Home Tour – Before Pictures

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If you missed it, last week I announced that we moved! And, had some downright adorable photos taken outside our new home, if I do say so myself!

I don’t know about you, but, if there are two things I love on the internet, it’s a good ole fashioned home tour and before/after photos. I aim to please so here is part one of my home tour with our home before photos! Full disclosure, the after photos may take a while judging by how slowly we are unpacking boxes. It is hard working full time, unpacking the house, trying to set it up so it looks darling, and trying to maintain having a life. Not to mention running errands and doing all the normal adult things, all at the same time. Whew! And, that’s without kids! I don’t know how you mamas do it. I look around our house, and I think we are making good progress, and then I go look in our garage, where all our boxes are staged and feel like we are making no progress at all. It’s exhausting but so rewarding at the same time.

Back to the home, I’m a huge fan of ranch style homes. I spent time growing up in the Midwest, aka land of ranch homes, so they always have a special place in my heart. I love single level living, it is so conducive to entertaining, and a living modern lifestyle. Plus, not having to vacuum stairs or haul laundry up and down to different floors? That makes me a happy camper! Plus, open floor plans are my jam. I love that I can be in the kitchen and still be a part of whatever fun is going on in the rest of the house. The layout of this home is part of what really attracted us to it. We just had people over for the first time a couple days after moving in, for a super casual evening with football and grub. It was great having everyone easily fit in the space and be a part of the action no matter what “room” they were in. That just wasn’t possible at our old place. Also, a special shout out to the friends you can have over while your home is still in boxes with no judgement and feeling no shame!

Style wise, while the home is clean and bright, it’s not exactly our esthetic taste. Good thing that can be changed! The previous owners had a very warm, 1990’s Tuscan feel to the home. There is lots of yellow walls, orange oak cabinetry, and ornate, grandiose curtains, which if course matched perfectly with the large paintings of the Italian countryside they had dotting the walls. Our style is more bright and eclectic. Think Florida beach meets Pacific Northwest. Casual entertaining areas, cozy and comfy while being a little bright with fun colors. So needless to say, we have some big plans for the interior, as well as the exterior of the home. Most of which include a lot of paint.

First thing we plan on doing is putting up a fence in the backyard. We are total millennials, and the number one thing on our list was a yard for the dogs. When Tom and I moved in together, we decided to live at my place, which was perfect for me and my small dogs that didn’t need to burn off energy in a big yard. But, once Tom moved in with his big dog, the whole no yard situation got really difficult. So, first thing is fencing in that bad boy. After that, we have a laundry list of projects ranging from paint, to changing out those early 90’s curtains. Can you tell how much I dislike the curtains? Mostly, though, a lot of paint, and a little shiplap. Shiplap does make my heart sing.