before and after: basement apartment...

Though it was a crazy, chaotic race to the end, Open House Day was a big success!

Several people came to look at the place, and almost all of them wanted it.  I gotta tell you, after a summer of blood, sweet, tears, and FLEAS!, it was so nice to hear all the compliments from people as they looked around.  Two girls literally screamed as they saw each room and loved it so much.  I will say, there's just nothing like it around.  Even the cool, downtown lofts seem like replications of something like this, the real thing.

After just 24 hours of listing it online, we had two strong applicants.  The tenants we chose are a young, engaged, kinda-hipster couple in school at Liberty.  They LOVE downtown, they love minimalism, they love everything artistic and urban, and they love this apartment.  I think they're going to be a perfect fit and we're so excited to provide their first place to them!

We still have some odds and ends to tie up before the guy moves in next weekend, (the gal will move in after their wedding in October) but I'm ready to show you all the official BEFORE and AFTER's of the basement apartment.  (Get. Excited!!!!)

Let's start on the outside:

BEFORE, this outside porch needed some TLC.

AFTER.

view from the sidewalk- that's echinacea in the front flower bed

BEFORE.

AFTER.

BEFORE, the cedar tree posts seemed a little "much" to some people.

AFTER, with everything else cleaned up around them, the tree posts stand out as the perfect touch of rustic outside!

Now let's take a look inside.

BEFORE, this place was so cool with lots of exposed brick and natural woods.

It's amazing to see how a family of four made a 572 sq. ft apartment feel spacious by living very simply and beautifully.

But the brick wall was spitting dust everywhere.  The wood elements were not sealed and protected.  And there was no air conditioning to be found.

AFTER, not a whole lot has changed from what was there, (except for the wall paint color perhaps)

but everything from the brick wall to the cool, old closet door to the hardwoods on the floor

have all been cleaned, sealed, treated, and protected for years to come.

I love the diagonals the previous owner made in the built-in.

What a difference it made to seal the natural wood with a low-gloss polyurethane.  

BEFORE, this corner in the living room held the clothing storage.

AFTER, it will likely still store clothes, but now it's sporting a brand-new, energy efficient ductless heating AND air unit (remote controlled!).  In a matter of minutes of turning it on, every square inch of the apartment was COOL.  What a gift and well worth every penny for our tenants.

BEFORE.

Energy-efficient instant water heaters behind the bathroom door

AFTER.

And the biggest changes inside...

The bathroom BEFORE.

And AFTER.  (I LOVE the way it turned out!)  

Now on to the kitchen...

BEFORE.

 AFTER.

 Without a DOUBT, everyone was ooh'ing and ahh'ing the most about the brand new washer/dryer COMBO.  The screaming girls even took pictures of it.

People kept asking, "where's the other one to stack on top of it?"

"That's it!" we'd tell them.  "That's the washer AND the dryer in one."

It may be small, but at least this place can now do laundry!

BEFORE.

AFTER.

BEFORE.

And AFTER.

What a unique and rewarding summer project.  We loved the creativity and artistry with which the previous owner began this place, and it now feels so good to carry out and complete that vision. 

(And to think, there's now the entire main house yet to do in our future.  I'm already day-dreaming...)  

But now it's time to refocus upon the start of school and the college students returning to town.  This old house will have to wait...