Extreme Home Makeover... Nanny Edition

OK, maybe "extreme" is a slight overstatement. We didn't tear down any walls, or build a house from scratch in 7 days... BUT, this little home makeover was 50 years in the making. My precious Nanny has lived in the same house since my mom was 6, and well, since we all know she just celebrated her 39th birthday, I guess 50 years isn't quite accurate, but close. ha!

After having 3 kids and 6 grandchildren trampling through her house for decades needless to say it was a little worn and frayed. I can't remember her and my Papaw ever taking the time or money to do anything for themselves, they just gave, gave, gave.

So... when the mere mention came of "sprucing up" the ole home place, I jumped all over it! I was dubbed the "Ty Pennington" of the project (you know my obsession for before and after photos.)

I doubt, however, that Ty ever fell off a ladder while holding a full cup of paint, spilled it all over the furniture or forgot to measure the oversized chair to see if it actually fits in the room... but that's why I work for free. ha!

Our whole family came together one weekend in March for a painting party. That was the first time we had all been back in the house together since my Papaw died 15 years ago. It was truly a reunion long overdue.

When he was alive, he cooked Sunday dinner there nearly ever week. (Somehow, his cooking gene skipped me) After he died, it was just too hard to go back. We moved Sunday dinners to my mom's, and although we have continued the tradition he loved so much we haven't all had a meal at Nanny's since. It was great to be finally doing something for her, in the home they shared.
Did I mention, I accidentally scheduled this weekend "painting party" during March Madness? Something else I'm sure Ty would never do. Oops, sorry guys...at least I made sure they got to paint the rooms with TV's in them. My brother nearly disowned me.

Please tell me it's level now...
There were 4 different carpets in Nanny's house (none which were very attractive.) The other was a dark gray but I couldn't fit it in the picture. She got brand new neutral carpet throughout the whole house... wow, what a difference!


We were also celebrating my mom and Emily's birthdays and Luke's new job at Volkswagen.

Tim, my Nanny's cousin and neighbor came over to "inspect" our work...we kept handing him a paint brush. He kept handing it back.
One of many loads to the Goodwill.
The second work weekend was Easter, by then the walls were painted and new carpet was in.

The house was torn to pieces, we hardly had room to put out the food, we sat in the floor on blankets or at TV trays and ate off paper plates... but it didn't matter.

Is your side straight? Cause my sides straight...
We surprised Nanny with a big screen TV for her den. She had been watching that little hand-me-down console for as long as I can remember. That was just one of the many times throughout this makeover I saw her bring her hands to her mouth and gasp "oh, my word!" with tears in her eyes. That made it all worth it!

My cousin Laura helped entertain the troops...
But finally... tonight I hung the last curtain (it's been a slow process) and was finally able to take my cherished "after" pictures.

The den before...
(some of my "befores" were taken after we had started patching holes and filling boxes)
And after...
~removing a/c unit
~ painting paneling and trim
~ new carpet
~ new window treatments
~ new TV
(We still need to recover the couch and recliner, but all of her old furniture stayed)


I took a lot of her pictures and made big collages to hang on the wall... gotta love Kirklands!
The kitchen before... (again, I ripped most of the wallpaper down before I took the before pictures, but you can still see some over the sink)

And after...
~new paint
~new floor
~ new kitchen table
~ new curtains
~ new cabinet pulls
~and thanks to Appliance Epoxy, no more harvest gold dishwasher


The middle bedroom before... (which you walk through to get to the den from the kitchen)

And after...
~new paint
~new bedding
~new carpet

And finally...the living room beforeAnd after...
~removing old a/c unit
~new paint
~new carpet
~new couch and chair
~new light
~new curtains




I can't decide which room is my favorite. But I do know this. What started out as a fun project in turning something old and outdated into something "pretty" became a lot more than that to me. It is one of those things were you begin doing something for someone else and in the end you receive the biggest blessing. The time I got to spend with my grandmother during this remodel is something I will cherish forever. I looked so forward to picking her up and going shopping with her, or going over in the evenings and doing little projects.

She has said repeatedly how much she appreciates all I did... but this was a drop in the bucket compared to all she's done for me in the last 35 years. I hope that when she sits in her "new" house, she feels how truly loved and adored she is by her family.