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You guys! I just realized that last week was marked 9 years of this blog! What?! That is just completely crazy. I feel like I just started blogging two years ago. Thrifty and Chic is seriously almost a decade old....which totally makes me sound way old! :) Since my blog is 9 years old, that means I have been living in my house for 10! I remember first stepping foot into this place; I totally had that feeling that everyone talked about. We almost didn't even look at it. This listing was in a bottom pile of houses that were on the market that we could afford, and technically had the correct attributes, but the pictures on the MLS were far from beautiful. We looked at houses probably for about 2 months, and started scratching at the bottom of the pile. We went to this house "because it was in the area". And little did we know that it would be our future home. It was perfect! Better than any other listing. Thank goodness for horrible MLS pictures or else this house would have been gone super quick and we wouldn't of had a chance.

So, every year, I like to look back on how much change has happened to our house since the year we moved in and when I started blogging. Most of the before pictures below are how I decorated in the first year. I think it's just so fun to see the difference and how much time can change a place.

Entryway
Before:

We laid new flooring, put some molding on the walls and added some decor. Doesn't seem like a lot, but made a huge change.
After:

Entryway Board and Batten: Tutorial

Front Room
Before:

Our front room actually sat pretty vacant for the first few months after we moved in. We had no furniture to furnish it with. This was one of my first attempts at decorating it with what we had. This room actually has seen more changes than any room in my house. But, luckily, it has stayed pretty much the same for the last couple of years. I added some planking/shiplap to the back wall along with a faux fireplace. I obviously updated my furniture and added some new decor too.

After:

Wood Sunburst Mirror: Tutorial      Farmhouse Ladder: Tutorial      Faux fireplace DIY: Tutorial      Wire Hamper: Amazon    Bench: Target     Console Table: Target     Sofa Bed: Ikea      Bench: Target     Rug: Rugs USA   

 Living Room
Before:

 The before picture of this is probably into the 2nd year of us living in our house. Back then I was obsessed with candles. They were everywhere. I also was in that weird place of what the heck to do with these alcoves. I seriously despised them, but later on, was very thankful for them and how much character they ended up adding to the space once I added the shelves. Updates in here have been the board and batten along every wall, the fireplace and mantel planking, the new flooring, and updated furniture and decor...so, actually, a whole lot of change :)
After:

Shiplap: Tutorial     Media Console: Tutorial      Builtin shelves: Tutorial    Wreath: Tutorial    Rug: Amazon      Clock: Tutorial     Ruffle Pillows: Amazon    

 This is one of the pictures from the MLS. Not the best, huh?

 Here's that area 9 years later:

 Now this is a before picture of my living room right when we bought our new sectional; which is actually still the one we have in it today.

And of course, the after:

Dining room
Before:

 As you can tell, my whole theme in here was Tuscany. I was soo close to adding Venetian plaster to all these walls. It was a thing back then, and I'm so so glad I didn't do it! It was but a year or so later that I ended up adding these planks (or now called shiplap) to the back wall. It brightened up the space like crazy and added the character I always wanted in my home. This table is actually still the same in here. It has it dings and places where the veneer has peeled off, but I can't let it go! :)
After:

Jute rug: Amazon    Farmhouse Chairs: Amazon     Striped Turkish Towel/Blanket: Amazon

 Master Bedroom
Before:

 The bedding set in my master bedroom 9 years ago was a hand me down from my mother-in-law. The duvet cover was a wedding present, and those pillows and curtains were probably some of my first ever DIY projects :) Since then, we have upgraded to a much larger bed, along with new decor. Since it's a vaulted ceiling in here, I wanted to break up the wall and add the square board and batten.
After:

Ruffle Pillows: Amazon      Bedding: Crane and Canopy      Lamps: Target      Nightstand: Tutorial

 Master Bathroom
Before:

 This tub is what sold me on the house. Seriously, as if I didn't want to buy it anyway when we first walked in, this sealed the deal! In here, I added the floating shelves and updated the curtains. That's pretty much it.
After:

Floating shelves: Tutorial     Ruffle Curtains: Amazon

Laundry Room
Before:

 I always have hated my laundry room. It was a pass through between the living room and garage. It was small and tight and completely lacked any character or storage space...which my house so desperately needed. I add some shiplap and shelving in here last year, and now it's actually a decent place to do laundry! :)
After:

Shelves and Shiplap: Tutorial

 Guest bathroom
Before:

 This bathroom is super small, like really, what you see is what you get. It was a big beige box. Really though, all I remember is how tall the beige ceiling are in here. It was just boring. So a few years ago, I updated it with some board and batten and paint!
After:

Board and Batten: Tutorial     Diamond Wall Tutorial

Kid's Bathroom
Before:

 All this decor was brought over from our apartment. Technically, this bathroom was only used like twice a year until we had children. So, when I wanted to redo it, I had to really make the cost low since there really wasn't any reason to do so :) $60 completed this transformation. It has stayed like this until this day!
After:

Bathroom makeover Tutorial 

Guest Bedroom/Kid's Room
Before:

 Can you imagine having a guest spend the night in this room? Well, it's probably not so bad, but definitely what I wouldn't call inviting :) This was even before I put blinds in the room. It got so hot in there during the summer. Now, it's my little girl's room. It did see it's time as a nursery for a bit too.
After:

Girl Bedroom Reveal and Sources

Guest room/Kid's room
Before:

Once our first kid came along, my 'office' aka dump everything in there room became the guest room/office. I did make this a little more inviting and actually had some good tips on storage ideas and how to share an office and guest room in one of my posts. But since then, another little came along and I had to dismantle everything and move in a crib :) Technically, this room is a little different now than this picture shows. We have some different pieces and a toddler bed in here now, but the look is quite similar. 

Nursery Tour and Sources

Well, I hope you enjoyed going down memory lane with me! Even if you don't blog, I encourage you to start taking pictures of our home. It's so much fun to look back at them and see all the changes!


 Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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You guys, I finally did it! I got over my fear of ruining my walls and all the 'what-ifs' and did it! I finished the board and batten throughout my living room! It only took me two years to do it :) 

Two years ago, I decided to put some board and batten up on the walls adjacent to my living room walls to break up the beige in my house. At the time, I had beige carpet, tile, couch and walls. It was a huge beige eyesore :) I have always wanted to paint all my walls white. That would seriously be my dream, but my house has 20 feet ceilings and that would either put me in the hospital doing it on my own or cost me an arm and leg hiring it out. So, I just dealt with it. I knew that adding board and batten would give me the look that I wanted, it was easy and cheap to do, but I just kind of did a whole freak out over what if I'm ruining something that is already good? You know? I can't just paint the walls back to the original color. I would seriously have to paint all 20 feet of the walls to make it blend in again. 

So, I was nervous. I never did it. I wanted to every day since. Anyway, long story not short, I had a realtor come in and check out my house. Not because I'm planning on selling, but you know, just to keep options open. And mainly because I wanted to hit some things by her that I want to do and see if it would be worth it. The second she came into my living room, she said, "finish your board and batten along all these walls". Boom. Done. It seriously took me not even 5 days after to finish it. Don't have to tell me twice lol :) It was just the push I needed. PS. She also told me to paint my cabinets in my kitchen and bathroom....so, yeah, you know that's going to be happening soon too!

My living room has never felt so bright! It was bright before, but it's just amazing how it is now with the added white. Like amplified brightness by 10 times. And it definitely broke up my 20 foot walls. 

I didn't know what to do on the walls, so I just put the same decor back up. My sister-in-law and a friend already came in and didn't even notice :) I had to point it out, but I guess that means it just blends in and looks like it was always meant to be there, right? That's what I keep saying. I just seems like it was always like this. 

I wish I had done this years ago. But, want to know one big thing that was holding me back? A dumb mistake. I made the board and batten that goes into my dining room one inch shorter on accident than the one that was running along my hall. The one in my hall was the correct height to match the height of the shelves and mantel. So, I seriously had to redo the whole other wall and bump it up an inch to make this work. You know what a pain in the butt that is to do? ha! I hate redoing work...especially work that looks good and looked like nothing was wrong with it. 

Well, that extra work was worth it in the end :) I'm so excited to put up my Christmas tree in here! I know, Christmas is like 5 months away, but still! 

Along with the board and batten, I decided to put up some new curtains. These are from Hobby Lobby. I love this new feel in here. I feel it went a little bit country with the new additions, and I'm totally okay with that. This cute pillow in the corner is also from Hobby Lobby. Seriously, go check out their curtains and pillow covers :) They have cute stuff. 

I couldn't wait to get my boards up, so I totally did the dumb thing that goes against how I normal do board and batten and didn't paint first. So, heads up to all you who want to start doing this, paint your walls first, it's just a whole lot easier :) But, really, I put mine up to see if the height would work and if I was making a huge mistake. It's a whole lot easier patching some nails than paint an entire wall :) 

You can see the tutorial on putting up board and batten in this post (CLICK here). 

 On the portions that share the same wall as my bookshelves and fireplace, I was really nervous about how the boards would look against the bookshelves. I didn't know if they would blend in or look out of place. That was another thing that kept me from putting them up in the first place. I think it ended up working out well. It helped that I made sure the height of the board and batten was in line with one of the shelves.

 Here's a before picture of this corner: 

And after. Doesn't seem like too much of a difference, but it seriously is. 

Here's another waaaay before:

And after...after lots of DIY projects and decor changes :)

As for more ideas on how to do board and batten, here are some more :) Like this in my bedroom:

Or my bathroom:

Or this bathroom:

Or the nursery:

Or my hallway:

I just realized I may have too much board and batten throughout my house :) Or maybe I'm just a little obsessed with it. lol

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I absolutely adore our house. Fell in love with it the moment I stepped foot into it. Fell so much in love with it, I totally overlooked the lack of storage it had available. We live in about 2000 livable square feet, which sounds like a lot for some, but within that square feet, it's just a lot of open space and absolutely no closets. We only have clothing closets in each room -no utility closet, no coat closet, no linen closet, no pantry, etc. It becomes quite the nightmare trying to find places to put things. So, over the years, I have developed a way to house the 'overflow' items. 

1. Armoires. As mentioned before, I have no coat closet. So, I have had to get crafty in where to put the coats that come on and off 5 times a day during winter. We have a lot of coats, so I had to come up with a few. First option was creating a 'closet' out of an armoire. I placed this in my front room, it's stylish yet functional! It also hides an assortment of out of season throw blankets and pillows along with my vacuum cleaner.

2. Benches.  The use of benches in my house is probably on the excessive side. I have 5 benches that double as storage, and wish I had more! They are the best. 

I use our entryway bench for our kids shoes.  I have a small obsession with shoes, not just for me, but for my daughters also. They have way too many shoes to count. I hate seeing shoes out in the open and prefer if they are taken off at the door. We are a no shoe in the house type home. So, having this bench right in the entryway is so helpful. They pull them out, then sit on the bench to put them on. It's amazing how many shoes can be housed in here! I made sure to get a deep storage bench just for this.

Bench: Similar 

The bench in my front room is disguised as an coffee table/ottoman, but pulls double duty as a toy box. Once again, I opted for an extra deep storage bench for this.

Faux fireplace DIY: Tutorial      Wire Hamper: Amazon    Bench: Target

The bench in my bedroom holds all the extra linens for my bed.

The I have a bench in the hall upstairs that has extra towels and out of season sweaters (not pictured).

I also used to have a bench in my dining room that held all my extra pillow covers and dining room napkins and table runners. 

Bench: Similar 

3. Baskets. Baskets are the best! You can put them anywhere in your house to hide almost anything. 
I have baskets hiding toys. I just put a cute blanket on top.

I have baskets hiding kids books and coloring essentials.

I have baskets full of blankets and pillows.

I have a basket that hides all the dry winter gear -hats, scarves, mittens.

I have a basket full of extra linens.

I used to use baskets to hide all my dvds in my entertainment center.

Seriously, the uses of baskets are endless. 

4. Dressers used in unusual places. When I had to get rid of my craft room and convert it into a nursery, I had to figure out what to do with all my stuff. I realized that the best place for it would be the dining room. So, I tossed out my none functional buffet, and used 2 Ikea Tarva dressers in there to give me some much needed storage. I of course updated these dressers to make them work in my space (tutorial here). 

These drawers hold a lot and get used often! 

5. Make-shift pantry. As I mentioned before, I don't really have a pantry. My pantry literally consists of a single wide top to bottom cabinet next to my fridge. It's pretty deep, so that's a bonus, but doesn't offer all the storage I need. So, I created this faux apothecary cabinet to add extra storage in my kitchen. (tutorial here) This is where all my canned goods go and there's a little section for my kids snacks.

6. Built in shelves. For my laundry room, I needed storage in there desperately. When we first moved in, there were no shelves or cabinets. So, I created these awesome built in shelves and hid most everything in baskets. The baskets hide laundry essentials, tools, light bulbs, screws/nails, and lots of other random stuff that have no other home. (tutorial here)

I also used built in shelves for our bathroom. Although I have used them mainly for decor, they could totally be used to store bathroom essentials and towels. (tutorial here)

7. Toy storage. Toys are a big thing in my house. A thing that causes constant anxiety, as I'm sure most parents can relate. :) My kids are like tornadoes. 10 minutes and a clean house can look like I haven't touched it in a year. Besides the storage that I mentioned in the bench above, I have utilized cubbies and boxes to help hide the mess. I have no play room, so toys storage has to be integrated with my everyday living. These help in so many ways!

I have also used these awesome little storage ottomans to hide away coloring books and other craft type things kid-related. 

 Foot stools: Similar items

8. Out of site storage. As you can imagine, running a decor blog, I tend to have a lot of decor that I cycle through. And if you read my blog often, you know I have an obsession with pillows and throws. I do have quite a few places I stash them all. Blanket ladders, baskets, my armoire...but, most of them get stashed under my bed. I don't think I will every go back to box springs, this platform bed offers soooo much storage it's ridiculous! I love hiding things under here, and they are super easy to get back out. Just lift up the mattress and you see everything. Move a slat and grab it out. Best ever :)

Bed: Similar Beds Here

9. Shoe storage. Besides the bench for my kids shoes. I need to find storage for my own. I keep my out of season shoes on a rack in my closet, but my daily worn shoes, along with my husbands, end up in this box. Luckily during the summer, it's easy to conceal most of them. During the winter, we do get the occasional few pairs of boots hanging out on the side. Once again, cubbies to the rescue :)

10. Nightstands. I learned awhile ago that I just can't have tables or nightstands that take up space and only offer a top. I needed the extra storage. So, in all of the bedrooms, I have nightstands with drawers. The nightstands in my master bedroom hold books, cds, glasses, books and more books. I think my husbands has a lot of electronics and old cords in it also. (tutorial here)

Lamps: Target      Nightstand: Tutorial

The ones in my kids rooms for now have books them, but I'm sure that will change when they get old enough to have a say in what goes where :) 

11. Mudrooms: As noted before, I have no coat closet, so besides my armoire in the front room, I have had to get creative with where else to put extra coats, purses and school bags. I created this 'mini' mud room on the landing in my garage. This has been great for snow gear that goes in the cubbies and coats and bags on the hooks. (tutorial here)

My pass-thru laundry room has become another collector of purses and coats. It was meant to hang laundry bags, but those have since been moved to my master closet. Now it's another 'mini' mud room. (Tutorial here)

Hanging Laundry Bags: Amazon

I hope these little storage tricks help you. Here's an extensive list that includes so much more! (click here).  What are your favorite storage hacks? 

PS. I know that 'small space' is relative. Where we come from, 2000 square feet is relatively small compared to the 3000+ livable square feet that is the norm. But for some, that may seem huge! Either way, I hope these tips help everyone, no matter how big or small their space may be :) 

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Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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