I can’t believe it’s only been three years since we purchased this home and we’re already leaving it. I really thought our kids would graduate high school living in this home. Why the move you ask? I’ll share more on that later, but right now I want to share with y’all lots of before and after photos. This post is all about the transformation of our basic builder grade contemporary home to a modern farmhouse style home.
We purchased our basic builder grade contemporary home in foreclosure.
It was only a few years old so structurally it was in good condition, it just needed a major facelift.
Little did I know that this home would spark my desire for creating my own modern farmhouse style and the birth of this blog!
Nothing about this home was upgraded. Most of the homes in the neighborhood had at least granite countertops, but not this one.
The only good part about not being upgraded is that we were able to buy the home for a steal. For 3100 square feet, we thought we were in heaven and didn’t care if it was upgraded or not!
I’m going to walk you down memory lane and share how we transformed this home from the inside out.
Basic Builder Grade Home to Modern Farmhouse
Let’s start with the front of the home, shall we?
Who ever decided to paint those shutters that burgundy color was cray! And the landscaping needed some TLC. Obviously the previous owners finished half of the flower beds and then said “to heck with it.” Here we are 3 years later….. Looks a wee bit better huh?
First thing we did when we moved in was get rid of that burgundy! I painted the front door and added a few modern farmhouse touches with the home numbers. You can see all about my modern farmhouse front door makeover HERE.
As you walk through the front door you enter the dining room which ended up being my favorite room in the house.
Once again you will see a terrible color choice! That poor owner must have been color blind!
Oh the changes I made in this room! First we painted the entire house Benjamin Moore Stonington Gray. By the way, that is a GREAT color that blends with any style or furniture color.
One of the first major DIY’s I tackled was those floating dining room shelves. I think they really made a farmhouse statement in the room.
The other DIY I tackled was adding the wood planks to the column and side wall. I really love the rustic feel it gave to the room.
Are you curious about my dining room table? You’ll never guess what it is…….
The next room you enter as you leave the far end of the dining room is a hallway off of the garage. This hallway later became our modern farmhouse mudroom.
This was my all time favorite modern farmhouse update. This was so easy and made such a dramatic and practical change to the space.
Next off of the mudroom was the kitchen. This was the most expensive (but still affordable) update we made and the biggest modern farmhouse change.
This kitchen was a sea of brown. Brown countertops, brown cabinets, and brown tile floor. YUCK!
Where do I begin with this budget friendly modern farmhouse kitchen update? After we had the brown countertops swapped out, I decided my new gray tones didn’t match the brown cabinets anymore, so I painted them. This was a job but worth every sore muscle!
Lastly we added the bead board, which really added a modern farmhouse touch.
By the way, this entire kitchen transformation cost us less than $4,000. I think my husband would agree this was the best $3700 bucks spent in this home!
How about the living room? I didn’t really update too much to the actual structure other than paint, but I did add some cool farmhouse decor.
Guess what? More brown.
I added that really cool antique fireplace mantel. I also milk painted the tv stand and added a fun saying on the top.
Still more Brown….
I added those DIY drop cloth curtains and they really made the windows pop.
Next we head to the master bedroom.
Can you believe it’s another bold color? By now, I’m sure you’re not surprised. I wasn’t.
This room was an easy fix; paint a little styling. I did add that DIY headboard.
It’s crazy the difference a little paint can make!
Let’s head on over to the bathroom off of the kitchen.
Plain jane
What else can I say?
First things first, we got rid of that builder grade glass and replaced it with an actual mirror!
Next I added some farmhouse charm with those DIY floating shelves made from plumbing materials.
Let me share another bathroom I updated for UNDER $100!
Looks just like the other bathroom huh?
Can you believe I really updated this space, INCLUDING COUNTERTOP, for under $100?
The last update I want to share with y’all is our back yard with that random fire pit.
Drumroll……….
We really transformed this fire pit with a little gravel and some repurposed pavers.
You can see more of my outdoor TV cover with items from a thrift store HERE.
You can probably tell we didn’t get around to replacing the carpet. That was on the list, but we couldn’t save enough to replace 2500 square feet of carpet!
Looking back on this post I realize how many projects I tackled in only three years. It was a great home, and I will miss it.
I would love for you to save this post for later! Pin in HERE or feel free to Pin the image below.
Thanks for stopping by the blog and I hope you continue to follow along with our new adventures in our new home. I can’t wait to share more of our story with our rustic beach cottage!
Lindsey**
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