I built an addition on the house in one day

Okay, not QUITE. But it feels like an addition. And I did do it in ONE day (including IKEA run for shelving!)

We had this grimy enclosed area in our kitchen hiding ductwork we used as a broom closet.

I'm embarrassed to show the before but, gulp, I will.

Well the kitchen was spilling over and something had to change. So I decided to convert it to a pantry. But there was no way I was going to put food in there.

It had to look like a new room, so that's what I did.

I primed and painted the walls, door, and ceiling with left over paint. Then the fun began.

Spray painting the ductwork with high heat resistant spray paint. Cough cough! Man that was nasty. But the result was completely worth it.

I installed some shelving, including on the back of the door.

And ta-da! We now have a pantry!

It feels like we built an addition. I keep opening the door to admire it.

The first thing I did when Ethan finally started sleeping through the night?

Renovated our bathrooms!

Ethan finally started sleeping solidly from when he went to bed until early (and I mean EARLY, like 5am early) the next morning, and for the first time since we moved into our home, I had the chance to update some parts of the house I really disliked.  I've been conscious to not "over-improve" as HGTV always warns me, so it's more of a refresh than a renovate.  But still, I think it's a much more pleasant uh... throne for our castle.  I did both of them, but here's the most dramatic change.

Before:

Awful Hollywood lights.

The entire room was the same butter beige, the tile, the walls, the door, and even the trim.

The brass hardware was rusted.

The dated look mocked my drowsy mornings.

After:

Painted the trim and door a clean bright white, the walls "Artic Blue," re-caulked and refinished the grout.

Removing the extra cabinet unit made more space in the already cozy bathroom.

Updated the look with a new medicine cabinet and updated light fixture (my first electrical work).  Installed both all by myself!

Goodbye nasty brass hardware!

Hello clean, fresh, and updated bathroom!