Before and After – A Remodel in the Desert

We’ve been spending a good amount of time in Las Vegas recently, and for good reason. My parents just bought a vacation home there. My parents still live in the same house I grew up in, so purchasing a second home was a big step for them indeed.

 

Because we are all a 4 1/2 hour drive from Las Vegas, it was evident this move would require strategic planning and resourcing. And we are proud to say this was all completed in a matter of 4 loaded car trips by my folks, and 3 loaded car trips by Adam and myself.

 

Here is the exterior of their house. Because of the intense desert heat (it was 106 degrees there during our recent trip to Vegas two weeks ago) it is very common to see rock garden landscaping and drought-resistant plants and shrubs…

 

 

Here is a before photo of the front entry and double-door office. This is exactly how the interior of the house looked the day they got the keys…

 

 

And this is how it looks now. The walls were painted Ralph Lauren’s Canvas Natural, and all the doors and trim were painted Behr’s Seaside Sand (just like our home). A built-in niche was added in the entry. The tile floors were steam cleaned and new carpet was installed.

 

 

This is a before shot of the living room…

 

 

And here is the after. They added the ceiling fan and chandelier, which came from local lighting stores. The white media unit against the wall came from IKEA. More details on that further down…

 

 

Here is a before shot from inside the double-door office, looking out to the living room…

 

 

And here is the after. The upholstered furniture came from local furniture stores, and the wood tables were a Craigs List find. The round wicker basket filled with balls and the accent pillows came from IKEA…

 

 

Another before shot of the view from out of the double-door office, this time looking out into the dining area…

 

 

Here is the after. My folks had wood plantation shutters installed on all of the windows throughout the house, except for the trio of small square windows above the cabinets in the kitchen. Those windows were accented with iron scroll pieces from Michaels….

 

 

Here is a before shot of the kitchen…

 

 

And here is the after. The cabinets were painted Behr’s Seaside Sand, and new hardware was added to all of the cabinets. They purchased a new black refrigerator for this space, and the barstools came from a local furniture store…

 

 

Here is another angle of the kitchen, before…

 

 

And here is the after. Incase you were wondering, that door leads out to the laundry room/garage…

 

 

This is a before shot from inside the kitchen, looking past the living room on the left…

 

 

And here is the after…

 

 

Another view from inside the kitchen, before…

 

 

And here is the after. Most all the accessories seen here were purchased at Home Goods…

 

 

This is a before shot of the guest bathroom…

 

 

And here is the after. Much like the cabinets in the kitchen, the bathroom cabinets were painted Behr’s Seaside Sand. And the walls again, Ralph Lauren’s Canvas Natural…

 

 

A before shot of the shower wall…

 

And after. All accessories purchased from Home Goods…

 

 

Now were are looking at a before shot of the master bedroom…

 

 

And after. Here you can see what a difference the wooden plantation shutters really make. The iron quilt rack and green slipper chairs came from Home Goods. The iron accent table is from IKEA…

 

 

Another before shot view of the bedroom…

 

 

And here is the after. The bedding from JCPenney, and the lamps and twig bundle from Home Goods...

 

 

Next is the guest bedroom. I don’t have any before shots of the guest bedroom, just after’s…

 

 

The wicker bedroom set came from a local estate sale, the bedding JCPenney, and the lamps and books from Home Goods…

 

  

 

My mom refers to this as the “black and white room”…

 

 

Recognize the birdcages? They’re the same ones we used to have in our house. The leafy pillow is from IKEA…

 

 

One more quick tidbit! That media unit from IKEA, with tons shelves to accessorize, I recommended that my mom purchase a set of Encyclopedia's to help fill out all those shelves…

 

 

And it certainly did the trick…

 

 

Thanks for joining along on this tour of my folks new desert home. I’m sure they would love to hear your thoughts!

 

7/14/10 – Updated to add: I’ve gotten several questions, so I thought I’d address them here…

 

• This vacation home is located in Summerlin, Nevada with a beautiful view overlooking the entire Vegas Strip. My parents, as well as Adam and I, primarily reside in Southern California

   

• A few of you mentioned a pool. In the community they live in, they are fortunate to have multiple community pools and club houses to choose from

   

• The bedroom is actually not fully completed. We are still on the hunt for a dresser, hopefully country pine. A few of you asked about the bedding – it’s from JCPenney, but we cannot remember the name of the style of the bedding

   

• Lots of comments about the painted cabinets. My parents hired a painter specially to do the cabinets. It is a very detailed process that involved sanding, priming, and several coats of paint.  

   

• A few of  you asked about the bird cages seen in the guest room. I used to carry them on my website, but I don’t carry them any longer

 

Lastly, on behalf of my parents, we wish to thank you for your kind comments and emails. My mom and dad are getting such joy from reading each and every one.