Awesome Fixer Upper Suburban Split Level Remodel (Before & After House Tour)

Sharing all the details of our 2nd Home Renovation, an awesome Fixer Upper Suburban Split Level Remodel with How to Decorate Ideas, Curb Appeal Tips & Landscaping Ideas with Before & After Pictures!

We moved into our fixer upper Suburban Split level remodel in 2005 when our two oldest boys were almost 3 & 1 1/2.

We had run into some health issues with the boys in our 1st home & we decided that a fresh start was needed so we put the Town Traditional on the market & it sold…real quick!

The day of our open house we spent on a 100 + acre farm of Jason’s family for a family reunion where our two boys ran around with their cousins & farm animals while the grownups sat around & drank tea.

We got home to find out an offer had already come in & we had three weeks to move!!!  

At this point we had not even started looking for a house & we were not sure where we wanted to live.  

But we knew we wanted more land & a yard big enough to have a play set for the boys.  

So we found our Suburban Split Level Remodel which was in need of a huge renovation!

Fixer Upper Suburban Split Level Remodel

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Once again this split level remodel we bought was another big fixer upper.

This house was smoke filled & pet stained…

We gutted the entire house…. new porch, new windows, new roof, new kitchen, new bathrooms, new laundry room, new floors, new trim & doors, a new fireplace, new stairways, a new paver patio, new landscaping & lots of built ins.

I never really liked split level homes but the large yard, great neighborhood, quick move in date, & low price won in the end.  

While living in our split level remodel we further refined our style & realized that it is possible to give any house character…even a boring 1969 split level one. 🙂  

I had forgotten how much I love to garden & in this house, was reminded of the small vegetable patch I had when I was a little girl living in a row home in the city.  

We watched our two toddlers grow up in elementary school & had two more kids…a girl & a boy.

We stayed in our split level remodel for eight years until we grew out of the house & started longing for another “older bigger fixer upper”.

Here’s some before & after pics of our split level remodel.

I wish we had more before pics, I blame it on not wanting to remember how bad our split level remodel was, ha!

Curb Appeal for a Fixer Upper Split Level Remodel

Now you can see why we bought this split level remodel right, talk about curb appeal?!!!  

We drove around for weeks trying to find other houses like ours that had these ugly yellow bubble glass octagon windows but ours was the only one.

We found out later that the women who built our split level remodel special ordered them because she loved cruises & wanted to feel like she was on a cruise ship!

Painting our Split Level Remodel White & Landscaping

We took down all the bushes & trees that were up against our split level house.

We changed out & moved the old porch columns so they were not blocking the big bow window & looked more substantial.  

We painted the whole split level house white including the brick & added some forest green shutters & new landscaping.  

The octagon window up top & the one below were changed out including the rest of the windows & the roof.

How to Decorate our Split Level Remodel Ideas Room by Room

Split Level Remodel Entryway, Foyer & Stairs

Here is the inside view of our front door with a really ugly green laminate floor.  

We already took out 2 black iron railings that divided the foyer from the step down living room & changed out the front door transom & painted.

Here is the view up the stairs with the original iron railing & before we added wainscoting.

Here is our split level remodel entryway, foyer & stairs after we were done.

Jason added 2 new half walls with built in bookcases & columns.  

We changed out the newel post to an old one we found at a salvage store & added new railings & wainscoting.  

There is also a new closet door, front door & a new dark brown carpet runner for the stairs.

Split Level Remodel Living Room

This was really a great room to begin with….we loved the vaulted ceiling & huge bow window of our split level remodel but it still was missing something…

We added a huge Mendota gas fireplace with a blue stone surround.  

In my opinion a house isn’t a home without a fireplace…where would you hang the stockings at Christmas!  

We also added lots of built ins to give this room more character & that WOW factor we were looking for.  

We hid a flat screen TV behind the doors above the fireplace.

Split Level Remodel Dining Room

We painted the dining room a rich dark forest green & lowered the windows to bring in more natural light & added a new chandelier.

Split Level Remodel Kitchen

This room originally had original dark wood cabinets from the 60’s & yellow mustard appliances.  

It was also laid out in an L shape with a closet pantry.  

We gutted the kitchen & made it a galley style.  

We put down new wood floors, new white Kraftmaid cabinets, black granite counters, new stainless steel appliances & new lighting.

Split Level Remodel Family Room

For the family room we laid new dark carpet, added new columns &wainscoting to the stairway, tiled the entrance to the patio & added new glass sliders.

Split Level Remodel 1/2 Bath

This bathroom had a black & white color scheme going on.  

Black toilet, black and white stripped wallpaper & unfortunately black mold.  

It also had lovely pale blue shag carpet on the floor.  

We put in new tile, new walls, new wainscoting, new toilet, new lighting…the only thing we kept was the sink!

Split Level Remodel Laundry Room

Here is a mid renovation picture.  

There was ugly yellow paneling in this laundry room when we moved in.

We re-drywalled, added a new window, a new sink, cabinets & tiled the floor.

Split Level Remodel Master Bedroom

New carpet, new trim, doors, lighting & custom window shutters.

On the far wall we built a shelf with hooks out of an old door turned sideways.  

We brought this with us to our new house entryway!

Split Level Remodel Master Bathroom

Here are some mid project demo pictures of the master bathroom being gutted.  

It had a major shower leak…yellow tile everywhere including a yellow toilet & sink.  

The precious owner liked to smoke in here the most looking out through a yellow octogen inoperable window.  

Enough said this room was gross…. I am pretty sure we took half the bathroom out the first night in the house right after the dumpster arrived.

We then closed the door & let it sit for 2 years while we tackled other DIY projects.  

As you can see this was a family affair.  

You can never start renovating too early!

We put in new white tile subway tile all around the room.

New ceramic tile on the floor & shower walls.  

There is a new toilet, console sink, & polished nickel hardware throughout master bathroom.

Split Level Remodel – Girl’s Room

Again we painted & added new carpet, doors & trim.

Split Level Remodel Boys Rooms

Jason added wainscoting & a chair rail throughout the boys bedroom.

We painted, added new carpet, doors & trim.

Split Level Remodel Nursey

We added tall wainscoting to this bedroom & put a shelf all around the room.  

We added a built in bookcase & bench.  

New carpet, paint, trim & doors.  

The hanging light we moved in from the old master bathroom & refreshed it with a coat of paint.

Split Level Remodel Hall Bathroom

We put in new double sink base & linen cabinet.  

We re-grouted the whole bathroom, put in a new toilet & painted.  

Since this was the kids bathroom we were ok with keeping the original blue tile.

Split Level Remodel Backyard Ideas

Here are some before pictures of our split level remodel backyard.  

We took down all the bushes surrounding the house & added a new stone retaining wall & paver patio.  

We took down over twenty trees, planted grass & landscaped the entire yard.

The backyard really was a beautiful oasis that our entire family enjoyed.

Thanks for checking out our fixer upper split level remodel!

I hope this inspires you & gives you lots of ideas for your split level house remodel or fixer upper home!

by Tara Lehman

If you are interested in checking out our current fixer upper, a century’s old farmhouse see the tour HERE

Don’t forget to Pin & save our Suburban Split level house tour or follow along on Pinterest!

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