House Tour

I got really excited and was all ready to write a to-do list kind of post.  You know all the millions of things we still want to do to our humble abode and then it occurred to me that I may be getting a little ahead of myself.  So lets back up a step and take us a tour...

When you first enter the house, this is what you see...

This is important because to understand the layout of our house, you have to use this point as the central point.  I will work around this center point, moving to the left as we go.

So first up, the kitchen...

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this kitchen.  When we started, there was no island and it was very sad, so this became one of our very first projects.  My uncle was kind enough to supply us with that beautiful granite.  A light change and a couple coats of paint later and there you have it.  A wonderful, sunny kitchen.  And it has a pantry-

The pantry tends to be a bit messy and unorganized...  It also important to note that the other door into the house is in the kitchen.  Luckily this one is outside of the fenced in area, so you can get in without tripping over the dogs...  And yes, you read that right, we have two front doors and no back or side doors.  Just one of the fun things about living in a 60 year old house that's had at least 3 separate renovations done...

So, as we head out of the kitchen and head to the left, we come to the guest bathroom...

Small and Bright, eh?  This bathroom is still very much a work in progress.  We have grand plans to replace all the tile and bathtub, because this is what we are dealing with...

Blue tile and a really uncomfortable tub, so sad and ugly.  But we have replaced the light, added storage and put a little curtain around the sink.  It mean really, no one wants to see exposed piping...

So heading to the left again, and we get the guest bedroom...

In all honesty, other than painting and adding all those sweet Matisee prints, we haven't done anything to this room.   And luckily it doesn't need much.

So that completes the left wing of the house, back to center...

Our big blue living room.  This room is pretty awkward, but it was worse when we moved in.  See that back wall with the floating shelves?  That didn't use to be there.  And you see the spot where the purple chair is sitting?  There use to be weird columns there.  I wish I has some before pictures, but trust me when I tell you it was well worth the money we spent to drop that wall in and pull the columns out.  Quick PSA:  The columns were in place for a reason- they are load barring, as is the wall we popped in.  In order to do this without bringing down your house, you need to install a header in the attic to support the ceiling.  This isn't so hard to do, but it could have some nasty, bad side effects if done incorrectly.  I strongly recommend using a professional for this type of work...

So onwards we go...  Behind that beautiful wall, we have a hallway...

Which is brillant, cause before you could see directly into that bedroom to the left... 

And that brings us to the "man room."

I would like to say that I hate the concept of a man room, lets be honest, I don't have a lady room anywhere.  And before anyone says "well the whole house is a lady's domain" be aware that Seth has been involved with every single decision that has been made in regards to our house.  His opinion, likes and dislikes are just as important as mine and we have worked hard to create a space that we are both happy with.  Rant aside, this is also the place where all of Seth's cigars, legos, model tanks and other odd things live.  He is happy with this space and I rarely go in here.

Back to the hall way and you can see our itty bitty laundry area...

Thank God for stackables...

And turn around and you're in the master bedroom...

We tried to keep this room pretty serene and it really does feel that way...  Or maybe that's just because I like to sleep...

To the left of the bed, we have Seth's closet...

And to the left of Seth's closet, we have the master bathroom...

Side note:  I have too many products...

And for a final bit of the tour, we head all the way back into the main room to find the TV room...

This is by far the room that we spend the most amount of time in.  Ava has a cat perch in here, Tilly likes the brown chair and Oliver likes to snuggle between Seth and I on the couch.  When picking the colors for this room, we wanted to highlight the fireplace and create an nice cozy feel.  Missions accomplished. 

So, as you can see, the whole house is painted and furnished.  That was a major task.  Most of the big projects have been tackled, but we still have a number of items on our to-do list. 

Where are you on making your house a home?