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Basic Builder Grade Contemporary Home to Modern Farmhouse

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.

Basic Builder Grade Contemporary Home to Modern Farmhouse

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?

Basic Builder Grade Contemporary Home to Modern Farmhouse
Basic Builder Grade Contemporary Home to Modern Farmhouse

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.

dining room before modern farmhouse makeover

Once again you will see a terrible color choice! That poor owner must have been color blind!

Modern Farmhouse dining room

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…….

vintage casket carrier repurposed to a dining room table

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.

The Easiest DIY Board and Batten

This was my all time favorite modern farmhouse update. This was so easy and made such a dramatic and practical change to the space.

modern farmhouse Board and batten

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.

Basic Builder Grade kitchen
Basic Builder Grade kitchen

This kitchen was a sea of brown. Brown countertops, brown cabinets, and brown tile floor. YUCK!

Modern Farmhouse kitchen

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!

Modern Farmhouse Kitchen

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.

Basic Builder Grade living room

Guess what? More brown.

modern farmhouse living room

I added that really cool antique fireplace mantel.  I also milk painted the tv stand and added a fun saying on the top.

Basic Builder Grade living room

Still more Brown….

modern farmhouse Living room and DIY Drop Cloth Curtains

I added those DIY drop cloth curtains and they really made the windows pop.

Basic Builder Grade bedroom

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.

Modern Farmhouse bedroom

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.

Basic Builder Grade bathroom

Plain jane

What else can I say?

Modern Farmhouse bathroom with floating shelves

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!

Basic Builder Grade bathroom

Looks just like the other bathroom huh?

Bathroom Update for under $100 including DIY Faux Marble Countertops

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.

Basic Builder Grade backyard
Basic Builder Grade backyard

Drumroll……….

Modern Farmhouse outdoor with DIY firepit

We really transformed this fire pit with a little gravel and some repurposed pavers. 

Industrial Pipe Sliding TV Cover

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.

Basic Builder Grade Contemporary Home to Modern Farmhouse
Builder grade home to modern farmhouse style home

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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  1. […] room makeover that I wanted to create a faux roman shade. I created this type of curtain in our previous home and I knew I had to recreate in our rustic beach cottage. My daughters bedroom makeover was the […]

  2. […] I redesigned our kitchen in our modern farmhouse builder grade home, I decided to do away with the “step up” bar. I was so happy I did this.  I feel like a […]

  3. […] I purchased this door three years ago, we were living in a contemporary builder grade home.  The home was fairly new and had all the basic builder grade amenities like arched doorways and […]

  4. Congratulations on a job well done! You’ve made so many wonderful changes; the new owners will enjoy your hard work for a long time. Best of luck in your new home!

    Thanks so much for joining the Grace at Home party at Imparting Grace. I’m featuring you this week!

  5. Ellen says:

    You’ve been busy! So many really good projects. I pinned your mushroom boards and batten hoping my husband might be willing to do the same in our house.

  6. Nige says:

    Great job looking good Thank you for linking to #Thatfridaylinky please come back next week

  7. Wow, you’re so talented. I love the feeling of light and space you created in that home. You’ve given me a couple of ideas, I’m feeling motivated to get out that tin of paint now! Good luck with the move #thatfridaylinky

  8. Teresa says:

    I love everything you did, it was an amazing transformation. Thank you for sharing at The Really Crafty Link Party. Pinned.

  9. You have a beautiful home.

  10. Love this transformation, and that you put all of the makeovers in one place! Pinning to my Interior Inspirations board! Here from Dream Create Inspire link party!

  11. Sylvia Lance says:

    Great transformation! I love grey paint! I can’t wait to help my daughter decorate her new home. Thanks for the farmhouse ideas.

  12. What an amazing transformation! I adore your Farmhouse Style. Thank you for sharing at the Tea and Roses Linky party. Have a safe and happy Memorial Day!

  13. Cecilia says:

    You’ve created such a beautiful home–great job! Thanks for sharing at our Spring Tea Party!