Before and After, First Edition

Since moving into our house almost 2 years ago, we have made some pretty big changes. Improvements, in our opinion at least, are constantly happening at the Bayles' casa, thanks to my wonderful, handy-man hubby. So, in order to document everything we have done so far (and brag a little on Benny boo) I'm going to do several "Before and After" editions. I love seeing before and after pictures side by side and seeing what a difference each change makes. Enjoy!

*Note: Anytime I use the word "we" when talking about changes made, just go ahead and assume that I pretty much had very little to do with the actual manual labor aspect of it. I consider myself the idea-lady in this operation.

The first BIG change that we made right after we bought the house, and even before we moved in was install wood floors. The entire house was carpet- except for bathrooms, kitchen and the master bedroom. With Ben's allergies (and there are many, believe me), and dogs that shed, some sort of hard surface flooring was a must. With a little help from some friends and my brother-in-laws one weekend, Ben did this entire project on his own- from ripping up the old carpet to laying down the wood floors. They are beautiful and my favorite change that we made to the house.

BEFORE

This is the picture that was online when we bought the house, with the previous owner's things in it. As you can see, lots of carpet!

AFTER

Look at those floors! And, yes, I agree we need a buffet or something...but at least I have since put something on the wall

Another picture of the floors from right after we moved in- they are gorgeous, hand-scraped, warm brown oak floors

Next up: the bathrooms...stay tuned!