Our Home

OUR FIRST HOUSE

We bought our (very first!) house on June 12, 2013 and compared to the looooong house hunting and settlement process, our remodeling/changes/decorating started happening right away. We couldn’t wait to jump right in! However, in order to get an “after“, there has to be a “before“, right? You’re about to embark on the adventure with us, so find a comfy seat and settle in…

Alright, let’s go!

The picture above is our home, looking from the parking lot at the front door. If you turn to the left and look down the sidewalk, this is what you’ll see:

And if you turn around to look back at the parking lot (the house is behind you)…

FOYER

When you come in the front door, you’ll be greeted by our mini foyer and the staircase leading to the second story. Here’s the before:

We painted the walls a blue/gray color and added board and batten going up the steps, painted bright white for some crisp and clean contrast. This is what the space looks like after:

FAMILY ROOM

Here’s a quick glimpse at that foyer (to the right) and you can even see the door to the downstairs bathroom (on the left).

And after the paint job and board and batten:

And if we pan around, this guy is hiding in that corner…

Here we are, with a before shot of the family room. Through the hallway is the hall closet (door on the right) and the kitchen.

After paint, furniture, and small changes here and there, our room looks like this today:

Looking back toward the Family Room from the Kitchen before…

In progress (we painted, hung frames, mirrors, and curtains, and bought an entertainment center/electric fireplace to make this room cozy):

And after (we re-painted, hung shelves and a gallery wall, and added two storage ottomans):

HALL CLOSET

Through the hallway, on your left, you’ll find the hall closet. Feel free to hang up your coat and stay awhile! Here’s a before photo:

The afters (yes, we actually have afters of this “room”!) will be coming shortly.

DOWNSTAIRS BATH

On the other side of the hallway (to your right), is our Downstairs 1/2 bath. Check out these befores:

Since then it’s been de-wallpapered, painted, and decorated and now it’s looking more like this after:Update: The bathroom is our current “newest project”! See our vision for the future space here. 

KITCHEN

Welcome to the cheeriest room of our house (after we painted it yellow and added some homey touches, that is). Here are a few befores:

The dining area of the kitchen before its transformation:

Looking back toward the Family Room from the Kitchen:

…And, of course, a few afters (check out the details of the chandelier upgrade here, the gallery wall here, and the floating shelves here):

MASTER BEDROOM

Second floor time. Here is our Master Bedroom before we transformed it into more of a relaxing “getaway”.

And this is what it’s looking like AFTER some paint, new carpeting, and furniture:

Oh, and a close up of that window nook!

SPARE BEDROOM

Of all the rooms in the house, this space has undergone the most changes. It started out as our “go crazy with bold ideas that we can’t try anywhere else” room. Here is a before shot of the Spare Bedroom when we first bought it…

It didn’t take us long to get some functional furniture in there (you can read about the bookshelf here and the futon here) and color on the walls… here’s what it looked like “in progress”:

After about two years, we decided that it was time for a change… we needed the space to do more and we wanted to try a different design scheme. We took the doors off the closet and made it into an office (there are ten chapters to that story and you can read through them here) and painted the room neutral. Aka. WHITE!

This room is definitely a work in progress and space has evolved even since this update! Details coming soon!

UPSTAIRS BATHROOM

Need a bathroom break? Here’s a shot or two of the room before changing things around:

And after painting it blue, adding some minty details, creating additional storage, and replacing the old (and nasty!!) caulking and grout in the tub,  it looks more like this:

LAUNDRY ROOM

A hidden gem, found in the Spare Bedroom. Just like the hall closet, this little space got a makeover of its own! Here is what it looked like before:

After painting it a bright, peppy color, adding a little organization, installing an extra shelf, and creating some clothespin art… it now looks like this:

BACKYARD/PATIO

And last, but definitely not least, welcome to the great outdoors (and actually a major selling point for us!). We have our own patio that opens up to the neighborhood common space. We feel very blessed to be off to the side and hidden behind a large tree, which makes it pretty difficult to see into our space. Also, there’s a creek, which makes us giddy for warm weather months! Here are a few before shots (hey, dad!):

And after a summer of working on this space, here’s the after:

The backyard project was a lot of fun and took us quite a few posts to share everything. You can see a comprehensive (mostly finished!) to-do list here. Oh, and beyond our little plot lies the common space, complete with a field to run around in and a stream to play in…

And there you have it, our humble home! Thanks for stopping by 🙂 If you’re curious to see the progress as it happens or just want to pop in every once in a while, we’d love to have you join us for the journey. It’s not always a smooth ride (we have clogged drains and spilled milk on the carpet just like anyone else!), but we’re always careful to enjoy the adventure. Thanks for coming along for the ride!

PS. Are you more of an “interactive” reader? Click HERE to see the most recent video tour.