Our New House {the den + stair's before}

In the new house {rental} we actually have a den and I'm thrilled. Although I do love our current homes open floor plan I also love the idea of separate spaces made with actual walls. The Mr and I keep on going back and forth whether to make this a movie room or just a place where I tuck away art supplies and a few lego bins and keep it more of a cozy creative space. I have a feeling our TV will go back and forth the first week before we make a permanent decision.

I took these pictures late in the day and the darkest room in the house still has the most beautiful light. The floors are wavy, but ever so stunning.

I'm standing at the back windows here. To the right is the kitchen, straight ahead are the scary stairs that go to the kids room and an additional bath. To the left it wraps around again to the front of the house which also has a bath, and two bedrooms.

The railings must be removed in order to get furniture up and down the stairs. HA. Oh, and don't you love the so called frat house carpet? GAG. It's being changed before we move in.

Here's looking down at two of the goofiest kids. This area will be simple. We are going to have the whole space painted out in a white just like the rest of the house I am sure and change the lighting as good sales hit. This ceiling will be scraped and painted and I am hoping that will ease some of the scariness {the upstairs is the only place with the lovely popcorn ceilings}. Of course new carpet is a must and I would love to do a sisal, but I still have to price that out. It may not be the best use of our limited budget. Jenny's DIY version may be worth a try too, but I wonder how well it will hold up with the little's. I think this runner could be a fun graphic choice and I love that's it's also good for outdoors. Then maybe paint the small upper railing a fun kelly green or yellow. As for the den I still want to use this original plan. I think it's fun and will liven this place up!

* I am answering any questions in the comment section if your email is not linked to your comment. Other wise I love email conversation! Thanks again for all the love!

Our New House {the kitchen before's}

Technically these before pics have no place on my blog. They are semi awful, but I personally love seeing before and afters. HA. I did a walk through with our friend, the owner of this rental, and she was so excited that we are going to bring it back to life. The 30 something year old boy/men renters called this place the frat house and treated it that way too. Sad really. Without further adu, here is the kitchen...

I have a love hate relationship with this kitchen already. What I love is the real wood, what I believe to be original, cabinets. The light in the space is amazing. The crown mouldings, original doors and windows make my heart sing even if they have been painted shut.

This piece alone will be such a beauty once I'm done with her. This also is the only decent storage in the house.

Here is from the back door in. Beyond is the dining room {can you see that moulding!}  and the door to the left leads to what will be a den of sorts. Now to what I am thinking... We are obviously painting the walls and the cabinets. I am changing the hardware and faucet. We get a new fridge, thank goodness. The lighting will be changed too. Currently I am thinking we will keep the counters. They are in decent shape and just need a good scrubbing and I am trying to keep the budget super tight, but we will see. i do think a butcher block would be kind of amazing.

This lovely spot in the floor is quite soft and we are having it checked. More than likely we are having the tiles replaced. They are are simply grosser than gross.

Where I would love some help... I have to make all painting decisions like now. The walls are going white. That I know. I want to make this place look bright. Now the cabinet style, although I love it has me stumped. My first thought is to do a slightly off white {like farrow and ball shaded white} cabinet to keep it from looking sterile. The other thought is to do a slightly darker color maybe a taupe or light gray. I really want to keep in style with the 1930's home, but make it fresh. I am having a hard time finding inspiration. Any thoughts?

The Secrets Out... finally!

So remember last week I was telling you about a new design client "the renter"? Well that "renter" happens to be us. We are moving! It was really a last minute decision guided by the hand of God through and through. We just put our home on the renters market and will be renting another from a good friend. That friend is also allowing us to make improvements to the home since the last renters may not have loved it all that well. The new home is still in the birmingham area just a new a new city. What spurred on this sudden change? I believe I have mentioned before that KJ has learning difficulties in the reading/spelling/anything word related area. The private school in which they tended, that we love dearly, does not have the extra resources to help him. It just got to the point where other kids were noticing that he could not read and the last thing I want to do is crush his little spirit. This new home happens to be in the school district that has the most wonderful resources to help kids who may be lacking in certain areas. At first the idea of change sent shivers down my spine and tears down my face. I am leaving my comfort zone. The place where we have pretty much have raised our children during their little years. The worst part though is my bestest friend, you know the kind of friend that knows every awful thing about you yet somehow loves you anyway, happens to be walking distance from our current home. Can't tell you how many laughs, crying sessions, and the like we have had on her porch. After much prayer I realize that this short distance will not alter our friendship in any way. Besides KJ and their little girl have been saying they are going to marry each other since they were three. You do marry your best friend after all. Now I am finally full of excitement and adventure! A new house to tackle which also happens to be a dream home of sorts for me. Plus we will be in an area where we can walk to school, shops, and restaurants. It even has one fabulous library. Whew, so happy I could share with you all now. I just didn't want to mention it till all our ducks were in a row. Now I have less than a month to pack and sell just about everything we own. Did I mention we are downsizing? HA.

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