House Pics

So, after putting off this whole blog thing for a veeeeery long time, I have decided that it is finally time to post some pictures of some things Nick and I have done around the house. For those of you who don't know, Nick and I purchased a forclosed house last August (we have been homeowners for almost a year now- scary!) with the intention of finding a great deal and fixing it up to sell it in a few years. The home we chose is in Charlotte, in a great little neighborhood, and for a great price (almost $60,000 below tax value). We have been doing everything in the house ourselves, from installing new countertops, painting, installing new appliances, extending the patio, and next up: hardwood floors. Here are a few pics of some of the things we've done so far!

The only picture I have of the house on this computer is from this past winter when it snowed!

Countertops before we painted and installed the new dishwasher

New countertops and backsplash, and a not-so-new stove...We're replacing that next!

I had looked all over for a painting JUST like this and couldn't find it. I decided I was going to try to paint it myself, ala my favorite HGTV designer David Bromstead. Then one night, while shopping at HomeGoods as usual, we found this!

We went to Nick's old church for an auction they were holding to raise money for the church choir tour, and we weren't really expecting to buy anything. Local businesses and church members donate items to be auctioned off for the youth group. We saw this brand new ottoman and knew we had to have it. Knowing it was for a good cause, we won it with a bid of $100. When we got home, we saw the Pottery Barn tags and stickers on it. I LOVE Pottery Barn, so I looked it up on the website and saw that they still sell it for $899. I can't believe we got it for 90% off!

We saw this shelf at IKEA and immediately knew we wanted it for a TV stand. The only problem was the fact that we are cheap, and didn't want to pay the $100 for it. So, we looked on Craigslist and found this one for $30! The man was moving and had gotten tons of responses for it, but we were the first to respond to his ad, so it's ours! Persistence pays off :) We bought the baskets at IKEA, and if you look closely, you can see Kitty in her home (aka, a cardboard box).

This chandelier used to be brass and hideous. We tried to make it a little prettier by spray painting it brushed nickel (while it was still hanging from the ceiling- Nick's idea, not mine) and adding some shades for the bulbs.

We have another cabinet, identical to this one, on either side of the window in the dining room. We found these on Craigslist (of course) in the free section. They were white and falling apart; we fixed them, painted them, installed new knobs, and put a lightbulb in, and voila! Two new china cabinets to hold all of those wine glasses we got at the wedding ;)

We installed the chair rail and crown molding in the dining room ourselves. We also (after two tries) picked out a color that I liked. We are looking for a large, round, silver mirror to hang where the clock it, but we can't find one anywhere...

Nick surprised me with the dining room table that he bought on clearance (it had been a display) for $49! We searched for a while and found barstools to match on Craigslist for less than $150.

We got the SS dishwasher brand new at Home Depot for $149 because it was a discontinued model. The original price was $650! We had to install it ourselves, but it was worth it. We also installed the granite tile countertops, the ceramic tile backsplash, and the new sink and gooseneck faucet ourselves as well.

This table was given to Nick before he started college. He used it in his apartment for three years, and I hated it. We painted the legs and the chairs (they used to be white), and stained the top to match other wood used in the kitchen.

The kitchen with the new SS fridge that we bought on Craigslist for $300. The next thing on the to-do list: getting rid of the awful linoleum floors and replacing them with ceramic tile!