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It all started when my mom was walking through her dining room, looked at the carpet and thought, “No matter what I do this carpet is never going to get clean. I’d really like to put hardwood in here.”
That thought dominoed into a “remodel” binder, dozens of workers, hundreds of hours, a lot of noise, furniture shuffling, home improvement store after home improvement store, “the picture lady”, dust, fumes, crowded spaces, a trip to St. George, and a totally updated, fabulous looking house.
Nov. 8 – the floor guy came to give my mom a bid. While there, the contractor that the floor guy brought with him said, “Even if you don’t redo your whole kitchen, granite would really do a lot for updating your house.”
That’s when it got stressful. My mom would go out looking for granite in the morning and by 3:00 she was overwhelmed and stressed and everything was off. After about a week of going back and forth deciding whether or not to do anything she decided she would do it, do it well, and enjoy the experience. That’s when I came into play. I spent several days each week going to Home Depot, Arizona Tile, Lowes, lighting stores, and RC Willey validating my mom’s decisions. She really did a great job playing decorator, manager, and contractor through this whole thing. I’m not sure she had any idea how big this thing would get, and I know she didn’t enjoy every moment, but in the end the house looks great and she’s so pleased with the results.
2 1/2 months later on Dec 22 the final worker finished. Enjoy the before, during and after shots.
FRONT DOOR – believe it or not, this was one of the hardest decisions.
Front Door Before
Front Door After
INSIDE DOORS – note the new hinges, handles, and molding around the door. Also, notice the molding. In the before picture, the molding is removed, but you can see how thick it was. In the after picture you can see it’s about twice as thick at the base and all around the door. The doors however are the same with a fresh coat of paint.
Inside Door Before Inside Door After
DINING ROOM – Notable changes – obviously the hard wood floors (I apologize for the messy room in the picture but the wood had already been delivered). Note the wall color, photos and light fixture.
Dining Room Before
Dining Room After 
STAIRS – note the banister rods are now painted black, the carpet is new and the paint is darker. Also, in the lower pictures you notice the paint goes all the way to the floor instead of having white on the bottom 1/3 of the wall.
Stairs Before
Stairs After
KITCHEN – note the granite counter tops, new appliances, sink, backsplash and stools.
Kitchen Before Kitchen After
BUTLER’S PANTRY – note the new counter and sink
(also notice the hardwood going into the dining room)
Butler’s Pantry Before
Butler’s Pantry After
FIREPLACE – new tile both around the fireplace and on the ground
Fireplace Before Fireplace After
LIGHT FIXTURES – my mom had a lot of gold in her house which was dating it. She switched out all the hardware and fixtures for oil rubbed bronze.
Front Entry Chandelier Before Front Entry Chandelier After
Dining Room Chandelier Before Dining Room Chandelier After
Wall Sconces Before Wall Sconces After
Hallway Before
Hallway After
Bathroom After – unfortunately I didn’t get a bathroom light fixture before picture, but you’ll be able to see them in the bathroom pictures
BATHROOMS – here my mom updated everything from brass to oil-rubbed bronze (lights, doors, shower head, drain, toilet paper holder, towel racks, etc.), and took down the shower doors.
Upstairs (pink) Bathroom Before Upstairs (pink) Bathroom After 
Upstairs Pink Bathroom After
Main Floor Guest Bath After
LIVING ROOM – Here there is new carper and new paint
Living Room Before
Living Room After
Now it wasn’t all beautiful before and after shots. This was no 30 minutes HGTV show where projects take a mere 25 seconds from start to finish. This got messy. This took a LONG time. It was stressful. Paint doesn’t arrive in the perfect shade and it takes a lot longer than an afternoon to get the room done. There isn’t a crew of 25 helpers to move furniture in and out and store in the meantime. Tom and Dad were the movers – 4 times as everything went into the living room while the floors were being done and the family room was being painted…out of the living room and into the family room while the living room was being painted, back into the living room while the floors were getting their final coat, and then finally back into place. My dad even left town to get away from the madness. He needed a place where he could “hold his head”. Now that it’s finally over, we can enjoy the during pictures.
