The House Saga, Episode I: A New Home

This post has been a long time coming, but we've been reeeally busy, believe it or not! Why? Well...

WE BOUGHT A HOUSE!!!

Our offer was accepted in November 2015 and we closed on March 18, 2016 (on my birthday!), so it has been a long long process. Since then we have been ripping things apart and putting them back together, and we're nowhere near done. Everything has gone pretty smoothly since we closed on the house, though it's hard to find time to work on it. We're very thankful for family and friends who have helped work on the house and watch the kids. 

Our house was built in 1965

1,000-1,100 sq ft of living space

3 bedrooms

2 bathrooms

.6 acres of land

fenced in yard, shed

crawlspace, attic

2 car garage

We're so thankful that we found a place that will work for our family within our budget and that it's our very own. We're anxious to realize our vision for it.

And now for a photo tour...

The living room has a big window and a fireplace. The carpet has hardwood floors under it.

The living room as you would see it as you walk in the front door. The wall/doorway ahead of you is the kitchen.

The front door and the garage door. There is a big closet across from the front door.

The fancy kitchen! The cabinets are well-made, but that's where my compliments stop...

The laundry area that connects the kitchen and master bedroom. There is also a side door in this area.

The master bedroom is a good size and has two windows.

The master from the other direction. There's a wall AC unit under the window. The room has a decent closet and has its own full bathroom. That was surprising for the size of the house and a nice selling feature. There are also hardwood floors under these carpets (and the other bedrooms).

The pink master bathroom! It has a full sized tub/shower.

The hall bathroom is just like the master except it has white and gray speckled tiles instead of pink.

The hall. Two bedrooms and two closets on the right, boiler room and bathroom on the left, and master bedroom straight ahead. And attic access.

The middle bedroom (AKA Cece's room).

Middle bedroom closet.

Third bedroom (AKA the boys' room).

Third bedroom closet (with strangely angled wall in the back).

Boiler/water heater room.

The garage.

The front door exterior.

The back of the house. Covered patio.

Our backyard (view from the boys' room).

I'll post before and after pictures as we finish each project, but this should give you an idea of what we started with! Big changes are happening!

Restoration Projects

We got rid of the high chair both boys used a while back because none of us liked the fact that the back didn't sit up straight so the baby would slide down. I bought this cool old wooden high chair at a yard sale recently for a great price. The finish was pretty much gone, the tray was stained, and one side of the tray was loose.

It was really a simple project. We just did lots of sanding and put on some shellac. Nathan fixed the loose tray. Easy peasy, but it looks so much better!

Today I made a simple pad for the seat. Just some heavy fabric and a few layers of batting with bias tape ties. Nothing fancy, but it should do the trick! We also got some waterproofing spray for the fabric so it will resist spills better.

We just need to find a seat belt to add and it'll be perfect! Yay!

I picked up this shelf at a yard sale last week. We're always on the lookout for nice solid wood bookshelves, and this one was a good price so I snagged it. You can't tell from the picture but it was in pretty rough shape aesthetically.

Some sanding and a few coats of gray paint has this shelf looking clean and fresh! We have it in the kids' room where we'll be moving all their books.

While Nathan and I were out yard saleing last weekend we expressed our love for all things old and wooden to a man whose sale we were shopping and he took us around he back of the house to show us this awesome old chest on wheels. Apparently his dad had built it for use as a traveling toolbox when he worked for Frigidaire, and then was lugged around the country in an RV and collected seashells. We bought it for $2.

Nathan did a LOT of work to stabilize and beautify the chest, and I love how it turned out!! The wheels just make it really special.

We love doing these projects!