Before and after pics

[Huma0]

I'm an enthusiastic interiors buff and renovating my house has been a long-term labour of love and, I realise now, will always be an ongoing project. I'd therefore be really interested to hear from other hosts who have renovated their Airbnb properties and see before and after pics if you have them, or just hosts who have plans and ideas for future projects.

To start it off, here is one of the guest rooms in my house, BEFORE:

and AFTER:

I still haven't finished tweaking this room yet (the painted wardrobes for example), so there may be updates to come.

Please share your projects and plans!

[Harriet-and-Stu0]

lovely tiles @Huma0!  

My quick reaction for the cloakroom walls would be to take a piece of tile to the paint shop and have them match the off-white for the main color of the walls.  Have the paint shop match the blue of the tile -- or, one of the shades of blue 🙂 -- for the trim color.  And you could even have the paint shop match the terra-cotta colored grout for the accent paint (by accent I mean a second trim color).  Some color-matching systems take a couple tries for a really good match, so some patience may be called for...

But you have excellent taste, so two votes for whichever way you were leaning!

[Huma0]

Thanks @Harriet-and-Stu0 I hadn't thought about the colour-matching, but it's a good idea, especially as then I can get the right colour in a bathroom specific paint, which tend to have very limited colour choices.  i had already traipsed the tile around tile shops trying to find something to go with it, with no luck. The coordinating off-white tiles from the range are too 'distressed' even for my tastes. I was worried they would just look grubby.

[Harriet-and-Stu0]

I see exactly what you mean about 'grubby' 🙂

'Patina' is one thing but those look...worn.  

Idea -  it might be easier for the paint shop to match the off-white from one of the 'grubby' solid off-white tiles than from one of the blue patterned ones !

[Huma0]

@Harriet-and-Stu0 

I completely forgot to update here, as I still haven't managed to take decent photos of it, but I found my tile solution for the cloakroom. I had always like crackle glaze tiles and wanted them for my kitchen splashbacks, but could never afford them. Then I found an end of line pallet deal and so ended up buying a large quantity, way more than I needed for the kitchen. They are cream and worked perfectly on the cloakroom walls too.

Next, I umm-ed and ah-ed about which colour to paint the door, trying unsuccessfully to find a blue that coordinated with the floor tiles. In the end, I realised that I had paint for the woodwork in one of the bedrooms in a colour that worked perfectly and also wasn't too dark for the small, windowless space.

People just adore this little cloakroom. I get so many compliments on it. Way more than for the rather fancy wetroom I did next to it. I will try again to take some decent photos so I can post them.

[Jake0]

I went with the same shower faucet in my remodel 😄 just in a darker finish, it's soooooo nice!

[Dawn-And-Toby0]

Absolutely stunning!!! 

[Huma0]

Thank you @Dawn-And-Toby0!

[Kelly149]

Here is our ABB before

 Here is the BEFORE:

This is DURING: 

And this is the AFTER:

projects are always ongoing, so it has changed even from when this pic was taken.

This series somewhat explains my house rules: I've already rescued this property from disaster once, I've no desire to do it ever again!!

Fun thread @Huma0

[Huma0]

@Kelly149 I also often have that problem. Seems the site is quite glitchy when trying to upload photos. Hope you can post some before and afters soon!

[Huma0]

@Kelly149 it looks like a major transformation! How long did it take you and did you do much of the work yourself? Would love to see more photos and especially what you have done inside.

I hear you re not wanting to rescue the property again. I can put up with the odd small breakages here and there (they inevitably happen) but I've no desire to let the place get so run down and neglected again.

This was the garden before I cleared it out, although a lot of the overgrowth had already been cut back by then:

And here is what it looked like after. I didn't even know the paving was there! Of course, with a garden especially, you have to constantly keep on top of it. I wish I had some decent photos of how it looks like now with the garden furniture and all the planting I have done, but the British weather seems always to scupper me 😞

[Kelly149]

@Huma0 yes, things can get out of hand in outdoor spaces! When we started clearing the land around the barn we found an entire electric treadmill in the undergrowth!!

This is an example of what the interior of the barn looks like now:

there aren't any "BEFORE" of the interior bc when we started there was no electric and I was fairly certain there was a raccoon living somewhere in the space. The worst of the work was about a month or two, but I continue to make changes and adjustments as I find things I want to add and notice things to improve. We hired out the carpentry, electric, AC but did all of the design and fittings ourselves. Husband and children built ikea cabinets. Furniture has been everything from items we already had to neighbors' garage sales to big box/ikea pieces. I'm always adding art & more pillows. The barn was originally designed to withstand our 5 kids, as it turns out that was a good philosophy for having ABB guests also.

[Huma0]

@Kelly149 a treadmill? Really?! It's amazing what people will dump in their gardens which should be treasured spaces, although I understand the temptation to do so!

You space looks amazing and the cork walls are so on trend! I'm hoping for a similar vibe for my hallway (see the other posts about this) with emerald green sofa etc.

[Kelly149]

@Huma0 The green you're drawn to is such a lovely saturated color, I'd love to see it after you finish that space. But,  I'll let you in on a secret: in a previous house I did have cork walls where they rolled out & glued large sheets of flooring underlayment cork which made for a wonderful floor to ceiling bulletin board, but in this space what appears to be cork is actually roofing plywood. It is economical & very sturdy (I didn't want to worry about the teenagers putting an elbow thru a sheetrock wall). If you ask the lumberyard ahead of time, they can remove a batch of plywood sheets before they are marked with the roofers lines and then you have ready made "cork" walls for less $$ than sheetrock, but you absolutely could not put anything up with a pin in that space!

But it is one of my favorite rustic elements of the barn even if it is difficult to dust.

[Helen427]

@Kelly149 

Do you find the plywood helps as a form of insulation?

Cork used to be used for insulation and keeping homes warm - I learnt that recently and recall the trend for cork boards

@Huma0 , What did you decide about a Cork Board?

Has anyone here reading this still have any of those Cork Pictures they used to make from Corks in Wine Bottles?

Or do you have a Cork Tree on your property and know the history behind it?

[Huma0]

@Helen427 

I liked the idea of the cork wall but there was nowhere in the office area to put it really as there is a large window and limited wall space.

While I think the decor in the photo above looks great, I've decided to redecorate this particular room in a more traditional (but still creative) rather than contemporary style that is more in keeping with the rest of the house, e.g. something similar to below. I have already bought the mural. Who knows when I will get around to that though!