framed and you will need a new support.

      …I hope that makes sense to you! :)

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  6. Hi! Your home is beautiful! If you are comfortable with me asking I would love to know how much it cost you to do all these renovations?

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    1. Hi MaryChase (love your name btw!)…well, we paid $80,000 for all of the renovation costs. However, my husband is a contractor so most of the work was done by him and his crew. If we'd had to pay a contractor, our total costs would've been a minimum of $130,000.

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  7. How did you install the balusters on the slanted shoe rail?

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    1. The reason I ask is because I like the clean look that you accomplished by not using a skinnier shoe rail and fillets. I have looked all over the web and can't find a tutorial on how to get the look that you have.

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  8. Hi! My husband and I are thinking of getting a split level. But we would definitely want to renovate. Your home is such an inspiration. How much was the cost of the kitchen (to open up the upstairs/knock down the walls?) if you don't mind me asking?

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    1. Hi! Thank you for stopping by. 😊 ...we didn't calculate the cost of the renovations room by room. For example, when we knocked down walls, we knocked down a bunch of walls and not just the kitchen walls. So I will have to give a (VERY) rough estimate on the cost of just the kitchen. Probably around $35,000-$40,000 (Canadian). Hope that helps!

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    2. Thank you so much!! Again your house looks amazing. Great job and enjoy!

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  9. Hi. I love your home. My father in law is currently building a bilevel for my family. I absolutely HATE it because I feel as if the staircase wastes so much space and I'm lost in how to fit everything. Could you share your room measurements so I can get an idea of how close ours are? Our bilevel is way smaller than any I can find online, so I'm trying to find something close. I'd really appreciate it. Thank you so much.

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    1. Hey Rachel-- I actually have no idea what the room measurements were. We sold the house so I couldn't even re-measure if I wanted to. Good luck!

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  10. I also have a split level that I'm trying to remodel. I'm running into problems with the stairs. Did you just paint yours and then run the hardwood right up to it on the living room/kitchen level? It looks amazing!

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  11. We actually didn't paint the stairs--we put new treads on them! Hope that helps!

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  12. WOW!! just WOW!! Wow!! and WOW!!!!! <3 Love. It.

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  13. I love everything! Would you mind sharing the brand of the pendants? We just bought our first home- a 1950s split level and your ideas are welcome as I begin decorating!

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    1. Hi Lauren! Thanks for your kind comments. :) And sorry to just be responding now! The pendants were from West Elm and they are now discontinued. Sad, right? But I had great luck looking shadesoflight.com …they had tons of similar options. Good luck on your split level!

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  14. It's so fun to transform a space and witness the results. Here is a breakdown of our expenses and the grand total for putting in hardwood floors. Sandblasting Services in Sydney

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  15. We love this new layout! We're pretty sure we have the same split entry and would like to copy you!! Do you have blueprints? Did you work with an architect? Do you have info about load bearing walls? We'd love your advice!! It's gorgeous! Thank you! Diana. Dijaydesigns@yahoo.com

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    1. Hi Diana! Thanks for having a look around! :) We don't have blueprints and we didn't work with an architect. My husband is a full-time contractor and he knew which walls were load bearing, etc. But feel free to email me with any questions: elitafriesen@gmail.com

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  16. Oh my Elita....we also have a split entry and doing a reno. I planned to do the entry in the ship lap also and was excited to see yours!!! You stated you used mdf.....everywhere I have seen has used the 1/8 plywood. Thanks for sharing your material of use...LOL Did you paint the planks before or after installing? And did you do 6" or 8" wide? I am also putting in wood stair treads and hope to match the color of the wood flooring. We are right in the middle of extending our entry out 3 additional feet. Doesn't sound like much, but 3 ft can make a huge difference in a tight area. Thanks so much for sharing your project. It mirrors ours in so many ways.

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    1. Hi Ilene--thanks for stopping by! We painted the shiplap after it was up. We used 8" wide. And you're right--those 3 feet make a HUGE difference! We are living in our next renovation project at the moment and extended the entry like you did. We Love it!

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  17. I have a strange question....did this house have two bedrooms up and two bedrooms down? We are moving into a split entry and i am conflicted on how to assign bedrooms....kids in upstairs bedrooms or downstairs?

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    1. Hi Katelin--not a strange question at all. When we bought it, the layout was totally different. It initially had 3 bedrooms up and a 1- bedroom suite downstairs that the previous owners rented out. After we got our hands on it, we made it 2 bedrooms up and 2 bedrooms down. Our baby's nursery was upstairs next to our room and our older boys bedrooms were the downstairs ones. I know it's a question we get a lot--did we feel comfortable letting our kids "live" on a different floor than us? Long story short…yes, I was and am still totally fine with it. I grew up in Texas where the master bedroom was usually on the main floor and the other rooms were upstairs. So I guess it's just not a weird thing to me. :) Hope that helps!

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  18. I came across this on Pinterest! We have what looks like the literally the same house! My husband wants to do an open concept upstairs and it was hard for me to see it. This has helped and I love it! Do you have posts for the renovation of the rest of the house? I'd be curious as to how your downstairs is setup! Also, where did you get the white curtains on the front window?

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  19. Hi Melissa! You know…I don't think I ever did get "finished" pictures of our downstairs…how terrible is that? I think the main reason is that I didn't really ever decorate it the way I had wanted. It was beautiful until I put all of our old furniture down there and after that, I did my best not to take many pictures. :) But I'll try to take some of our new place as it is the EXACT same as our last house. I'm working on getting the old blog transferred to a new website so that's taking some time. And the upstairs curtains are from Pottery Barn. :)

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  20. This house is so lovely! We bought a similar style house and love the ideas you are giving me. Would you have a link to the light fixtures you bought over the kitchen island?

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  21. Your house is beautiful!! Do you mind me asking where you got that cute entry rug?

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  22. THIS is the EXACT LAYOUT of my raised ranch to the T!! I had visualized the opening of the kitchen to be like this IF after taking the wall down. The posts left to support( being the support wall). The living room is still small and looks smaller with the half wall closed in, instead of the spindles. Love the boarded foyer, painted stairs white with the dark rails and steps. Very classy. Would love to see the rest of this house inside.

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  24. Mine too although the kitchen wall into the dining room is not there.

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  30. Sorry if this has already been asked, but did you have to onstalla support beam where you took the wall out seperatins the kitchen and living/dining area? I have a very similar home and was with the understanding that is a support wall. Thank you!

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  32. hi! i just found out about your home reno and wow! good job :) any way we could see more pictures of your kitchen? on the patio door side especially? thanks so much!

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