My House Tour -Full of Before and After Pictures (And 9 Year Blog Anniversary!)

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You guys! I just realized that last week was marked 9 years of this blog! What?! That is just completely crazy. I feel like I just started blogging two years ago. Thrifty and Chic is seriously almost a decade old....which totally makes me sound way old! :) Since my blog is 9 years old, that means I have been living in my house for 10! I remember first stepping foot into this place; I totally had that feeling that everyone talked about. We almost didn't even look at it. This listing was in a bottom pile of houses that were on the market that we could afford, and technically had the correct attributes, but the pictures on the MLS were far from beautiful. We looked at houses probably for about 2 months, and started scratching at the bottom of the pile. We went to this house "because it was in the area". And little did we know that it would be our future home. It was perfect! Better than any other listing. Thank goodness for horrible MLS pictures or else this house would have been gone super quick and we wouldn't of had a chance.

So, every year, I like to look back on how much change has happened to our house since the year we moved in and when I started blogging. Most of the before pictures below are how I decorated in the first year. I think it's just so fun to see the difference and how much time can change a place.

Entryway
Before:

We laid new flooring, put some molding on the walls and added some decor. Doesn't seem like a lot, but made a huge change.
After:

Entryway Board and Batten: Tutorial

Front Room
Before:

Our front room actually sat pretty vacant for the first few months after we moved in. We had no furniture to furnish it with. This was one of my first attempts at decorating it with what we had. This room actually has seen more changes than any room in my house. But, luckily, it has stayed pretty much the same for the last couple of years. I added some planking/shiplap to the back wall along with a faux fireplace. I obviously updated my furniture and added some new decor too.

After:

Wood Sunburst Mirror: Tutorial      Farmhouse Ladder: Tutorial      Faux fireplace DIY: Tutorial      Wire Hamper: Amazon    Bench: Target     Console Table: Target     Sofa Bed: Ikea      Bench: Target     Rug: Rugs USA   

 Living Room
Before:

 The before picture of this is probably into the 2nd year of us living in our house. Back then I was obsessed with candles. They were everywhere. I also was in that weird place of what the heck to do with these alcoves. I seriously despised them, but later on, was very thankful for them and how much character they ended up adding to the space once I added the shelves. Updates in here have been the board and batten along every wall, the fireplace and mantel planking, the new flooring, and updated furniture and decor...so, actually, a whole lot of change :)
After:

Shiplap: Tutorial     Media Console: Tutorial      Builtin shelves: Tutorial    Wreath: Tutorial    Rug: Amazon      Clock: Tutorial     Ruffle Pillows: Amazon    

 This is one of the pictures from the MLS. Not the best, huh?

 Here's that area 9 years later:

 Now this is a before picture of my living room right when we bought our new sectional; which is actually still the one we have in it today.

And of course, the after:

Dining room
Before:

 As you can tell, my whole theme in here was Tuscany. I was soo close to adding Venetian plaster to all these walls. It was a thing back then, and I'm so so glad I didn't do it! It was but a year or so later that I ended up adding these planks (or now called shiplap) to the back wall. It brightened up the space like crazy and added the character I always wanted in my home. This table is actually still the same in here. It has it dings and places where the veneer has peeled off, but I can't let it go! :)
After:

Jute rug: Amazon    Farmhouse Chairs: Amazon     Striped Turkish Towel/Blanket: Amazon

 Master Bedroom
Before:

 The bedding set in my master bedroom 9 years ago was a hand me down from my mother-in-law. The duvet cover was a wedding present, and those pillows and curtains were probably some of my first ever DIY projects :) Since then, we have upgraded to a much larger bed, along with new decor. Since it's a vaulted ceiling in here, I wanted to break up the wall and add the square board and batten.
After:

Ruffle Pillows: Amazon      Bedding: Crane and Canopy      Lamps: Target      Nightstand: Tutorial

 Master Bathroom
Before:

 This tub is what sold me on the house. Seriously, as if I didn't want to buy it anyway when we first walked in, this sealed the deal! In here, I added the floating shelves and updated the curtains. That's pretty much it.
After:

Floating shelves: Tutorial     Ruffle Curtains: Amazon

Laundry Room
Before:

 I always have hated my laundry room. It was a pass through between the living room and garage. It was small and tight and completely lacked any character or storage space...which my house so desperately needed. I add some shiplap and shelving in here last year, and now it's actually a decent place to do laundry! :)
After:

Shelves and Shiplap: Tutorial

 Guest bathroom
Before:

 This bathroom is super small, like really, what you see is what you get. It was a big beige box. Really though, all I remember is how tall the beige ceiling are in here. It was just boring. So a few years ago, I updated it with some board and batten and paint!
After:

Board and Batten: Tutorial     Diamond Wall Tutorial

Kid's Bathroom
Before:

 All this decor was brought over from our apartment. Technically, this bathroom was only used like twice a year until we had children. So, when I wanted to redo it, I had to really make the cost low since there really wasn't any reason to do so :) $60 completed this transformation. It has stayed like this until this day!
After:

Bathroom makeover Tutorial 

Guest Bedroom/Kid's Room
Before:

 Can you imagine having a guest spend the night in this room? Well, it's probably not so bad, but definitely what I wouldn't call inviting :) This was even before I put blinds in the room. It got so hot in there during the summer. Now, it's my little girl's room. It did see it's time as a nursery for a bit too.
After:

Girl Bedroom Reveal and Sources

Guest room/Kid's room
Before:

Once our first kid came along, my 'office' aka dump everything in there room became the guest room/office. I did make this a little more inviting and actually had some good tips on storage ideas and how to share an office and guest room in one of my posts. But since then, another little came along and I had to dismantle everything and move in a crib :) Technically, this room is a little different now than this picture shows. We have some different pieces and a toddler bed in here now, but the look is quite similar. 

Nursery Tour and Sources

Well, I hope you enjoyed going down memory lane with me! Even if you don't blog, I encourage you to start taking pictures of our home. It's so much fun to look back at them and see all the changes!


 Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”