Three Months In…: a house log

We at last got around to updating our House Tour page with some progress pics and it dawned on us that we have not truly done a progress report about the new house since this one at Day One and this one at Day Fifteen, so here is where we are at a little over three months in (Day 101 or so).

Here is the house’s original formal living room that looked into the original dining room on moving day (which we chose to turn into an entryway/dining room that looks into a home office because that better suits the way we live):

Here is the dining room looking into the converted office now, thanks to arranging those shelves and painting the built-ins (who knew an $11 change could make such a difference). Oh and we brought in a giant 70″ table that will easily seat 8 (once we get chairs for it, haha).

Here is a before look from the other direction of our future dining room/entryway :

And here is the future dining room/entryway now:

Other than bringing in our table, not much else has gone on. Yet. But we cannot wait to knock a 6′ opening in the wall on the right that will connect our newfound dining area to the kitchen. Then we will make a pleasant little defined entryway behind the table so it does not feel like you are stepping right into the dining room from the front door.

Here is the long eat-in kitchen on the day we moved in. We are planning to prime & paint the paneling, as well as the cabinets and add a giant island to make the most of the fireplace. The opening to the new dining room in the front of the house will be on the right wall in the picture below. We are hoping to get at least a 6′ pass through so it feels truly airy and inviting.

Here is the kitchen now. Nothing has changed except it is messier and we have a too-small table where our island will someday be. But as we mentioned above, we have big plans. We are simply building up the funds & energy. Haha.

Here is the hallway before (with my back to the master bedroom facing the front door, and then with my back to the front door facing the master):

Here is the hallway now, after hanging a ton of frames on the left side (as you face the bedroom). You can see that we still have not hung the frames on the right side yet (hence all of the paper templates). Soon hopefully.

You can also view the hallway from a wide doorway in the kitchen. Here is what it looked like when we moved in:

Here is the view of the hall through the kitchen doorway now that we have hung those frames and brought in our console table (do not mind that it looks like the kitchen floor has changed, that is simply the wood tabletop in the foreground of this picture):

Here is the living room on the day we moved in. We have already done a lot in there, but one major project that we cannot wait to tackle is making the fireplace double-sided someday.

This is the living room now, after painting the walls, painting the trim, painting the beams, removing the fans, hanging some art, and adding a larger area rug among other things. We still want to build a console table for behind the sectional, hang curtains on the window & sliders, bring in table lamps and perhaps some new ceiling fixtures, add a larger/deeper media cabinet, and someday refinish the wooden parquet floors in a deep rich tone. Should be lively…

Here is the sunroom on the day that we moved in (it was brought in on around 15 years ago). The challenge in there is making it feel more integrated with the rest of the house since it is so modern and the rest of the rooms were built half a century before.

Here is the sunroom now. Not much of an update other than putting some already-owned furniture in there. But we plan to paint the whole room (the bricks, the ceiling, the off white walls) to unify the space so it feels less broken up and more airy & open. And bringing in some breezy window treatments will add ambiance, while art for that brick wall will assist balance to the awkward off-centered window that looks into the kitchen.

Here is the master bedroom as it looked on move-in day:

And here is the master bedroom now:

After getting a new bed and duvet, I whipped up some no-sew curtains with some discount fabric. We also switched out the light fixture and got a new rug. There is still a lot to do in there (we are not sold on the art above the bed and want to add built-ins to the nook on the left of the bed and introduce a bench at the foot of the bed and more art), but it is coming along.

Here is the sink nook as it looked when we first moved in. It is in fact located on the far side of the bedroom (with a shower and a toilet in a room to the right and a walk-in closet to the left). It is certainly a challenge to make a sink that is visible from the bed feel integrated (let alone romantic) but we do enjoy a challenge…

Here is the sink nook now, after we took out the bi-fold doors, demo’d the backsplash around the sink (to make it look more like a piece of furniture and less bathroom-y) and switched out that awkward medicine cabinet to the right of the sink (neck-cramp anyone?) for a mirror that hangs right over the window. Now we can in fact look straight ahead while we brush our teeth or do our hair. Remarkable. But we certainly have more plans for transforming the vanity.

Here is the master bathroom before, which is located right off of the nook with the sink above:

Here is the master bath now. It still looks the same except for the higher shower curtain but this is another one of those rooms that we have big plans for, we simply have not gotten to them yet.

Here is the hall bath as it looked on move in day. We enjoy that it is so similar to the original full bath in our first house (and the tile is luckily in much better shape, so we cannot wait to work with it).

Here is the hall bathroom now (we remembered to white balance the camera, hence the brighter pic). So far we have took out the weird off-centered bar under the window, brought in some window trim for balance, and raised the shower curtain for some extra drama and height. Cannot wait to get some color on the walls, add art, Hands-on a window shade, and bring in some accessories.

Here is Clara’s nursery on the day that we moved in (it is nearly exactly the same size as her old one):

And here is Clara’s room now (after we painted the walls a soft lavender-pinky-gray tone and hung all of her art):

Here is the middle bedroom that we are calling the playroom as it looked when we moved in (it’ll become another kids bedroom when our fam grows someday):

And here is the playroom now:

How’s that for keeping it real? Haha. Yeah, that room is the dumping ground for everything from extra bedding and pillows to art and broken ceramic animals. Should be epic when we at last pare down and organize stuff so we can see the floor again. Until then we simply choose to close the door and live happily ever after in denial. Haha.

Here is the guest bedroom that was sorely missing a bed when we moved in:

Here is the guest room now, after adding some bold peacock blue paint on the walls along with some curtains, a bed, bedding, colorful accessories, and a DIYed luggage rack side table (more on that here). Still on the agenda: adding crown molding, hanging art, etc.

And here is the funny little yellow-beige guest bathroom which is attached to the guest bedroom (it used to be the master before they brought in the new one along with that spacious living room behind the kitchen as an addition in the 70’s, so it has its own bathroom). We certainly want to work with the vintage tile but lose the dated and dingy look.

Here is the guest bathroom now, after switching out the old medicine cabinet for a mirror, hanging some towel hooks the door (which used to have a large mirror that reflected whoever was on the toilet- ack), bringing in some art, and introducing a bright shower curtain (that ties into the adjoined guest bedroom) along with a graphic hotel-ish bath mat. Still more to do, but it works for now.

And here is the little laundry room as it looked on move-in day. We want to pack it with storage and function to create a mini mudroom as well as a place to wash clothes.

Here is the laundry room now, which we have upgraded with energy efficient front loaders (scored at one of the deepest discounts we have ever found). But we still have a lot to tackle. Like adding some storage-friendly built-ins to fill that gap between the washer/dryer and the wall, among other things.

Here is the separate entry basement under the living room, all pleasant and nearly empty on move-in day:

Here is the basement now. Full o’ junk. We are even storing some stuff for John’s parents since they are in the process of downsizing now that their nest is empty. Should be quite the project to get this room in order. Luckily I have only been down there three times in the past three months so it is an straightforward mess to ignore. Haha.

Although there are rooms that we have not touched yet, we are in fact surprised at how much we have accomplished in a little over three months. It is like we sprinted out of the gate and are simply stopping to see what we have done as the dust settles around us. Exhausting but exciting. As any DIYer knows, this stuff tends to happen in waves. Sometimes you are flying along, ticking things off the list left and right. And other times you are not. Sometimes you hit a wall or get burned out. Sometimes you run out of money (and have to wait for the reserves to build back up). Progress certainly happens in fits and starts. So going from “renovating rockstar” to “lazy, uninspired, tired, broke, crazy person” (and back) is totally normal. And yes, it even happens to us (spoiler alert: we are not robots).

So although we shot through plenty of stuff since moving, it is fully possible, make that probable, that this pace is not sustainable. And some weeks we will be moving as slow as molasses. Simply gotta catch your breath from time to time, you know? All we know is that we have a thousand things on our to-do list and we are guessing it’ll take us at least several years (our first house took us four and a half). So it is certainly going to be an unpredictable, crazy, boring, exciting, goofy, and insanely lively journey. You know, depending on the day. Haha. And we would not have it any other way! Glad to have you along for the oh-what-the-heck-let us-simply-see-what-happens ride.

Psst- Here is a floor plan for anyone who wants to wrap their mind around the layout after scrolling through the pics. And here is an old video house tour that might assist orient you (or further confuse you, haha).

Pssssst- We announced this week’s giveaway winner. Click here to see if it is you.