This is the downstairs den in the house we have been working on.
Here is how it looked in the Zillow listing when we bought it. It didn’t need a lot to get it market ready, fresh paint, two matching light fixtures, and a mantel tweaking.
While living there, my son had done some customizing to the fireplace to fit a piece of art work he had built in. After taking that out, it needed some trim and paint to restore it.
Also, there was a dark, sooty blob above the doors. I used black concrete stain to blend the rest of the bricks to match. This is a “during” picture.
The bricks and mortar to the left are done, the right are not in this photo. Doesn’t the black wash (Is that a term? Like white wash?) update the hearth? I think this treatment drug the fireplace right out of 1972!
The rough hewn and live edge shelves in the corner were installed by my son.
We repainted the ceiling, which the previous owners needed to do ages ago. And all of the trim was freshly painted.
Behind that door is a giant, walk in storage area. I cut notches in a rug to make it fit over padding glued to old linoleum, repainted the ceiling and the shelves. This was the last thing I did, and I used up all of the odds and ends of light colored paint that I had left.
It seemed okay for a closet, and at least that made it clean.
You know one thing that brightens a room that most people don’t even notice? Repainting the air vent covers. Over time, with gas heat, they can discolor. So can the area around them. Cleaning and repainting is a small thing to do, and I will bet you no one even notices that I did it. But I will also bet you that they can feel that it was done, even if they don’t see it.
The house feels much fresher and cleaner with the vents tidied up.
One thing I did not do that bugs me, is that I left the shelf under the windows the same as the walls. Not that it looks bad, I think the unbroken color is a good choice. But as a painter, I know that eggshell finish wall paint isn’t as durable for shelves as a satin or semi gloss. I could do a quick, clear coat over it to ease my mind.