I’ve known this day has been coming for quite some time now, but it still doesn’t feel real. It’s time to say goodbye to the place we’ve lived for almost 4 years. I’ve been honoring this place over the past month, with this video home tour and this list of my favorite DIY projects we accomplished here. But I figured we needed one final before and after condo tour to remember how much work and love we put into this place.

Plus, I think a good before and after is always really inspiring to me when starting a new project. Our next house is going to be tons of work and it’s going to be a looooong time before we’re feeling settled and every room is looking just the way we want. It’s good to look at this before and after condo tour and know that it didn’t change overnight. We were working up until the last minute to truly make it our own, and we’ll do that in the next house too.

So if you’re like me, looking at a house in need of lots of love, and you’re feeling overwhelmed/anxious/intimidated…know that home doesn’t happen overnight. It’s the culmination of countless hours and endless hard work to truly put your stamp on a  place.

Our Chicago Condo – Stats

• Building Details: Condo building, built in 2005
• Lived Here: 2015-2019
• Size: 2 bedrooms; 2 bathrooms
• Location: Ukrainian Village Neighborhood of Chicago
• Paint Colors: This post has all of the paint color information for the entire home.
• Here’s a floorplan to give you a sense for how it all flows together (or just watch this walk-through video).  

Before and After Condo Tour

I decided to go with the MLS photos from when we first saw our condo, to the MLS photos we had taken when selling our condo. I feel like real estate photography is pretty different from my style of photography, so this can give you the best idea of how dramatically things changed.

I’ll also add in some of my photography too, but it’s cool to see the rooms both from a real estate perspective.

Family Room – Before & After

Family Room – Details

Paint Color: Benjamin Moore, “Gray Owl”

One of the main reasons we chose this particular condo was its wide layout (most homes in Chicago are a lot more narrow) and the crazy amount of natural light. I remember walking into the family room and thinking, “I could work with this…”. Before moving in, we had the floors stained the color “Jacobean” and the walls painted a light gray. We then had the built-ins installed and those quickly took the room to the next level.

We had electronic blinds installed on the big windows (the previous owners didn’t have any window treatments, so there wasn’t much privacy!) and this upped the “cozy” factor at night. With the addition of a large rug, new sectional, record console, DIY side table, and coffee table, this room came together beautifully. Our last big project in this room was our DIY fireplace and I’m obsessed with the transformation.

Kitchen/Dining Room – Before & After

Kitchen/Dining Room Details

Paint Color: Benjamin Moore “Gray Owl”

I must admit, I’m a little mad at myself for not tackling the kitchen while we lived here. I’m not certain we would have seen a return on our investment (kitchen cabinets are crazy expensive), but even just swapping out the countertops for something lighter would have made a huge difference in this room. But here are the things we did do to this space…

DIY the bifold doors; upgrade the laundry; upgrade all appliances; install a new faucet; add a subway tile backsplash; install new pendant lighting; create a faux roman shade; and then furnish/decorate everything. It took me a long time to settle on a dining room table (we lived without one for months), but I’m so happy we went with this one (and I seal it every year using these steps).

And even though I’m no cook, Finn and I ended up sharing lots of recipes from this kitchen. Like this vegetable soup, this frittata, this fresh pasta, these pumpkin squares, Finn’s family lasagna, our morning celery juice, and even our Trader Joe’s shopping list!

Guest Bathroom – Before & After

Guest Bathroom – Details

Paint Color: Valspar “Peppercorn”

Now here’s a project I’m sooooo happy we tackled because I do believe it helped us sell our condo quickly. We did a little refresh to the bathroom as soon as we moved into our condo (like changing the toilet seat, swapping the mirror, and painting the tile grout), but it wasn’t until last year that we overhauled this space.

This blog post showcases the complete DIY bathroom series, but I’m proud of this project and we learned so much along the way.

Guest Bedroom – Before & After

Guest Bedroom – Details

Paint Color: Valspar “Dutch Licorice”

This is one room I know I’m going to miss and I probably only slept in here a handful of times (when one of us was sick). But damn, it’s one cozy room. The previous owners used this space for bike storage, so it certainly has come a long way. It took us a bit of time to transform this space and I ended up doing the entire makeover at once.

I started with the wood wall treatment, painted the entire room dark navy, built the floating credenza, added new lighting, hung the gallery wall, and called the space complete! We had hoped to turn this room into a nursery, but the universe had other plans for us. But it sure did make for the ultimate guest room. Oh, and I’ll be bringing our guest book to our new house!

Hallway – Before & After

Hallway Details

Paint Color: Benjamin Moore “Gray Owl” & Valspar “Ultra White”

This little hallway was a quick transformation…only taking an afternoon to complete. The board and batten adds vertical storage and makes the home look much more custom. Plus, it was the best spot to hang my purse every.single.day (on these hooks from Schoolhouse Electric). I always opted for a natural fiber rug from HomeGoods to complete the look of our back hallway.

Master Bedroom – Before & After

Master Bedroom – Details

Paint Color: Benjamin Moore “Gray Owl”

This master bedroom has been a good one. It is so spacious and I loved having the doors to our balcony right off the bedroom. The light in this space is amazing and I’ll miss taking naps in here on sunny days.

When we first moved in, we immediately got rid of the Kermit the frog green paint and also had the floors stained. I then changed up the layout to allow for all of our furniture and even a small office space. I added new bamboo shades, DIY’ed blackout curtains, hung a new ceiling fan, added a floor length mirror, got this leather bench, and changed how I made my bed at least a dozen times.

Master Bathroom – Before & After

Master Bathroom – Details

Paint Color: Sherwin Williams “Repose Gray”

This is another space we didn’t overhaul but just made small adjustments to make it more our own. I swapped out the teeny pendants, added shelving over the toilet, and I even created a DIY bathtub tray (that I’ll be moving to our new house). I hope the new owners remodel this room and make it extra special!

Patio – Before & After

Our little balcony is adorable and as I mentioned last week, I love that we made the most of this tiny space. While we changed up the furniture each summer, we finally landed on this layout that worked really well. I also stained the deck, added string lights, replaced the outdoor lights, and planted flowers every summer out here.

Sadly, the patio furniture was ruined in our storage room flood so we’ll be shopping for new items for the house. But it will be fun to pick out new goodies!

Finn and I made so many beautiful memories in this place and they’ll stay with us forever. I’m incredibly grateful for the last few years calling this condo home. It’s time for the next chapter and more dancing in our new kitchen…

Casey