Nick's Home Sweet Home

So, finally I am sharing my pics of my son, Nick's house. He bought it a few weeks ago and we got it all fixed up in ONE WEEK. All the pictures you see below are taken one week after we started with the exception to one of them (the kitchen one with the cabinets showing). I am posting a video of how exactly we were able to do this in such a short about of time. Well first, it took a looong time for the closing (months) so Nick had everything he needed for the move. Unfortunately he was using our house as the storage unit for all the stuff. We thought he was closing in October but it ended up being at the end of December so it just kept accumulating... Once the garage was full it started filling the library...then the family room. I don't do well with clutter but, Mom's gotta do what a Mom's gotta do. We knew we would miss Nick but not his stuff. LOL.
I want to take a second and tell you about Nick. I couldn't be prouder of him...Nick is only 22 and is now a homeowner. He is a 3rd degree Black Belt in Karate. He has been taking karate since he was 8 years old and quickly decided that this is what he wanted to do. He is now the Co-Director and Head Instructor at his Karate school where he works. He is adored by everyone. Nick has one of the kindest hearts I have ever seen. He has been sponsoring 3 children from poor countries. He started years ago with just one little boy and quickly decided to sponsor another. About a year later he chose to sponsor a third child, sending money, letters and prayers. One of the things that always impressed me about Nick was that when he was growing up he never caved in to peer pressure. He was always more concerned about what his "kids" (his students) would think if they saw him doing something stupid. So while his classmates were getting in trouble he was helping out the parents or helping with a fundraiser. He would say some people have 1 or 2 kids, I have hundreds. He meant his students but to him they are his family. I hope Nick is happy in his new home.
Nick closed on the house on Thurs, Dec 30. so we had limited people that could help that weekend due to it being New Years weekend. I am very much a task master so I kept people on task & moving, moving, moving. My husband most of the painting, he did have some help that first weekend and Nick helped during the day but he did ALOT of painting, as you will see. I did all the shopping (yippee) and decorating (double yippee). I also did just about everything else that goes with decorating...putting together beds, hanging curtain rods, pictures, shelves, etc. My Dad helped install all the kitchen cabinets. His brother, Matt, helped with the move and various other things. Nick also had some friends that helped out.

We are going to start in the Living Room... This first picture is the before and it doesn't show very much of it. I took the before pics when we were viewing the house prior to purchase. Tim, my husband, and some of Nick's friends got the family room painted on Friday. As you can see the transformation was extreme. The rich colors (benjamin moore Red Rock and Baffin Island) look great on the walls and added the pop that the room needed. Nick got the couch and chair in exchange for babysitting. I found the tables and a lot of the accessories at garage sales or clearance items at stores. With a little touch up they were like new again. This sofa table I placed on the big blank wall in the hall between the stairs and the kitchen
As you can see the kitchen was left in HORRIBLE condition!!! All the upper cabinets were ripped out, all of the appliances were taken, even the counter was in bad shape. The kitchen was the first thing tackled. Even though we couldn't get into the house until late in the day we took full advantage of that first day there. The first day we got the kitchen walls patched and painted. I got the essentials moved in and set up like the bathroom stuff and all the cleaning supplies. Snacks, coffee maker and microwave are also considered essentials. Now it is a beautiful modern kitchen! We got the upper cabinets at Home Depot and stained them ourselves. My Dad helped Nick install them. Nick got the kitchen table and chair in exchange for babysitting too. The first floor bathroom was small and lacking any personality. We used the leftover red paint from the living room to paint the bathroom and turned it into a modern powder room. The old mirror had to go...I found this black frame oval mirror at the Goodwill for $10 to replace to old ugly one. We also replaced the faucet with a more modern one, it was cheap but much better looking. Since this bathroom was going to get lots of use I thought it should be nice to look at. Ok, this is your view when you are sitting on the potty. LOL. Details, details, details. Don't forget behind the door. This bathroom is incredible small but I didn't want it boring. I placed these two shelves with a few things on them and a "relaxing" picture. Another thing that this room was lacking was storage. Since it was in the main living area and it would get a lot of use it needed extra supplies. I placed a basket next to the base with extra toilet paper, a towel and some air freshener (a must)! I'm sure his guests will appreciate this when he has a get together and the person before leaves the roll empty and dosen't let anyone know. LOL Moving upstairs to the Master Bedroom it was a huge space without too many problems except that there was no ceiling fan and the previous owners tore out all of the closet organizers (in every closet). Also Nick had a twin bed when he lived at home so he needed to get some furniture to fill this huge bedroom. The room now looks masculine yet welcoming. The paint colors are Behr Pencil Point and Behr Washed Khaki. The lamps on the nightstands were originally an ugly orange base but a coat of black spray paint fixed that. I found the bedding at Bed, Bath and Beyond. This corner was in need for a place to sit and relax. I found this comfy rocker chair at the local Goodwill for a whopping $10. All of the pictures were purchased at Hobby Lobby during their 50% off prints and frames sale. The closet is a huge walk in. That in the very back left side he was able to fit both of his old dressers. He can now have all of his clothes in one place.

The master bathroom also got a makeover like the rest of the house. It was the last room to be painted and Tim, my husband, was so tired of painting at that point. I was done with all of my jobs so I kept him company and we just chatted while he painted.

Instead of spending money on more shelves I just used some of these extra shelves that we had. The top one was a shoe bin that was perfect for separating all of his soap, shaving creams, toothpaste, etc. I picked up some baskets from the dollar store to organize the rest of the shelves. The Guest Room was a blank slate and my challenge was that I had found a white headboard for $10 and white shelf for $5 at a garage sale. My challenge was how to make that not look girly or cheap. I also found a $5 white nightstand and a $15 lamp. The silk curtains were brand new in the package and also purchased at a garage sale along with the curtain rods.

I think that the room turned out great! It looks very Pottery Barn. The color on the walls is Benjamin Moore Sedona Brown.

I love this saying, I think it's histarical! I printed it on cardstock and put it in a fancy frame. You can get a copy of it HERE

The Guest Bathroom was quickly warmed up with a shower curtain/rings at the big cost of $1. A fresh coat of paint (Benjamin Moore Harbour Town) can do wonders. Some new fluffy towels and a few accessories.

The black spray paint came in handy again with the vase. My favorite brand it the Rustoleum Brand Painters Touch 2X . A few black ribbons tied on the bath salts makes them look perfect in this bathroom.

Nick's office was his domain. The room started out as another blank slate with good lighting and white walls like the rest of the house.

We chose a nice color for the walls (Behr Fox Hollow Brown). These curtains are the same as the guest bedroom one that I got at the garage sale. I also got some of the other accessories at sales. I got the cool mirror on the left side of the pic at TJMaxx (I think) in the clearance. The desk was his big purchase. His old one fell apart when they tried to move it so we found this one on sale and he loves it. It's perfect for all of his computer stuff. Of course, I added a picture of his family to remind him that we are always there and are always thinking about him. After the basement is georgous! It is warm and homey. It is perfect for get-togethers. I used the sticker shades to block out the non-existent view of the window yet making it appear as there is one. I covered the electric panel with a poster print to conceal it but it is still accessible. There is more in this room that you can't see in this picture but this is my longest post for sure.

He has competed in karate quite a bit and this alcove in his basement was perfect to display his trophies and awards. In the picture below, Nick is the one in the air. He is quite the "Ninja". This was taken at a 4th of July parade.

Hope you enjoyed the house transformation tour. Sorry it took me so long to post it but working so hard took me down and I just couldn't shake this cold.