Greetings from Panera — since our home still doesn’t have internet, we stop here for hot chocolate and free WiFi to put together a quick update. You’ve probably been waiting for interior photos of our new house now that it’s officially ours, so here they are. I moved quickly while friends and family waited outside in the snow to start moving things in, so some shots aren’t perfect, and a video will have to wait. Still, this empty house is a fresh, exciting blank slate for us to transform.
There’s a lot to love and a lot to change: wood paneling, a yellow-beige bathroom, dark trim, a mix of flooring, brick we’re eager to paint, some off-center windows, compact boxy rooms, walls that want to come down — and even a sink in the master bedroom. We can’t wait to get the paintbrushes and hammers out and begin making the house our own.
We want to thank the previous owners for taking such good care of their home and for welcoming us to the neighborhood. They even hosted a small get-together and were excited when we shared our plans for paint colors and wall removals. Buying their home has been a real pleasure.
Okay — you probably want to see the pictures, so here we go. For a clearer sense of the layout and our future plans, check the floor plan description linked in the original post.
Here’s the exterior in a surprise snow blanket from Mother Nature:
The first interior room that stole our hearts is this formal living room. Behind the built-ins sits the former dining room. Our plan is to convert the formal living area into an entryway and dining space with a large opening on the left wall that leads into the long eat-in kitchen; the back room will become our home office with beautiful French doors.
Here’s the same space viewed toward the door:
This is the long eat-in kitchen we mentioned. It’s lined with paneling we’ll be painting, and we plan to paint the cabinets and add a large island. The new opening into the front dining area will be on the right; we’re aiming for at least a 5-foot pass-through so the whole space feels bright and connected.
From the opposite direction, you can see the generous doorways. We love the wide openings — they’ll help us achieve the open flow we’re after.
Another wide doorway leads down the hall — this shot was taken with my back to the master bedroom, facing the front door. Burger likie.
This will be our main living room — the big all-in-one gathering space. We found that in our old house we used the family room far more than the formal living room, so this larger, more flexible room will better suit our family, accommodate a sectional, and host more guests comfortably.
It feels open and bright thanks to generous proportions and sliding doors — one set opens to a raised patio and another to the sunroom.
Here’s the view from that large square window toward the kitchen. We plan to convert the fireplace into a double-sided one so it can be enjoyed from both the kitchen and the living room, and we’ll widen the doorway to better connect the spaces.
The sunroom was a later addition and feels a bit more modern than the rest of the house. Our challenge will be to make it feel more integrated with the older character of the home.
The opposite side of the sunroom has an off-center window and dark brick we’re excited to transform.
The master bedroom is generously sized, and the reclaimed pine floors with very wide planks are a standout feature we’re eager to highlight.
On the far side of the master sits a sink area that’s visible from the bed, with a shower and toilet in a separate room to the right and a walk-in closet to the left. Integrating that sink into the bedroom design will be a fun design challenge.
The hall bath near the other bedrooms reminds us of the full bath in our old house, but this tile is in much better shape.
Clara’s nursery is almost the same size as her previous room and already feels cozy.
The middle bedroom will serve as a playroom for now and can become another kids’ bedroom in the future as our family grows.
Here’s the guest room we’re excited to host family and friends in — once we get a bed in there.
And here’s the small yellow-beige bathroom suite — a remnant of the house’s earlier layout when this was once the master bath. It’s definitely on our redo list.
This little laundry room will be packed with storage and function to act as a mini mudroom.
We love the lines at the back of the house and hope to update the front exterior one day to match the back’s charm.
Isn’t the snow in the backyard charming? We’re completely smitten.
It truly was love at first sight. We’re grateful to our buyer’s agent for persuading us to view this house — we almost passed because of a carport, only to learn the sellers offered a credit to convert it to a garage. It’s wild to think we might have missed this gem over a carport prejudice, but sometimes the real estate world delivers surprises.
We’ll be sharing many more photos and updates as projects unfold, though please be patient: without home internet, our replies may be slower for a bit. We plan to document everything in real time — big and small transformations — and share the progress here. For now, make yourself at home in our new place and stay tuned for more diary-like updates. We’re thrilled to have you along for the ride.