Before & After: A DIY Home Upgrade Under a Time Crunch
Tyler and his family were about to make the move into a house built in the 1950s when they realized that it would need some upgrades in order to be suitable for their young daughter. Two weeks of intense DIY fixes later, they’re home was not only livable, but totally adorable!
From Tyler: Our boss’s father recently passed away. When we found out that they were just going to let his 1,200 square foot house sit empty for a little while, we asked if we could move in and live in it for a bit. The house was built by “papaw” in 1954 and hadn’t been renovated in at least 30 years. The back room was added as a sun room in the late 80s.
We lived in a 1,000 square foot apartment for the past three years (two of them with our little girl) and once we walked through the house for the first time, the smell of musty old carpet and nasty formica countertops made us realize that this would not be a suitable place for a two year old daughter to live in. So we decided to roll up our sleeves and get a little dirty.
The whole process took two weeks. From painting, ripping up carpets and finding original oak floors, and ripping out kitchen cabinets to put up backsplash. We hustled to try and get the space to a “livable” condition.
I love the kitchen. I love the wood floors. I wish we would have done the same backsplash above the that antique stove.
Tyler’s words of advice: Don’t avoid doing something awesome just because it’s hard. Especially when it comes to making your house a home. The reward in the end is SO worth it.
Thank you, Tyler! You can see more on Tyler’s blog The Bates.