Well I can't believe it but after four years in the making this One Room Challenge is complete! We tackled a full apartment and overhauled a kitchen, bedroom, bathroom and living room!
The Kitchen
The Living Room
The Bedroom
The Bathroom
The apartment is sourced largely with pre-loved pieces like the 100 year old soapstone sink from a farmhouse in Vermont.
I am a firm believer in buying second hand whenever possible because of the history and character the pieces add to your home.
Looking around the apartment you'll notice that none of the original 1890's charm was left before our renovation so the house genuinely felt like a new build with all the sparkly fresh drywall that I love so much.
I felt like it was my challenge to add fun renter friendly flair to this space using reclaimed pieces from all over New England. We drove A LOT to get these pieces!
Some were incredible deals like the $30 Rejuvenation kitchen pendants...regularly over $500!
Others were splurges like the $250 mid-century fireplace with moon cutouts.
I of course sourced new materials too like the living room and bedroom carpets.
The bathroom is largely all new except the bathroom vanity which we found on Facebook Marketplace.
The living room floors were such a lucky find underneath the gross carpeting! I decided to paint them black to get that cozy Maine shop vibe but mixed in some edge with the bold color. I love how the whole house feels like a livable gallery with the white walls, pops of vintage and layered textures.
I think it's time for some drastic before and after photos...are you ready?
The Bathroom
The bathroom was just plain scary before. Now it has modern fixtures with a playful design mixing metals and lots of light.
The Living Room
The floors were painted black, the ac unit removed, and tile was added on the floor where a patch had been boarded up to the basement before we bought the house. I think it used to be a trap door which would have been cool to still have.
The Bedroom
The bedroom (like the rest of the house) had disgusting cigarette burned rugs and needed fresh drywall asap. We used seagrass floor tiles to create our own beauty wall to wall carpet, fit for an ocean queen!
The Kitchen
The kitchen is by far my favorite transformation of the apartment. There are so many details that I love so much. From the soapstone sink to the Irish Island with spindly legs, most of this room is second hand. We even tried to get several pre-loved stoves but in the end had to get a new one because of amperage availability.
One of my favorite details is how the granite and soapstone play together, both Facebook Marketplace finds.
The kitchen is actually big enough for a good size table however I decided to make the space more romantic with a bistro table set up, perfect for 2-4 people.
One of my favorite finds in the kitchen is the coat closet that could be turned into a pantry if you preferred. It was from an attic of a farmhouse in Connecticut, likely used to store winter coats in the off season.
In front of the window I put a bakers rack to hold dishes and glasses. It's actually an old shoe polishing shelf and it's filled with character from the thousands of shoes it worked on over the years.
We decided on an under counter fridge to save on electricity and space, there is always room to add a bigger fridge down the road if needed. At the end of the counter we made a little overhang for a stool so someone can perch while enjoying their latte.
Since the soapstone sink has the incredible backsplash, we decided to keep the rest of the kitchen with drywall backsplash - we love the clean fresh look.
The laundry room got a fresh coat of paint and a cute new light fixture too.
My second favorite part of the living room is this incredible leaf shaped light fixture. It creates the prettiest shadows on the ceiling.
My first favorite of the living room of course being the moon cutout mid-century fireplace. It casts the coziest light and just looks plain cool.
We put a coat tree by the front door and a chest to hold mittens and hats. The rug is vintage overdyed and is black to just blend in with the floors since the vibrant living room rug is nearby.
Floor pillows are in a few spots because I personally love sitting on the floor and so do my kids.
The bedroom is actually two twin beds with a mattress topper to make it a king. So if my family stays over the kids get the beds and we take the mattress topper to the living room. However it can just be a king size for anyone else who visits.
The headboard is clearly a bench, but we needed it to act as our bedside table too, since I wanted the bed to face the windows.
It's been quite the journey! Our contractor started on the demo and drywall repair in January and he finished up the project in April.
The feeling of clean beautiful drywall was incredible. I cried.
I also cried when I saw this beauty up and running. Soon after I used wax to shine up the soapstone and bring it back to life.
And that concludes this renovation! I have cried many tears (of joy and frustration), sweat a lot of beads from heavy lifting (hello stone sink), and even bled some drops from the inevitable boo boo. Blood, sweat and tears were fully a part of this project and to say that I am thankful and joyful that we are finished is an understatement. I love this design so much. Thank you for being a part of it with me!
Thank you to the One Room Challenge and Apartment Therapy for encouraging me to document the process with this amazing event. I often get wrapped up in projects and forget to take pictures of the how to's so for this event, I truly am grateful.
Please be sure to check out the other One Room Challenge participants reveals! There are so many great ones this year, I am in awe!
