House Tour
Take a look around. It’s the good, the bad and everything in between. We hope you’ll see a little bit of progress made, and remind us we have done something around here!
- 2 bedroom, 2 bath
- 828 square feet (originally just over 500 square feet and 1 bedroom, 1 bath)
- Built in 1923
- in a breezy part of Southern California
- 10 minute walk to the beach
The master bedroom – Wall sconces were purchased for the room and a headboard made (from leftover linen fabric from our wedding DIY chair sashes), but other than that it hasn’t had much attention.
The living room seating area – A few things have been changed, and we still need a coffee table, but you get the idea. Do you like the texture on the walls? That will be a future home improvement project, once we get up the nerves to handle the dust and drywall mud again:
From the couch, looking to the opposite side of the living room (which also is the dining room) – Do you like the media stand? It was a standard, blocky Ikea table, converted with paint and a saw and new legs from Lowe’s:
Standing by the couch looking toward the dining area and into the kitchen – previously the openness was covered by hanging cabinets above that bar area along with an exposed back of a stove (truly lovely to see as the first thing when you walk in the front door and from the living room); some wall was removed as it previously was just a standard doorway into the kitchen and a new header put in to support the roof. You may be able to see the cracks around the ceiling and corner of the wall that still needs some work:
I’d like to add that we lived without a sink for 6 weeks. Can you imagine how much we adore our sink now that it’s installed??
The laundry area of the kitchen has been given a facelift by changing the location of the dryer (which exposed a nice gas line coming out of the wall and was located next to the kitchen cupboards, while the washer was on the opposite wall), adding wainscoting, and adding a dutch door to let some light into the dark corner! This was more work than expected (isn’t everything?) as the outside of the door had a canopy that needed to be removed because it was detaching from the stucco, and caused water to get behind it causing rot in the door jamb.
I have to say, I looked everywhere for this dutch door (and it was sooo worth it with the breeze we get in the afternoons while keeping Fozzy inside). I read a story of a woman who bought one for $50 off of craigslist and i searched everyday for months. Finally I found a salvage yard that had one for $250. I drove there immediately to pick it up.
The Guest/Hall bathroom – the changes all started with the vanity upgrade, then I read a blog post… It turned into beadboard on the ceiling, crown moulding to finish it, then beadboard around the room. Afterwards, Brian and I looked in on this bathroom just gazing because we loved it so much! We still want to tackle the hideous shower stall with tile.
The space is so tiny, it’s tough to get pictures to show the overall room.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi, I found your blog from hope studios blog. I love the work you have done in the guest bathroom. My main bathroom is actually 42 square feet. So a bit smaller than your guest one. But then again my house is just 300 square feet total. It’s tiny, but I love it. I have that exact horrible shower stall. My question is, do you have a hard time cleaning it & have the walls changed colors to like a yellow-ish color?? Mine was like an off white color & over the last couple years it’s turned almost a yellow color & I have tried every cleaner on the market but nothing has helped. It grosses me out so much. As soon as I can get my hands on a 4foot clawfoot tub I’m tearing that thing out. Keep up the great work. There’s nothing more rewarding than doing the work yourself, & doing it right the first time.
Thank you so much, Evelin! UGH- that shower is the worst. Even clean, it still looks dirty and gross. Luckily, it’s a guest shower so I don’t have to look at it every day
I think the yellowish color is just the natural aging process of the plastic – the walls are nothing more than glues on plastic sheets. I’d die for a clawfoot tub – but I don’t think we can squeeze it into this house. I’d love to see some pictures of your tiny abode if you have time! Thanks for stopping by and saying hi!