My in-laws bought the cottage we live in now about 5 years ago, in 2006. When I first saw it (before the remodel), I thought to myself: “Wow, I’m not sure THIS can be tuned into something livable!” Rumor has it, the cottage was a place where dying cats would come for their last resting place. Gross, right? 

Previous owners did not take care of the house at all, but for some reason kept making it bigger by adding rooms to the back. As a result, the floors were uneven and the whole layout just didn’t make sense. Our contractors had to chop off like half of the house from the back. 

Last night I convinced Sherry, my mother-in-law, to dig through old photos of the cottage and send them to me. I still need to take pictures of the outside, but today I’ll show you some inside before and afters… Prepare for a shocker! 

(I was so excited about showing you these that I had to take the after photos in a big rush. I’m in the process of rearranging the living room, so it’s a big-big mess. Apologies!)

So here it comes… Starting with the most important room, at least in this household .  (Some angles may be off, but you can still see that it’s the same house!)

Bathroom then… 

and now

Kitchen and partial view into the living room (say hi to Bill) then…

and now (the front door even didn’t make sense, so it had to be moved!)

Kitchen (opposite angle) then…

and now

Master bedroom then (say hi to Sherry)…

and now

And finally, the fireplace in the living room (my fave transformation) then…

And now

I wish I could say we tackled most of the remodeling ourselves (like all the cool kids these day), but we didn’t do a thing… So big thanks to our contractors and designers. Also, thanks to cats for not coming here anymore.