Making A House A Home

As mentioned in the post prior to this one, we closed on the house Wed. Sept. 14th. We have been very busy painting, unpacking, organizing, and painting some more. First, I must apologize to Amber for using the pics I took when we first saw the house as my 'before' pictures. In no way am I implying that I thought your home 'before' picture worthy. I actually really liked the way you decorated...and wasn't planning on painting right away. That was the plan until many sleepless nights during the long closing process. I'd lay awake in bed creating to-do lists and re-arranging furniture in my mind. Eventually I started seeing different colors on the walls. I forgot to take pics while the house was empty before moving. Der! Anyway. I also want to say that these are some very premature 'after' pics. I still have A LOT to do to get things just right. So expect to see more 'afters' in the near future. But for now, enjoy!

I was immediately drawn to the 'rustic country' style and many gorgeous antiques in the home.

If you know me at all, you are aware my favorite color in the world is green. I wanted a really fresh & bright dining room. I LOVE colored walls with white trim (que 'gasp' for those of you who think painting wood work is w.r.o.n.g.). I've got to say--the colors of this room (and all the others, for that matter) most likely DO NOT translate well onto your computer screen. In reality they are much more subtle. At least compared to what is showing on my screen.

I took these pics yesterday and already I've re-arranged the furniture in the room. I told ya...it's a work in progress!

I {love} these curtains. They are a burlap-y texture and a really nice neutral sand color. That window was a BEAST to paint. You can't really see because the curtains are covering, but there are windows on both sides of the big one that's showing. The end results were totally worth it.

Once the trim around the door was white I just had to paint the white door.

This lamp used to be black with an ugly crackle finish. Now I love it!

The living room was a nice neutral taupe color. Notice the 'home sweet home' vinyl in brown above the doorway. I LOVED that when we first saw the house.

We took a risk and decided to paint the living room a pumpkin orange color. Originally we wanted red. But red is so over-done and we thought we'd get tired of it quickly. We loved the orange right away. But even more once we hung the curtains and got our stuff in the room. I've had almost all of my decor for years and years. It amazed me how well it all fit into the orange room. It was meant to be! We still need to paint the trim in this room white. That will make a huge difference in the overall look. (we're not painting the banister, it's beautiful as is)

I really didn't want to lose the 'home sweet home' on the wall. We decided to paint over the vinyl and see what it looked like if we pulled it off. The original taupe color underneath blended too well with the orange. Then I thought to paint it white by hand. It worked! I can't wait to see how it will look when the trim is white.

The kitchen used to be a creamy color. We went with a bright yellow. I've always wanted a bright yellow kitchen. I can't wait to go look for some funky fabric and make a window treatment. We're also going to re-do the floor in the kitchen & dining room next month (hopefully). And get new/updated counter top. But that won't happen for a while.

L O V E this floor to ceiling storage. It's all over the house.

My 'utility' closet. I am happy to have a place to put the vacuum where it's easy to get to!

The bathroom was already this awesome green color. Our stuff looked perfect with it. All we gotta do is paint the trim (of course!).

There you go! We are currently working on our bedroom. Our bedding is apple green, gray, and white. We painted the walls a silvery gray color and are going to start priming the trim tonight. It's going to be a lot of work. But it'll look great when it's done. Our new couch comes Thursday! My parents are picking it up in Des Moines on their way down to visit. I can't wait!!! Later taters.