We’ve almost been in this house for a month — we moved on the 14th of last month and this Sunday is the 14th again. The moving pod has been unpacked and returned (we talked about what we overpacked and what we donated on the podcast). It’s wild how a single pod can still feel like a lot when you’re moving from a much larger home to a smaller one: we went from 14 rooms to 6, and from 3,150 square feet to about 1,400. It was a months-long project, but it was absolutely worth it.
Short version: we don’t miss the things we let go of and the house feels so much lighter. If you’re downsizing, my best tip is to get rid of even more than you think you can; you rarely miss it later. Ten stars, highly recommend.
We covered some unexpected parts of moving into a smaller home on the podcast, which explains the logistics, how we settled in, and what surprised us. But here I want to share photos of the kitchen, dining area, and the little seating nook as they look now. These spaces are part of one large, multifunctional room at the center of the main floor. The house is a ranch-style layout: bedrooms and the bathroom are on the first floor, and there’s a bonus flex space upstairs that we use as a family room and office.
Most of the furniture here is what we already owned and had in the pod; we only ordered two extra kitchen chairs. We like documenting how rooms evolve — some spaces come together quickly and work for a long time, while others take longer to figure out.
For comparison, here’s how the kitchen looked when we bought the house. We removed the peninsula and soffits and refinished the pine floors to lighten their tone. Those updates, plus painting the whole house Pure White by Sherwin-Williams (eggshell on walls, semi-gloss on trim and doors, flat on ceilings), made the space much brighter. Ironically, while the house looked bleak in the rainy before photos, it turned out to be the brightest house we’ve ever owned once we moved in.
We also made a short video tour that answers lots of common questions — for example, what’s behind the small door near the stove, whether adding an en-suite would remove a kitchen window, how it feels to have the common area between the master and the kids’ bedrooms, and where we store food without a traditional pantry. The video shows a lot visually, even without sound.
Note: the video is also viewable on YouTube with auto-generated captions.
Pictures are fun to look back on as things change. For example, the hole above the stove for a vent hood and the black dishwasher front stick out to me in photos but fade from everyday awareness quickly once you live with them. We’ve really enjoyed having a casual dining table in this space instead of an island.
Because the chairs are standard height, we end up using the table for things we didn’t do as often at a kitchen island: writing letters, sorting paperwork, and using a laptop. I’m writing this post from that table right now. Another benefit is that everyone faces each other while eating — the layout feels more social than sitting in a row at an island.
We considered other options — a peninsula, a small island, a banquette — but this setup is flexible, casual, and suits us well for now. We have two matching chairs upstairs that can be brought down to seat six, and we also have outdoor seating options that make entertaining easy when the time comes.
The stove and appliances have surprised us by working well despite the house being empty for several years before we bought it. The counter and cabinet run is compact compared to our last kitchen, but everything we need fits. We plan to add shelves above the sink wall to increase storage.
About the pink laminate counters: I’m not completely against them. For Phase 1 we’ll likely paint the cabinets, add hidden hinges and new hardware, install shelves, and update the dishwasher front. There’s a small missing pink corner to repair, which I’ll probably fix with wood putty or Bondo and paint to match.
Regarding the window by the porch: it doesn’t bring a ton of light because it’s covered, but we enjoy the view and plan to preserve half the window if we add an en-suite bathroom, opting for a smaller bath instead of a large one. We’ve already learned that smaller can be perfectly fine — sharing one bathroom so far has worked better than we expected.
We do have a pantry area tucked into drawers that look shallow but function well — they store big bags of chips and cereal just like in our previous house. The bookcase-style storage units were used in the old house as well, and moving them here has been a fun exercise in figuring out where everything goes.
About one third of the room is dedicated to counters, cabinets, and appliances, while the other two thirds hold the dining table, storage bookcases, and a small sitting area with a dresser by the door that serves as a landing zone. Closing off a larger doorway added wall space that allowed us to place our bed against that wall and add another bookshelf in the main room.
The small sitting nook turned out to be more useful than I expected. I thought it might go unused, but the kids use it for sticker books, and everyone ends up sitting there while we cook. Even adults use the chairs to chat or check phones — the area has become a real, daily-use spot.
Near the front door we turned an odd double-sided closet into a large laundry closet with floating shelves and a countertop for folding. It now works hard for storage and organization — a game-changer for how much we can keep in this smaller house. The dresser by the door holds items we grab on the way out: sunscreen, dog leash, keys, and more. We updated its hardware to simple brass pulls and have used brass accents throughout the house for a cohesive feel.
We’ve improvised several pieces — for example, a woven basket topped with a lazy Susan serves as a side table, and another basket with an Ikea tray becomes a second tabletop. This room isn’t finished, but the current setup works really well for our family. We’re amazed how well the older appliances are holding up, and aside from one small item I missed after downsizing, there are no major regrets.
P.S. To follow the house’s progress, there’s a category that gathers key posts covering the before tour, renovation updates, and the exterior makeover.
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