Following the passing of my mother-in-law, my husband and I were faced with many decisions, not the least of which was "where do we go from here?" We mutually agreed to move back to Ohio, but had the daunting task of downsizing his mom's belongings, and even streamline ours, and figuring out what to do with the outdated home.

I knew immediately that the home would sell quicker if updated, and fought tooth and nail against my husband's wishes of wanting to just pack up and walk away. He didn't feel that the investment would be worth it, and even struggled with other's feedback who said, "don't do anything, let the new owners make the changes....you'll never get it back." I spent several weeks working up my own area comps and market analysis from the last 24 months to backup my insistence. It wasn't until I solicited three different real estate agents to come in and sit with us to give the hard numbers, that my husband felt confident in the direction we were going. I felt completely vindicated in the time expended.

Within a span of 10 weeks, we completed an estate sale (which is nothing more than a glorified in-door garage sale), and a completely updated interior. The bulk of the makeover expenses went toward the kitchen and bathroom updates, as well as wallpaper removal and anything that was builder-beige! The home was eventually purchased by a lovely couple who appreciated being able to find a move-in ready home in the area they had been looking in for over two years. As they say, timing is everything. Below are the before and after pics of the kitchen and dining room. Living room, master bedroom and baths to follow. Enjoy!

KITCHEN -from carpet and vinyl flooring to maple hard wood. Oak cabinets refinished in espresso brown w/updated brushed nickel hardware, all new stainless appliances and sink, granite counters, and new lighting.

DINING ROOM - From three flooring types (tile and oak hardwoood) to one maple hardwood brought out from kitchen. Light and bright contemporary theme.