Our cozy cottage has gone through a lot the past two and a half years yet not enough, in my opinion. There are rooms that we did right away and rooms we haven’t even touched yet. There are rooms that are likely to get redone either through little touch ups and minor changes or through major renovation. And then there are rooms (maybe only just one) that just need one minor fix. So here’s the first house tour that I’ve done on The 256 Project to show befores and afters of what we’ve done so far and show you rooms you’ve never seen before (and for good reason!). Scroll down for the house tour and swipe through for the before and after of each room (or just the before, in some instances).

Curb Appeal

The house tour starts where our house starts, with the front door and porch. We took this from bland to bam! (tee hee) by painting the front door a happy color, adding string lights and color through decor on the porch. We haven’t done anything else.

Still to come: we’d love to remove the vinyl siding on this house, which would affect the porch, but anything regarding the exterior that isn’t an emergency repair is on the “last thing we do, if we ever do it” list. I would, however, like to up the cute cottage factor by adding corbels to the porch, which I don’t think would have to be part of a major renovation.

Sources: paint, Benjamin Moore; bench, Domino; pillows, Target.

Living Room

This started out as a bland space, all white with ugly mirrors over the fireplace. We replaced those and painted the entire room a brighter white and the fireplace a bright yellow and brought in texture and color.

Still to come: I actually want to switch this room to be the dining room after we renovate the kitchen  when we win the lottery.

Sources: couch, stool and TV console, IKEA; end table, vintage; rug, Safavieh; coffee table, West Elm; curtains, handmade with fabric from Fabric.com.

I wanted this to have a slightly moody feel so I painted it two different grays and split up the room for half dining, half sitting and all drinking.

Still to come: moving the books, switching out the ceiling fan and getting better lighting, making curtains and, when we win the lottery and have a major renovation, making this the living room.

Sources: dining table, chairs, and bookshelves, IKEA; rug, West Elm; bar cart, Wal-Mart; blue chairs, Overstock.

Before

Before

Kitchen

I mean…there’s just not much I can say about this room. You might be able to see how vintage and, well, unique, it is, but you can’t see how disgusting the dirty wallpaper and perma stained countertops and vinyl floors are. The door leads down to the furnace room and root cellar that we plan to turn into a pantry and, overall, make less scary.

Still to come: EVERYTHING.

Sources: Nope!

Mud Room

I’ve taken you on this journey with me. You can see details of how we planned to break up the renovation of this room here, our phase 1 makeover here and what’s still to come.

Still to come: Phase 2.

Sources: baskets, Michael’s, Target, IKEA and Home Depot; hanging planter, Urban Outfitters; wardrobe and other planters, vintage; shelves, Real Antique Wood; brackets, Home Depot.

Powder Room

The horrid wallpaper that’s on the ceiling, walls and light switches in the kitchen and that had been in the mudroom carry into here. I actually really like the light fixture, towel rod and toilet paper holder but everything else has got to go.

Still to come: renovation.

So, that’s our first floor. Now, into the second floor.

Entryway/Stairs

This is just a before shot as we haven’t even painted in here. The stained glass window is the star and is beautiful as are the floors.

Still to come: paint, artwork, a shelf maybe, and a stair runner.

Sources: bench from Recycled Brooklyn, coat rack from Etsy.

Office

This is the first room at the top of the stairs and I love it. We painted and made it feel a bit jungalicious in our color and fabric choices. I do love this room, but I want to do more. We’re going to make it more of a library and have all of our books up here and I want to upholster the couch.

Still to come: bigger and better shelving, a new desk situation and updated couch.

Sources: all furniture Ikea except file cabinet, Wal-Mart; white end table, World Market; rug, Target: pillows, Target and Dot & Bo; curtains, handmade with fabric from Spoonflower.

Full Bathroom

Our only full bathroom is almost beautifully vintage. We’ve done nothing to it but I think we can make updates to it without ruining the original elements we want to keep, such as the flooring and subway tile. We want to update the vanity and make it a double sink with better quality materials and double mirror, reglaze the clawfoot tub and get new hardware, and I guess get a new toilet.

Still to come: minor renovation.

Sources: rug, Target; curtain, Society 6.

Flex Guest Bedroom/Studio

This is our most done room. The only thing I would change in here is the light fixture but that is on the “probably never will do” list. I wrote about how we made a bedroom out of nothing over the course of a month using all budget sources and this room was featured on Apartment Therapy.

Still to come: like, nothing.

Sources: couch and shelf, IKEA; rug, Overstock; nesting tables, Wayfair; nightstand, vintage from Etsy; curtains, Urban Outfitters; mirrors, Etsy, World Market and Urban Outfitters; fan, vintage from Etsy; photo, our own in a frame from Amazon.

Master Bedroom

Last stop on the house tour is our master bedroom. This had been a captured bedroom so we closed the door leading to it from the office and opened a new doorway into the hallway. This meant we had to lose our closet, but it was tiny anyway and useless to anyone existing in the 21st century. A year later, we had California Closets come in and create a closet for us. Clearly, we’ve painted and added decor but there are more plans for this room.

Still to come: sliding closet doors, new light fixture, new bed, and maybe a few minor decor updates.

Sources: bed, nightstands, chair, rugs, IKEA; mirrors and curtains, Target; dresser, vintage from Etsy.

This house tour represents 1275 square feet of our cozy cottage. That’s not a lot of room, which is why we’ve really spent a lot of time and effort converting what was a nothing outdoor space into a budget-friendly backyard oasis.

Backyard

I say it’s an oasis because I think our house is really deceiving. You look at it from the front and it seems so tiny; we call it the cozy cottage for a reason! But then you come around back and it’s a surprise at just how much room there is to hang out back there. You can see from the before and after just how much we’ve done and I’ve written previously about creating the backyard here and creating Boss Bar here.

Still to come: minor decor and plant details as well as a cleaner, better organized garage to really define the Boss Bar area from the rest of the space.

Now that you’ve seen the house in it’s entirety, what do you think of the progress? Any suggestions on what we should do? Any missteps you think we’ve taken so far?

We are constantly working on the house as well as cooking up some family recipes so subscribe to The 256 Project to stay up to date.