Windmill & Protea Before and After Home Tour

I’ve realised something recently:  I’ve never posted an updated home tour.  I posted the original home tour just when I started Windmill & Protea and left it at that.  That home tour has photos of the previous owner’s days and her furniture.  Although I’ve shared a few updated shots of rooms here and there and shared our mini Christmas Home Tour last year, I haven’t shared an updated full home tour. 

While I’ve been cleaning the house these last couple of weeks, I photographed each room as it looks now.  I wouldn’t call every single room finished – for me, it is always a work in progress.  Some rooms still need a lot of attention and others, just a couple of minor touches.  But the most important part is that we enjoy living in this house and it suits our family perfectly.  So, step right in and enjoy this before and after Windmill & Protea Home tour today! 

Front of the House

This is what our house looked like from the street view when we took ownership.

And now look how far we’ve come.  We removed the tree in front and replaced it with three pots with an indigenous shrub.  I love that they add more detail to the large blank wall.  I also planted succulents in the front door planter, which makes it prettier and easier to maintain.  We also painted the exterior fixtures and roof last year.

Entrance Foyer

I don’t have a before photo of the foyer, but it is a pretty dark space.  I brightened it up by painting the cabinet blue and adding white accents!  My industrial side table also stands in the entrance and of course, my latest protea wreath is on the front door.  I would also love to paint the door and update the sidelights one day.

Living Room

What I loved most about the living room before, is the textured wall, the lamp fitting and the floor to ceiling curtains.  We accentuated the textured wall even more by painting it blue.  This also made the gorgeous pendants stand out even more. 

I just clip a couple of branches from our garden to use in the vase on the coffee table, fresh or faux greenery always adds life to a room. 

This room is so light and bright, and we love spending time here.  The floor is mostly covered with Legos though – our kids also love playing in here. 

I refurbished the piano stool, but the piano still needs a bit of love. 

Dining Room

Another textured wall and beautiful track light! 

We did not do a lot in this room, other than paint and bring in our furniture.  But it is also a lovely bright and airy room and has a lot of meaningful items in it.  Like the table we built, the antique school desk my parents gave me and the cuckoo clock we brought back from The Black Forest in Germany.  And can you believe that I grabbed those watercolour paintings at an auction and just spray-painted the frames?

Home Office

This office gets a lot of use now with us working from home during the lockdown period.  It is a bit of an awkward room with the built-in closet and amount of furniture in there, but I have big plans to change it up.

Kitchen

The kitchen has seen a significant transformation!  Just look at how yellow it was before!

By painting the cabinets and wall tiles, adding a runner, updating the counters and installing a new track light, we’ve completely transformed it!  And that on a minimal budget!  I’m just busy adding a couple of final touches with accessorising on the one hand and decluttering on the other and will then post a reveal for the kitchen!

Family Room

This room has been our makeshift classroom these last couple of months, but with my first grader due to start school again, I’m glad to have it back to normal.  We love lighting the fireplace in winter’s evenings and enjoy this cosy room!

Family Bathroom

This bathroom also received a big transformation.  We did a full renovation a couple of years back and no longer feel ashamed of the green bathroom!

All of the sanitary fittings got moved around to get a better layout, and we also demolished the wall between the bathroom and toilet to create one big space.  We still love the grey tile, vanity and subway backsplash in here!  The artworks are inexpensive and add fun to the room.

First Bedroom

This is our oldest son’s room.  We have done a lot of projects in this room and took the room from too much aqua to a playful and fun kid’s room. 

I painted the toy cabinet; we restored an old desk for him.  I painted a wall mural and revamped the wall sconces. 

But the most significant transformation must be the sheet vinyl flooring we installed.  It not only makes the room feel cleaner and more modern but also helps to keep it cooler in summer!

Second Bedroom

Your youngest son’s bedroom was painted entirely in a peachy colour.  In here, we also updated the floors, and wall sconces and I also made a cross-stitch gallery wall for him. 

Master Bedroom

Our master bedroom is a lovely spacious and bright room!  But we’ve done a lot of work in here to get it where it is today. 

Firstly, we removed the mouldy carpet because we could not stand the smell.  We did not have a budget for new flooring, so we just painted the subfloor.  A couple of years later, we installed sheet vinyl flooring and still love it! 

For art in the room, I created cross stitch patterns of birds we love to see and had them framed above our bed.  And I also framed a few botanical photographs we took while on holiday.  I updated the wall sconces in here too – it was a quick and easy fix.

The dressing table and basket underneath will get some attention pretty soon, and I also want to DIY a stool instead of having the chair there. 

We painted the built-in-closets white and added new hardware, and it made such a big difference in the dressing room! 

What makes a house a home

We love living in this house!  And it is not because it is perfect because it is not.  And it is also not because all projects are finished, because it is not.  It is also not because it looks like this all the time, because we usually have toys everywhere on the floor, jackets on the chairs and papers and books on the dining room table, to name a few.

We love this house because we are so fortunate to be able to call this home ours.  It is a space we share with family and friends, and space we create memories in.  And that is what makes it special.

I really hoped you enjoyed seeing this full, up to date home tour!  As always, I look forward to hearing from you in the comments below.

Take care!

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