You Won’t Believe These Before & After Pics Are of the Same House

As nice as it is to see Before & After projects that seem totally approachable, aspirational whole-house renovations are highly entertaining and inspiring. And that’s exactly what we have today: A “bland, boring ’60s ranch” gets a total — and totally amazing — makeover.

If you’re having a hard time orienting yourself in this room, it’s because it used to be two rooms and an attic. The wall between the living room and kitchen/dining room was removed, the ceiling was removed, that glorious beam was added, and a board and batten wall was put in. All of that was a major, major undertaking, but the results are fabulous.

What seemed like a simple task of removing one wall and the ceiling turned into a structural challenge, requiring a whole new scissor truss system with a hefty price tag. There was a lot of wasted space in that attic — but by making it part of the living space with the big cathedral ceiling, it made this house a real ‘wow’ when people walked in the door.

The space now has a total chalet-feel, and it’s a thousand times brighter. The windows aren’t huge, but the new room structure and white paint makes the most of every bit of sunlight.

Here’s how the kitchen/dining room looked before the wall separating them from the kitchen was removed. The juxtaposition of honey wood, mousy walls, and blue formica is really something — it all adds up to meh. The amount of cabinet space is definitely nice, however.

This whole kitchen is great, but the star of the show is the stunning custom-built range hood made of reclaimed wood. It coordinates perfectly with the ceiling beams and the breakfast bar, as well as being flat-out gorgeous and unique.

The peninsula with reclaimed wood is great for eating or chatting with the chef. And it’s the perfect party house.

It looks like the only spot to eat is now the peninsula, but there might be enough room in the kitchen to stick a petite bistro table, if desired.

Here’s a little information on the full renovation.

This was a pretty big project that took over five months. It also included two new baths and waterproofing a nasty basement and finishing it as living space. I did all the planning, design, and coordination — as well as things like tile installation, deck staining, wallpapering, cleaning up, etc. But we brought in the professionals for carpentry, electrical, and plumbing.

Thank you, SoPo Cottage! Be sure to check out Laurel’s full renovation post —every single room (including the basement) was totally redone!

This post originally ran on Apartment Therapy. Head over there to see more photos: Before and After: We Kinda Can’t Believe This is the Same House