Lemon Thistle

DIY, Hand Lettering + Home Decor

Vic Split – Family Home Decor

This is our former home that we renovated from top to bottom – you can see that entire extreme family home makeover here. We moved from an apartment to this house and started calling it the ‘Vic Split’ when our twins were just babes. We DIYed every single space in this house and finished just in time to sell it and move here.

Life Updates and Lifestyle Family Session with Troi Crombie

A few details before we dig in- this is a cathedral entry house, built in 1965, which is essentially a split level home where you enter onto the stairs (you can go up or down). There’s tons of these houses in BC so they’re commonly called the ‘BC Box’. 

Keeping in mind, the renovations on this home began in 2015, a lot of the original family home decor sources used are no longer available, but I’ve tracked down what I can – Enjoy!

If you know which space you’re looking for, you can save some time scrolling and click the link below! If you don’t see what you’re looking for, that space may be in our current Rancher Style Home.

Exterior

The exterior of this home was stucco and wood siding when we bought it. We stripped all of that off and replaced it with Hardie board and batten. See more of this in the full home makeover post.

A modern holiday entry way- love the frosted greens and simple black planter- perfect for christmas

Hardie Siding, Aged Pewter Board and Batten, Cobblestone Trim

Front Gable: Hardie Shingles

Entry Way

This cathedral entryway started out as cramped with no storage… but with some creativity and whole lot of DIY, we transformed this space into a functional entrance that we’re proud of – perfect for a family home.

Cathedral Entry Makeover

Dining Room

This dining room was so simple but honestly one of my favourite rooms in the house. It got such great natural light from the patio doors and the living room windows.

A Dining Room Update with DIY live edge table- I can't believe this is the same room!

Kitchen

This kitchen was the first real renovation we ever took on. It was a major job- from moving an exterior door and window to removing a wall and installing a beam. I’m so proud of how this kitchen turned out- we did it all ourselves (with lot’s of help from family) and learned so much. 

Before and After - DIY Kitchen Renovation

Living Room

This living room had brown wood paneling, damaged hardwood flooring and a tan stone fireplace… so not our style! But with a lot of paint and some DIY, we really turned it around! Once we added our favourite family friendly home decor, it was perfect.

Family living room decorated for spring- modern neutral decorations

Basement Rec Room

The basement was a blank slate when we moved in. We divided it in two- one part for us and one for a rental suite. The part for us was this rec room and a laundry room. We divided the rec room in two- one half for this TV area and the other half a play room (below). We built these GIANT built ins to house all my office supplies, our games, and books. You can see the full rec room reveal right here.

Love the rec room- such a good use of space and those built ins!
  • Black Rug- Loloi
  • Futon- AF Living from Wayfair, discontinued. Here’s something similar
  • Built In Shelving- DIY
  • Live Edge Desk- DIY
  • Rolling storage cart (blue)- IKEA
  • Ottoman- DIY
  • Tie Dye/Indigo Dye Pillows- Superstore
  • Brown Pintuck Pillows- Threshold at Target (discontinued)
  • Navy and Foil Tick Pillow- DIY
  • Nesting Tables- DIY, no tutorial
  • Wall Sconces- Parrot Uncle (discontinued), these are nearly identical though!
  • Constellation Map- Modify Ink (discontinued)
  • Smaller Decor (mostly on shelves)
  • Play Table, DIY with no tutorial but I did share painting it here!
  • Playroom side rug: Leons Furniture, discontinued
  • Black Cube Storage: Ikea KALLAX
  • Paint Color: Custom, the closest match I’ve found is called Dreaming in the Clouds by Para Paints
  • SEE THE FULL ROOM MAKEOVER HERE

Bathroom

This bathroom was the swankiest part of this house, I’m not going to lie. It was too fancy for us. But it sure was beautiful! You can take a full tour here.

Classic Bathroom Makeover with Modern Details- love the matte black with the chrome!

Master Bedroom

This was the beginning of the love affair with dark bedrooms for me. I LOVED the navy bedroom so much! See our full master bedroom reveal with video tour RIGHT HERE. It was also the first space I had featured in a magazine, so I’m partial to it :)

Holiday Master Bedroom- Navy and Textured

Nursery

This is Windsor’s whale themed nursery!

I love this updated take on a whale themed nursery with greys and blues... it could totally grow with them!

Laundry Room

We built this space… from scratch! There wasn’t even enough power run to the house to have a dryer… Seriously! Check out the full transformation here.

I love this laundry room makeover! I can't believe those countertops are WOOD!

Deck

This is another space that started from nothing (well, there was a rickety old set of stairs from a door we removed at the back of the house, that the house inspector told us were unsafe) to this modern outdoor family living space!

I love the wood look deck and this seating area is so sweet!

Phew! Full post, right?! Did I miss something? Let me know and I’ll try my best to get you a link! If you’re not having luck here, you could be looking for something in my current home. I’m working on that resource now!