Yesterday marked three years since we closed on our house by the lake. I can hardly believe it’s been that long, we’ve made so many changes since that day with so many more changes that we have planned.

After three years I think it’s time to take you all on a proper tour of our house. I’ll be doing an update post on the progress room by room, sharing how we made the most of every dollar and every square inch of our small home by the lake.

The before pictures were taken on the day of our home inspection, the large TV and over scale furnishings dwarfed the already narrow room. That day we snooped around and found hardwood floors in great condition under the dingy white carpet. The first order of business was to remove the carpet and refinish the floors staining them dark. The walls have been painted a few different colors before settling on the light blue that is there currently.

Our sectional is the Buchanan sectional from Pottery barn and occasional chairs are antiques from my great-grandmother that I upholstered, used to live in my bedroom and now travel around the house. The fireplace surround also got an overhaul with the addition of new paneling and modeling (posts here, here and here) bringing it out of the 80s and into today.