Making Progress

I have been waiting to post pictures of the house until each room was the way I wanted it...but I am coming to find out that this is a long process, haha. So, I figured I would share a few pictures of the way things are at the moment, and as we complete each room to our liking, I will repost :)

This is an old picture of the courtyard, and I actually purchased new flowers at Home Depot yesterday...but they are waiting patiently to be planted.

We purchased a piano about a month ago on Craiglist, and I have to admit, I love having a piano in my home. We ordered two chairs that will go where the blue ottomans are currently. (In case you care, they are the redgrave chairs from Ethan Allen, and will be upholstered in an ivory fabric with a geometric/celtic pattern.) We are still undecided on the coffee table, rug, and window treatments. Oh, and I want a big clock on the wall between the two windows.



The kitchen, obviously :) We have really enjoyed hosting BBQ's and dinners with friends in our new house. We love having the french doors leading out to the patio for when we grill. The boys normally end up huddled around the grill in the courtyard, and us girls chat in the house. I also love all the light that pours into the kitchen in the afternoon, but I really only get to enjoy it on the weekend!

This was our first purchase, even before the washer and dryer. I found this at the Ethan Allen floor model sale and was thrilled to find that it fit perfectly in the alcove in the wall. They were kind enough to place it in their warehouse until we moved into the house.
Although I was slightly disappointed to not have a full laundry room, I have really loved my stacked washer and dryer. I have to keep all the detergents in the bathroom next door, but eventually we might build a shelf above the dryer. (But then I would need a step-stool to get it!!)
The downstairs bathroom. The bathroom has a shower because there is a "bedroom" downstairs which we use as a den/multipurpose room.


The den, as I will call it, had a huge closet that ran almost the whole length of the wall. It had one shelf/pole that ran the length of the closet, and that was it. Not super functional since we weren't using the room as a bedroom, and since we were hoping to store all sorts of things in this room. Well, after careful planning and ideas from designer Kevin (we joke about this, but he actually has a lot of great ideas), the closet project began. It went from blah and non-functional...
to this...

You can't really see in this picture, but on either side there are shelves going back, and a bookcase on the right side as well. The closet is pretty deep, so you have access to the bookshelves, etc. Once the closet was built out, I was amazed at the amount of stuff I could fit in there. The best part was that everything was accessible and organized, just the way I wanted it. The cupboards below the TV house all my scrap booking gear, as well as my sewing machine and supplies.

We have nothing on the walls yet, but I do love that secretary desk and the alpaca throw/rug that Kevin brought back from his mission days in Peru.

I am not including too many pictures of our room because I am hoping to post shortly when our bed arrives. I have gone back and forth about this bed I really loved, and on Halloween, Kevin gave me the go-ahead and I made the purchase. I am dying to get it, and will post pictures asap. But for now, here are the closets and my little jewelry station outside my closet :)


The second bathroom upstairs, which is near the top of the stairs. I didn't include any pics of the second bedroom upstairs either because it currently is a catch-all for just about everything. The good news is that it will be organized in the next two weeks before family comes for Thanksgiving :)

The loft. I really love the loft, and our old couch fits perfectly up there. There is another alcove where the TV cabinet is located. I repainted the old cherry wood cabinet we had in Texas, and it took on a whole new life in the off-white I painted it :) I need to hang one more thing on that wall before I show a picture so you get the full effect of the before and after. I need curtain panels on the window, but I am trying to decide whether to make my own, or buy some at the store. I just haven't found any that I really love.
I am really happy with how this project came out. I wanted family pictures on the wall, but I also wanted a bit of color, so I created some custom mats :) Kevin was very patient with me as we hung all those frames so they lined up perfectly.
I hope you enjoyed the little house tour. We really love this house and have enjoyed the entertaining we are able to do with a little more space. Come and visit people!