2022 has been a year of incredible makeovers here at Today’s Homeowner. Here are our favorite before-and-after transformations from the past year.
This front porch now invites you to pull up a chair and enjoy the view. (3 Echoes Content Studio)
5. Front Porch Makeover
Mike and Leigh Ann have a beautiful piece of property that they share with their horses. But they felt like the front of their house lacked the visual appeal that the land it sits on deserved.
The walkway to it was incomplete and unattractive, while the front porch was a sea of dingy paint, stuck on the front of a white house. There was nothing to draw you in or make you feel welcome.
But now, the front porch is freshly painted, and even though we only added a little gray to the mix, there’s enough contrast to give the space some personality.
The rotten wood and peeling paint are gone, and so is the poorly poured sidewalk. In its place is a symmetrically arranged walkway of 12 stepping stones — made from Quikrete’s Walkmaker molds — that create a graceful transition to the porch steps.
The porch now invites you to pull up a chair and enjoy the view.
Large-format pavers make the patio seem larger than it actually is and the new fire pit is the ideal spot for entertaining. (3 Echoes Content Studio)
4. Two Patios are Better Than One
Jerry and Shay have a beautiful backyard with great shade trees and a lush lawn. But their old fire pit had seen better days and the existing patio offered few opportunities to enjoy the outdoor space. It was too small for entertaining and the monotone color palette lacked any real interest.
Now, the whole backyard has come alive with the addition of a big new patio that complements the shape of the trees while it enjoys its shade.
Large-format Pavestone pavers make the patio seem larger than it actually is and the new fire pit is the ideal spot for entertaining.
There are two large steps that create a graceful transition to the old patio, which has been revived with a new shade of stain and a bold color on the doors.
That same color on the storage shed plus some simple landscaping has transformed this yard into a spot you just can’t wait to enjoy.
Chelsea and Brandon’s bathroom is 65 years old. At that age, there’s some baggage — like the pink tub and the lack of ventilation.
The vanity was newer than that, but it really didn’t fit the style of the room and it lacked character.
But now, the bathroom is overflowing with character and grandmillennial style. The wraparound wallpaper not only creates the jewelry box feel that Chelsea was after; it also makes the pink tub look intentional.
The vent fan makes the space more functional, and the larger vanity makes it easier to use. Plus, its black finish complements the room style, and the new Fluidmaster bidet toilet seat elevates the whole room to a spa-like experience.
This bedroom has a clear purpose, which is to make guests feel right at home. (3 Echoes Content Studio)
2. Guest Bedroom Update
Corey and Grace’s extra bedroom was just that — it lacked any real identity. The hardware and paint color lifted by the previous homeowners didn’t make the welcoming statement they wanted for their guests.
But now, the guest bedroom has a clear purpose and that’s to make visitors feel right at home. The board and batten accent wall draws you into the space and the custom trim around the windows tells you they were intentional about making this room nice for you.
The floating shelves and nightstand are functional for short-term guests without taking up as much space as larger pieces of furniture. And the warm wood tones complement the cool green accent wall, just as the gold wall sconces do.
This breezeway has taken on the feel of a courtyard in a fancy hotel. (3 Echoes Content Studio)
1. A More Inviting Entrance
Delane’s breezeway is the main entrance to her home, but before, it had a very tired and haphazard feel to it. The random collection of different slabs on the floor left visitors with questions about what the space was supposed to be.
The sad empty planting bed made the house feel a lot older than it actually was. And the chain link fence made it feel more like a cage than a relaxing space.
But now, the whole space has taken on the feel of a courtyard in a fancy hotel. The consistency of the stencil floor ties everything together from the wrought iron gates to the lush green planting beds.
The door adds a pop of color while the fountain adds a cool visual element and a peaceful soundtrack for the space.
The simple curtain rod and the curtains frame the backyard and somehow make it all feel like a resort.
In this special Christmas episode, we’re playing back some of our favorite segments from the past year, as well as sharing some of our holiday traditions and memories.
How to Stack Firewood for Optimal Seasoning — Most people place firewood in one row, all the way across, and they work their way up with the same pattern. Now, there’s nothing particularly wrong with that method.
But if you want to know how to stack firewood so it’s as ready as it’s going to be for burning in your fireplace, then you’ll need to learn some new tricks.
You should stack the wood in alternating courses — that is, in opposite directions, row by row — and you continue that pattern. This way, there’s much more space for the air to circulate.
Kelly and Jennifer Foster love improving their home, but their closet has them stumped — what’s good for him isn’t necessarily good for her. So, we’re creating a custom closet system to maximize storage space in a couple’s divided closet.
The Projects
The shelves on Jennifer’s side of the closet create space for purses, shoes and folded clothes. (3 Echoes Content Studio)
Build new shelving
The first step in creating a custom closet system is to remove the old wire shelving. These builder-grade wire shelves are common in newer homes, but they’re not very user-friendly. The slats are the right size for hangers, but it’s impossible to slide them to create more space.
After the shelves are out, we patch the holes left behind and set up Kelly to paint the closet walls and Jennifer to pre-paint the shelf boards we’ll be using for the new storage systems.
And on the dividing wall, we install wall hooks to hang necklaces on.(3 Echoes Content Studio)
The shelving unit on Jennifer’s side of the closet is too large to assemble outside, so we put it together inside the closet. It includes space for purses, folded clothes, and cubbies for bins.
To create space for shoe storage, we remove the hanging towel cabinet and use it as a base for more shelves.
The double horizontal rods maximize the number of shirts that can hang in the closet. (3 Echoes Content Studio)
For Kelly’s side of the closet, we install double horizontal rods to get double the amount of hanging space.
For his shoe rack, we build a smaller version of the shelf unit Chelsea built earlier. But because of its size, we can assemble this one entirely in the garage.
This laundry chute/linen cabinet combo provides space for storing towels. (3 Echoes Content Studio)
Install laundry chute
Every time Kelly and Jennifer walk into their closet, their eyes are immediately drawn to their dirty clothes hamper.
Since their laundry room is on the other side of the wall on Kelly’s side, we install a laundry chute so the dirty clothes can go straight to where they need to be.
To finish the opening, we build a box that exactly fits the space and adds trim on one side so we can slip into position and add trim on the other side.
Then, we add shelves to stock clean towels. This one opening serves as both a linen cabinet and laundry chute.
Kelly and Jennifer have a spacious closet but there was very little about it that was efficient or convenient. The wire shelves only offered the bare minimum to utilize the space available not to mention the fact that there was nothing “pretty” about them.
But now, the space feels even larger thanks to a custom closet system that features shelving that organizes and displays the contents of the closet for both ease of use and visual appeal. And the addition of all those horizontal surfaces hasn’t reduced the hanging space at all because the double rods we installed have made up the difference.
Plus, the new laundry chute/linen cabinet combo is the definition of efficiency.
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Corey and Grace really like a dark green color for the guest bedroom, so to keep the room from feeling dark and uninviting, they’re only going to use that color for an accent wall.
And to add some visual interest to the accent wall, we’re going to add some board and batten.
We space each batten about 16 inches apart — about the standard width each stud is spaced. (3 Echoes Content Studio)
For the battens, we space out ½-inch by 2¾-inch boards about 16 inches apart on the wall, then attach them with finishing nails and construction adhesive.
Once all the battens are in place, we caulk the edges and apply two coats of paint to the whole wall.
To save space, we install floating shelves next to the bed instead of placing bulky nightstands. (3 Echoes Content Studio)
Build/Install Floating Shelves
Bulky nightstands can make this guest room feel cluttered, so instead, we’re attaching floating shelves to the sides of the bed.
The floating shelves are essentially a box made from To make the floating shelves, we build a box with a 1-by-6 board on top, a half-inch-by-6-inch board on the bottom, and 1-by-2 pieces wrapping the edges.
We mixed two stain shades to create a color that matches the headboard. (3 Echoes Content Studio)
Once assembled, we sand the shelves and stain them to match the headboard.
To keep the floating shelves secure, we add wood glue to the cleat before we slip them on. (3 Echoes Content Studio)
To hang the shelves, we first screw cleats into the wall, then slip the shelves on and secure them with finishing nails and wood glue.
For additional lighting, we’re adding some wall-mounted sconces on either side of the bed.
Rerouting the wiring was simple because the wall had two outlets where we needed to place our wall sconces. (3 Echoes Content Studio)
To do this, we first have to reroute the wiring from the electrical outlet to where the sconces will be hung on the wall. We cut a hole in the drywall where the sconces will be mounted, then fish the electrical wires up to the hole.
Once the wires are set, we follow the instructions to install them.
Corey’s extra bedroom was just that — it lacked any real identity. The hardware and paint color lifted by the previous homeowners didn’t make the welcoming statement they wanted for their guests.
But now, the room has a clear purpose and that’s to make guests feel right at home. The board and batten accent wall draws you into the space and the custom trim around the windows tells you they were intentional about making this room nice for you.
The floating shelves and nightstand are functional for short-term guests without taking up as much space as larger pieces of furniture. And the warm wood tones complement the cool green accent wall, just as the gold wall sconces do.
We’re helping a couple who aren’t strangers to do-it-yourself projects.
Matt and Lindsey Binion bought their mid-1950s house in the midtown area of Mobile, Ala., a few years ago and have been busy making it their own ever since.
After completely renovating their kitchen because of a water leak, they installed their old kitchen cabinets in the laundry room to give it a bit of a facelift. However, its overall look and functionality need some improvement. So, we’re here to help!
The Projects
The new cabinet configuration works with the room instead of against it. (3 Echoes Content Studio)
Rearrange the Cabinets
Matt and Lindsey were on the right path when they repurposed the old kitchen cabinets for storage, but their configuration just wasn’t working for the room.
There were large gaps between the cabinets and the walls, and items ended up being placed all around. The room was treated more like an indoor garage than a laundry room.
So, we reposition them and remove some to create storage that makes sense for what the couple needed from it.
Then we sand, prime and paint the cabinets a fresh new color.
Lindsay won’t have to wash clothes in the kitchen sink now that she has a utility sink in the laundry room. (3 Echoes Content Studio)
Add a Utility Sink
In a house with four boys, a laundry room with a utility sink is a must.
Lindsey has been using their new kitchen sink to wash their boys’ muddy clothes after sports practices. And after handwashing, she has no place to hang clothes to dry.
To install the utility sink, we first moved the water and dryer so we could access the plumbing. Unfortunately, we found some water damage behind the wall.
Unbeknownst to the couple, water had been dripping from the cross-linked polyethylene, or PEX, line for a few days. We immediately cap the line with a Sharkbite cap until the plumber arrives to install the sink.
Our plumber uses an oscillating saw to cut the PVC pipe so it can be rerouted to the sink. (3 Echoes Content Studio)
When our plumber arrives, we cut a hole in the drywall so he can access the pipes and reroute them to the spot the sink will be. The plumber then runs the new drain line for the sink and extends the water supply lines from the spot where we capped the leak.
We then replace the drywall around the new pipes and finally install the laundry sink cabinet and sink.
The luxury vinyl tile is the same flooring in the kitchen, so now the two rooms are connected. (3 Echoes Content Studio)
Replace Flooring
The tile grout on the laundry room floor is coming loose, so we’re going to replace it with some leftover luxury vinyl tile that the couple used in their kitchen renovation.
Thankfully, we caught the water leak in the hex pipe just in time for us to treat the subfloor with antimicrobial spray and let it dry overnight. (3 Echoes Content Studio)
After we remove the tiles and backer board with a pry bar, we find a wet spot on the subfloor where the PEX pipe was leaking. Because we caught the water leak early, we won’t have to replace the subfloor. We use some dehumidifiers and fans to dry it out overnight, and then treat it with an antimicrobial spray to make sure no mold comes up through the floor.
To level out the subfloor, we mix some floor patch compound that he spreads over the surface to fill in low spots and smooth out the transitions. We then installed the rectangular luxury vinyl tile long-ways in the room to complement the narrow room.
The new cabinet has room for everyone’s laundry basket, plus plenty of countertop space for folding. (3 Echoes Content Studio)
Install Countertops and Cubbies
Matt and Lindsey used a piece of plywood as a makeshift countertop for the repurposed kitchen cabinets. But, the plywood wasn’t a prime surface for folding laundry, so the couple was forced to pile laundry in the living room and fold them from their couch.
To make this counter space more functional, we first install 1-by-2 cleats to support a new butcher block countertop as well as a shelf unit that will organize the kids’ laundry baskets.
We use 3/4-inch plywood and 1×2 boards to create the cubbies for the laundry baskets. (3 Echoes Content Studio)
For our shelf unit, we cut our wood pieces on a table saw outside and assemble them with nails and wood glue. We then attach them to the cleat we installed next to the base cabinets.
Polyurethane seals the butcher block countertop so it’s more durable. (3 Echoes Content Studio)
Next, Lindsey coats the butcher block with polyurethane. After that’s dry, we install the countertop over the shelving unit and base cabinets.
Matt and Lindsey had a decent-sized laundry room with lots of storage space, but because it had been thrown together with salvage materials from an emergency kitchen renovation, the surfaces all looked a little worse for wear and the room lacked the thoughtful organization and visual appeal they really wanted for the space.
But now, the old recycled cabinets have a clean new look and a simplified layout that works with the room rather than overpowering it. The new luxury vinyl tile flooring has replaced the old cracked ceramic tiles and connects the room to the rest of the house.
The laundry sink makes the family’s everyday chores easier and less stressful, especially with the hanging space directly above it and the new countertop is both attractive and useful for a family with lots of laundry to fold.
Plus. We did it all for less than $2,000 in materials.
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