Here are some before and after photos from another renovated area of our 1800’s home.
The living room has been done for a while, but here is the official “before and after” post!
Read on (below the photo) to see all the renovations we made in this area of our home. Tommy also has included some of his tips!
Living Room:
Removed the drop ceiling and the existing (yet dilapidated ) plaster ceiling
We left the ceilings open (no drywall is hung). The inspiration came from an issue of Southern Living magazine where they featured a house (around the age of our home) with the same open concept. We love it!
Removed carpet
Removed a door and a non-load bearing section of the wall to open the room and create a more open entrance from the foyer.
Removed a closet. It had been added to the home at some point when someone was trying to turn it into a duplex
Cleaned and shellaced all the wood (including trim we found behind the wood paneling and the fireplace). See the process we used by clicking here.
Repaired and refinished the floors (My husband sanded them with a drum sander and then applied two coats of de-waxed shellac and two coats of polyurethane. We followed this same process with most of the original wood floors throughout the house).
Hung new drywall on the walls after removing 3 layers of thin drywall and wood paneling
Added insulation
Added crown moulding
Added a new window
Painted the walls
Hand painted around and restored the “dancing girls” hand cut border we found under the drop ceiling. It surrounded the room, but we only kept it above the fireplace. It seemed to be original to the house, so it was important to keep some of it. It’s a beautiful work of art!
Hung a new ceiling light
NOTE:
With the help of my husband’s father, we have completed all the renovations ON OUR OWN.
AND FYI—none of us are contractors or have backgrounds in this kind of work. We’ve just researched and learn as we go! You can learn a lot from YouTube too!
Photography by Carolyn J. Braden, Renovations by Tommy and Carolyn Braden
Photography by Carolyn J. Braden, Renovations by Tommy and Carolyn Braden