Kitchen and Sun room: Before and After

After my earlier rant today (see previous post) about stagers, I feel obligated to let my family know what the house looks like now. So here we go....

Kitchen before, with the wall paper that I was so-so on, but that I kept for eight years...

Kitchen after.

Breakfast nook...table for two and couch. Currier and Ives hunting prints on the wall.

(I've had that couch for over 20 years...I must blog about that couch!)

Breakfast room staged. Table has leaf, the two chair that were in our bedroom bay window are now in the kitchen, the couch is gone, and the picture that used to be above B.'s dresser is now on the wall.

Dishes are my Herbs and Spice set, the china set I selected at age 16 and that B. never liked.

Goblets belong to the stager, as do the napkins and secondary pattern plates.

Kitchen desk area, cook book shelf, rocking chair.

I didn't have a chance to re-do the open shelving area; it has always been objectionable to me as it is a dust collector in the kitchen.

Noticed the canning jars on the top shelf?

They were later staged on the other counter top.

Desk after. Notice the needle point tiger is now on the counter for "a pop of color." The needlepoint celebrated Jeff's love of tigers as a child, and the mascot of the children's Christian elementary school.

No, I would really rather NOT have that sitting on the kitchen counter....

Notice the staging with my wooden salad bowl. It was the one I used to block a hat upon once...

The bright yellow napkin is another color "pop."

Wall with a big picture, the picture has now been moved by the stager to near the door to our bedroom.

Two small pictures instead of one large. They belong to the stager.

I have to admit I really like how this space looks now. While it was nice to lounge on the couch with a cup of tea, the area seems a lot airier now. Lord knows we don't need any "warm and cozy" spaces in hot old Houston!

Close up of the table top which will need to stay in place until at least after the virtual tour is filmed.

(Don't you set YOUR table like this in the kitchen EVERY day...all day long???)

I liked what I had before, I really like what it is like now, for now.

Now that I understand the process that allows you to paint over wall paper, I think I will be much more comfortable buying a home with funky wall paper if needed.

Sun room, before.

Bernie was using it as his office. For the first seven years we didn't have his desk there, and we had a TV where the chair was.

Sun room after paint. Layout similar to how it originally was.

Before. Two sided fireplace: Nice detail.

Bernie's bonsai forest on the table is nice....

Before. Little change really except the chair position and the second plant by the door.

(I think Tiggie is still in the same place now too.....)

I really like the sunny yellow paint, especially in the morning as the sun comes in through the trees and through the french doors.

The grass cloth was nice, and it was one of the reasons why I bought the house originally, but eight years later, I prefer the paint. I think I have just moved on from neutral/natural/bland colors.