The Pink Palace Part 2 (Before and After)

Turning the “Pink Palace” into my not so pink home

Hi friends! So you all must be wondering why I keep calling my house the “Pink Palace.” Well it’s PINK. Literally. In fact I still haven’t gotten around to painting the outside, which is still pink:

Luckily just the stucco trim is pink :)

However, it was much, MUCH more pink on the inside which you will see in the before photos. Some of the gems you will not see photographed are the PINK toilet and sinks that were in the master bath. (Still up for grabs if you want them!)

First thing we did was tear down all the awful pink window coverings. Yes PINK BLINDS on almost every window!  (See in some before pictures)

Next was painting. I wanted to get as much painting done prior to move in as possible. How in the world did the owners before me land on these colors!? (Sorry my photos aren't the best)

 The most expensive part of the home make-over was my granite counter-tops. Since (believe it or not) every counter top in the house was PINK, an upgrade was a must. I had planned on getting a nice laminate per my limited budget. However, James wouldn’t have it. He agreed to pay the cost of materials for granite if I paid for installation – very generous, but was also my “birthday present.” He did give me another present which you will hear about in a later post – Birthday Flood.

We did a full day of shopping for granite, and then I sent out several requests for estimates. I was bummed I couldn’t get them installed prior to me moving in (took a couple weeks to set up install). However, it was sooooooooo worth it. They are gorgeous. We were lucky enough to have Rock Bottom Granite sell us a slab and a half so we could do the bathrooms too!

My bar top in the kitchen - Santa Cecilia Granite

The dark round flecks are Garnets!

 The biggest transformation is the kitchen. I fell in love with the kitchen the moment I entered the home—just not the color. It is spacious, has tons of counter space AND it has custom cabinets with slide out shelves (yes be jealous). However they were this not so pretty pinky-tan color.

Here's a glimpse at the original cabinets and pink counters

So, with the recommendation of my friend Jena, who re-did all of the cabinets at her new house, I went down to Home Depot (I think they know me by name these days) and bought two Transformations kits for the cabinets in Espresso.

I could have never imagined how tedious and time consuming this project would be. With 80+ cabinet and drawer faces, scrubbing down every one, and four coats PER SIDE (that’s 9 steps total!) it felt like I would never finish. And that doesn’t even include the base of the cabinets in the kitchen and both bathrooms!

However, this project has made, in my opinion, the biggest impact.

There is still A LOT more to do at the Pink Palace. Exterior paint, back-splash in the kitchen and bathrooms, updated light fixtures, yard work….

But I now have enough done that I love my home. I am also very proud of the work I have done and am so grateful for the help I had. Thank you so much to all the friends and family who helped and supported me through this first major transformation of my home!

My dad was right – it does feel good to get your hands dirty and have something to show for it!

Here's one little gem that was original to the house I haven't changed yet--it's just too funny!

TTFN Friends!

Laura