Looking for ideas to inspire your garrison colonial makeover? We purchased our 1960’s garrison colonial in a Boston suburb in late 2014. After a major renovation, done in phases, our outdated home is a cheerful and comfortable place for our family.
Our Garrison Colonial Makeover – Exterior “Before”
The previous owners lived here for 40 years (read more about that here) so the home needed lots of love to bring it up to our level of comfort and appearance.
- Every room in the house received refinished floors, paint, and ceiling lights (there weren’t any ceiling lights before!).
- We also replaced all of the hollow-core slab doors
- Completely gutted the master bathroom and kids bathroom
- Remodeled the powder room ourselves
- Converted the original dining room to a TV room
- Moved the laundry room
- Built an addition to create a new kitchen and mudroom
- Replaced the roof
- Painted the exterior
- Ripped up hedges to create a casual front garden
- Did a lot of decorating!
Whew! There’s still more decorating to do and room reveals to share, but I hope you’ll enjoy seeing our progress and get inspiration for your own garrison colonial makeover.
Exterior Progress
That’s our doggie peeking through the curtain next to the door!
What’s left to do:
- Replace concrete walkway and damaged steps
- Continue landscaping
- Re-pave the driveway
Kitchen Before
We completely gutted the original 1960 kitchen, took down a wall to open the room to the original dining room (now our family room) and built an addition for the new kitchen. This gave us a fantastic new kitchen and mudroom. (The mudroom is now you see the kitchen table in the above photo).
Read all about our kitchen makeover.
Kids Bathroom Before
Kids Bathroom After
Get all the makeover details here.
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Boy’s Bedroom Before
Boy’s Bedroom After
- Get all the makeover details and see how to create an eclectic boy’s bedroom.
- See how we organized my son’s Legos the easy way!
I gave this thrift shop desk a major makeover. Learn how to paint furniture the easy way!
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Girl’s Bedroom Before
Girl’s Bedroom After
Learn how our family stores books in small spaces.
Guest Room Before
This room was the original master bedroom. Here’s the listing photo.
Before I targeted out guest room/craft room for the One Room Challenge, it was our home’s dumping ground. Ick!
Guest Room After:
Read all about the guest room makeover and get helpful decorating tips!
Craft Space / Home Office Before
Craft Space / Home Office After
Learn all about how to create a small craft area in any space!
Screened-in Porch Before
Screened-in Porch After
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TV Room Before
Our TV room was a dining room before we knocked out a wall and a built-in china cabinet!
TV Room Progress
All the basics are in place, now it’s time to accessorize! See our progress and get ideas for decorating above a corner sectional.
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Laundry Closet Before
Check out how I gave our small laundry closet a mini makeover for free!
Laundry Closet After a $0 Makeover
- Learn how to make a cute lint bin (which doubles as a trash bin in this tiny laundry closet) for free!
- Check out how easy it is to organize your laundry room with hooks.
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