Our First Home

These are links and sources of the work we did at our first home on North Padre Island. It was a standard little builder-grade home a la 1996 that we bought in September 2009 and sold in October 2020. View the new house page HERE.

(affiliate links are included for your convenience, click here to see my disclosure policy)

Exterior

Before
This is as early of a shot that I could find, but we had already replaced and stained the side gate, paved the front yard, and the neighbor’s house on the right had just recently been built. Our exterior isn’t much to write home about, it’s just a gate, garage, stucco wall for the courtyard, the guest room windows, then a long skinny rock flowerbed that had three HUGE oleander trees along the property line. The front “yard” used to be all rock but we hauled it all to the back when we built the new landscaping back there, then had it paved so we could park the boat easier.

After
There wasn’t a ton we could do for curb appeal but we finally tackled what we could to make it a little better. We removed the oleanders and had a privacy fence installed on the side bed, then had the bed re-done with nice big rock and some foxtail palm trees. The stucco wall got a trim accent to help de-modernize it and repair some brittle areas we had. Finally our courtyard and entryway got a makeover including a whole new entry door system.

Privacy wall stain color: Sherwin-Williams SuperDeck Semi-Transparent in “Cedar Bark”

The Courtyard

Before
When we moved in, there were some super straggly non-blooming hibiscus, a large and leaning esperanza, a sago palm, some random other plants, and not much else. It is a nice area to have (I actually like the wall in front of our house) but definitely needed some love.

After
We took out the unhealthy and overgrown plants and have planted plumeria and native plants then added some nice decor and seating. I despised our hurricane shutters but I knew how important they are especially after Hurricane Harvey passed just 30miles north, plus it is insanely expensive to get roll-downs for all these windows, so they remained. This area got a beautiful makeover in 2018 complete with a new entry door unit from Therma-Tru.

stained fiberglass door

handleset

Nest Hello doorbell

outdoor pendant

adirondack chairs

wicker side table

outdoor rug

wreath

monogram doormat

window planters

tall planter

small black lantern

mini black lantern

The Foyer

Before
(no true before pic, but this is one of the early days)

After
We installed a new lantern-style light fixture, I updated the console table and its decor, and hung a collection of art as well as two big framed wedding pics on the walls. It then got a whole new door and sidelite unit as part of our Coastal Farmhouse Entryway Makeover.

propellers

gray table lamps

mother-of-pearl mirror

weathered box

lamp shade

botanical art

Living Room

Before
(no pic) This room probably underwent the most improvement decor-wise so it stinks there’s no evidence of how sparse it was. Picture a tiny 36″ armoire (that fell off the moving truck…), navy blue bachelor pad floppy leather couch and loveseat, a wobbly light oak coffee table, and no rug.

After
After a couple years (eesh) we finally got the new couches and I finally splurged on my dream entertainment center and started pulling the room together. We also finally took the gaudy off-centered ceiling fan down, got a beautiful nautical-inspired one, and installed it centered in the room where it should have been.

Accent wall paint color: Valspar “Bell Tower Stone”

ceiling fan

entertainment center

sofa and loveseat

recliner

industrial coffee table

metal end table

bamboo shades

area rug

velvet pillow

faux sheepskin throw

marble tray

lanterns

“Take Me to the Ocean” sign

large basket

copper vase

faux coral

faux shell frame

floor lamp

tassel throw

Kitchen

Before
In all it’s mauve-modern-but-still-rustic glory. The previous owners remodeled the kitchen and the master bath but no other spaces and they did so with quite a weird taste in fixtures and finishes. How does 16′ track lighting with FOUR different colorful pendant styles go with river rock backsplash and pickled oak cabinets?? I can’t believe we lived with it like this for about seven years!

After
While yes it was remodeled, it was very dated with the pickled oak cabinets and white appliances. I overhauled this space with new light fixtures, a new faucet, shiplap accents, a funky new laundry door, and beautiful gray cabinet paint. Unfortunately we were not able to update the appliances until right before we moved, but these worked and the new cabinet color made them blend in much better at least.

Shiplap paint color: Sherwin-Williams “Extra White”
Cabinet paint color: Sherwin-Williams “Repose Gray”

cake dome

hands-free faucet

black 3-light pendant

barstools

rustic sign

white vase

round wire basket

laundry door decal

wood serving board

striped kitchen towel

wine caddy

faux eucalyptus garland and wreath

glassware

sliced rock backsplash

Dining Room and Breakfast Nook

Before
(no pic) I’ve had that little white antique dropleaf table in the breakfast nook since college but our first dining table was a four-chair light oak Walmart set from the husband’s apartment that was teeny. There also were two absolutely hideous worse-than-1996 contemporary pendant lights that got replaced.

After
The bigger dining table was the first thing we bought for the house and it has held up great. I have had that capiz chandelier since I was a little kid – my great-aunt gave it to me and it has always been hung wherever I’ve lived.

Accent wall: Valspar “Bell Tower Stone”

black single pendant

metal envelope

hooks

chandelier

dining set

woven dining chairs

pillar candles

napkins

charger

pitcher

salt and pepper shakers

faux dogwood

galvanized napkin rings

wood candleholders

farmhouse tray

jute runner

capiz placemat

capiz windchime

Master Bedroom

Before
Where all of the husband’s bachelor hand-me-down furniture ended up…all of it. And where we shared a little full size bed for a grueling two or so years. This picture was even post-wall painting so picture all this awesomeness against beat up white walls. I still can’t believe this is what our room used to look like.

After
We replaced all the disgusting berber carpet in the house with driftwood-colored handscraped laminate flooring and got a grown-up king bed set finally. I installed board and batten wainscoting and overhauled the decor in the Spring 2015 One Room Challenge.

Wall color: Sherwin Williams “Ice Cube”
Wainscoting: Sherwin Williams “Extra White”

farmhouse bed set

leather bench

oversize clock

drapes

duvet set

arc sconces

euro shams

driftwood bowl

quilt

faux sheepskin rug

curtain rod

sheet set

candle

glass vase

glass hurricanes

mercury and rope lantern

pressed algae print

square mirror

throw pillows

lumbar and euro shams

throw blanket

laminate flooring

ceiling fan

Master Bath

Before
The previous owners did a remodel in here by adding the walk-in shower and upgrading the countertop with extra granite from the kitchen. But it still had honey oak cabinetry, a plain builder’s mirror, odd towel-holders and hooks, and a boring wall color.

After
The space got an update right before I started to the blog. We debated hiring a contractor to add another sink but since this space is only 60″ wide and we had a limited budget, we scrapped that idea. It wasn’t a big problem for us since we got ready at different times and the sink was pretty wide. I had a big problem with that glass block too but if money was no issue it would have been outta there!

Wall color: Sherwin Williams “Perfect Greige”
Cabinet color: Minwax Polyshades “Ebony”

bifold door

sink

flushmount light

vanity light

towel ring/hooks

faucet

cabinet hardware

pivot mirror

wooden tray

white candleholder

reed diffuser

mosaic shell vase

towel set

bathroom rug

faux leaf spray

mercury glass accessories

Guest Bathroom

Before
(blurry pic, sorry) This was my very first DIY remodel/update. The previous owners didn’t update anything at all in here so it had a cultured marble countertop, cheap light fixture, builders mirror, teardrop faucets, and about three different coats of paint.

After
I changed out everything except the cabinets, shower, toilet and floor, and installed a white subway tile backsplash. I removed the cabinet over the toilet to open it up more (I hate those kind of cabinets).

Wall color: Sherwin Williams “Popular Gray”

tub trim kit

shower curtain

Silestone countertop

sink

lighting

faucet

mirror

apothecary jars

towels

towel ring

The Nursery/Previous Guest Room

Before
Our poor guests. There was just a small full bed, the gross berber carpet, a brass ceiling fan, and my old college furniture. And yes, two deer mounts. This was right after I painted the room its light tan/butter color, it was white before. And what, a crooked lamp shade wasn’t a design trend??

First After
This room got new laminate flooring, a new queen bedroom set, a new fan, and beautiful dark gray DIY shiplap accent wall. It stayed like that for a few years, but when we found out we were expecting we moved the bedroom furniture into our office and made this room the nursery.

Second After
Since we weren’t finding out the gender before birth and since we love our neutrals around here, the nursery had weathered textures and calm coastal colors so it blended perfectly into the rest of the home. Driftwood and soft ivory tones balance the dark gray shiplap wall perfect and the iron crib made a perfect vintage statement to balance out the fun chippy barn door on the closet.

Wall color: Sherwin Williams “Alpaca”
Shiplap wall color: Sherwin Williams “Peppercorn”

shiplap paint

wall paint

iron convertible crib

rustic tall bookcase

dresser

rocker

tufted ottoman

side table

jute and wool rug

faux sheepskin rug

pendant light

storage cubby

blackout drapes

curtain rod

barn door hardware

burlap cord cover

velvet Boppy cover

ivory faux fur pillow

faux fur cable throw

table lamp base

table lampshade

bees crib sheet

table clock

seagrass baskets

cubby half bin

stripe cubby bin

wire basket

wire cubby basket

cloth basket

wall cubby

seagrass basket

diaper pail

changing pad cover

metal wall hooks

metal caddy

glass jar

quote sign

octopus print

pressed algae print

wooden blocks

wooden rattle

laminate flooring

ceiling fan

Guest Bedroom

Before
The Ikea daybed was another one of the first purchases for the house so we could sleep family members over the first Christmas here, but everything else was college style still, including one of my old aquariums. And it had the ugliest green fan I have ever seen. This room had three walls painted beige, the fourth and longest wall, however, was left white. I guess it was an “un-accent” wall??

After
All four walls were painted a beautiful dark grayish navy, the fan was updated, the floor was updated, a little gallery wall was added to the nook over some cool hanging shelves I made, and I also made some industrial pipe shelves for storage.

Wall color: Sherwin-Williams “Outerspace”

waffle blanket

hemmed sham

sheet set

scallop lumbar pillow

clock

bird art

jute rug

lamp base

textured lamp shade

blackout drapes

curtain rod

laminate flooring

ceiling fan

beadboard bedroom set

algae pillows

Backyard & Patio

Before
The backyard had been neglected for a few years before we moved in so there were leaves and bare ground everywhere. There was an unhealthy mesquite tree and a non-working hot tub as well as a lot of overgrown and leggy shrubs. There was a gorgeous big ficus tree in the middle that shaded the whole yard but we lost it in a freeze in 2010 and had to have it removed, so we sodded after that.

After
Probably our proudest update to the house, and quite the long process. We hauled off the nonfunctional hot tub, cut down the mesquite tree, and DIYed a pergola to replace the dilapidated sorry excuse of a “pergola” we have tolerated all this time. The patio got an makeover and update too.