8.29.2008

Making a House a Home

As of last Monday, we've been proud home owners for one whole month, and today marks 5 weeks exactly! Whew - I can't believe how much we've accomplished in that time period. We've painted most of the house, had a new roof installed and almost all of the boxes are unpacked! There are still so many things that I'd like to do, but this house is finally starting to feel like home. In commemoration of the one month mark, here are some pictures of the things we've done to the house to make it our own (warning: lots of pictures and home decoration talk to follow, just in case you don't like that sort of thing).

This is our entry way with hall closet. Notice the new paint color - we were going for a Tuscan Gold, something warmer and less green than the previous gold color. This is the predominate color in the house now, with the exception of our accent (fireplace) wall, which is slightly darker with a touch more orange, and the new olive green kitchen. We still have a lot of work to do in this area, with the office and dining room, but that'll come with time.

A picture of our beautiful new bathroom fixtures that Collin & Stephen installed during our move-in weekend. I just love them - the clean lines really make the space feel more updated and sophisticated.

Looking into the kitchen from the great room. We bought the two bar stools, and hope to get two more in the near future to complete the breakfast bar. You can see the new color in the kitchen as well, which I like pretty well, although I'm not 100% happy with it.

I was finally able to start using my Uppercase Living stuff I'd been stock-piling since Vandenberg (thanks Janessa)! I love how these personalize a space - you may have seen the "welcome" over the hall closet in the first picture too.


If you look closely at the wall on the right (under the window), you'll see the slightly darker accent color we used on that wall. This over-sized chair is our favorite place to cuddle up together near the fireplace and watch a movie!

Our humongous couch underneath the ledge shelves that Collin hung for me last weekend. I plan to put a few more things on those ledges, but it's a work in progress. Love the warmth of the new color... do you remember the dark terra cotta before? The room feels much bigger and lighter now.

This is part of Ian's room. We kept the color the same, but added a Mickey theme with the wall stickers, and accessories on the shelves. It feels so nice to finally have a nicely put-together room for our little guy!
Here's another portion of his room. See? The blue is not quite as bright turquoise as it appeared in the sale pictures.
Moira's room is probably the most put-together of the whole house (how does that happen every time?)! We painted over the awful dark orange color, and the space looks so much more like it belongs to a little girl now. It's complete with Disney Fairy wall stickers, Fairy bedding and my attempt at a canopy over the bed. We're just awaiting the "I believe in Fairies" and "All you need is faith, trust and a little pixie dust" vinyl wall applications from Uppercase Living, and the space will be complete. Isn't it cute?

A closer shot of the fairy stickers and some of the fairy books and accessories we're displaying on the shelves. She just loves her new room!

Our guest room hasn't really been started, except for the new bed and bedding we picked up this week for our friends that are visiting this weekend. I think it's a nice start at least!

We picked up patio furniture for the screened-in porch when we first moved in...

... but my favorite part is finally being able to hang and use the sky chairs we bought a couple years ago! I could spend the whole day in one of those with a good book.
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So, that's it, in a nutshell! We're feeling very cozy and happy in our new home, and definitely blessed that God's gifted us with so much. I'm sure I'll post more at a later date, as more things start taking shape. Thanks for letting me share our excitement & joy here!

9 comments:

Katie said...

Your home is lovely Janelle! I'm so excited that you have a place to start putting down roots! Miss ya!

Katie

Candace/Chloe said...

Great job, Janelle! It looks so warm and cozy! So glad you've settled in so quickly!

Nina and John said...

It's beautiful! I love seeing what you all have done! Great job! Love, Nina

Anonymous said...

So glad you guys are able to put some roots down, and make a house really your own home. Love what you've done!

Bruce Judisch said...

We love it, Janelle! Looks like you. Can't wait to see it in person.

Love, Mom & Dad

The Bottolfini's said...

Oh, Janelle, the place is gorgeous...and feels like home just from looking at the pictures (I love how Cailin snuck into the picture of Ian's room!) I love the color choices you made (I always go with plain old boring beige) They are so "risky" and yet I love them! Thanks for the UL plug too, that was sweet. Your fairy items should be there shortly.

Blessings for you and the family

J

The Jackson Family said...

You guys have been HARD AT WORK! Whew! We haven't painted one wall since we moved in our house 7 months ago! I love, love, love the colors and hangings and I wish I could come hang out in your patio room. Gorgeous!

Suzann said...

This looks so great! I can't wait to see it :0) I just wanted you to know that I ck your blog every day so I'm reading even if I don't comment.
PS I have lots of pix from the beach so I'll print some up for ya!

The Wilhite Family said...

What a great job you did!!! So excited for you guys!