A playroom in the living room

Last October we bought our first home. It is an 1800+ sqft home sitting on an acre. It was the second home we were shown and we fell immediately in love with the property. As we walked around the backyard looking at the garden, treehouse, and fruit tree's I remember grabbing Danny's hand and whispering to him "I cannot believe this house is in our budget". He smiled at me and squeezed my hand back. Deciding to move to the country was a hard thing for me, but once we actually got in the home I never looked back. Sure the extra 15 minutes on my commute can be annoying but when I pull up to our court and see our big yellow house sitting there with the lights on, it makes that commute fade away.

So as much as I fell in love with the property the inside of the house left something to be desired. When we walked in for the first time there was white carpet and white linoleum EVERYWHERE. There was a big sign on the door that said, "PLEASE TAKE YOUR SHOES OFF". Yeah, we are not those kind of people. Also the walls were painted dark beige and red and there was a dark wood stove in the back. The kitchen had basic 90's builders oak cabinets and all the trim was oak. We walked up stairs and started noticing that every wall was a different accent color. Pretty much it was my worst nightmare. I love clean, bright and happy decor and this house was so dated, dark and sad. Taking a leap and buying this house was scary and exciting. The home design and decor nerd in me was geeking out but the level headed money conscious person in me was terrified.

The day we closed on the house Danny was deployed. My Mom flew up from California to help me move and get started on some home renovations. I cannot thank her enough for being there for me during that time! For about a month straight I was painting. I stopped worrying about getting all the paint out of my hair when I showered because each day there was a new wall, cabinet or trim that needed to be painted. My moto was "I am painting the ugly out". It really was true, I remember that first coat of color blocking white primer over the dark red walls in the kitchen looking so much better! The house felt bigger, brighter and more happy.

We have a million and 1 more projects to tackle and few unfinished projects too. I am taking each month and trying to accomplish something. The biggest thing we did other than painting was to get dark laminate wood flooring throughout the 1st story.

Below is some before and afters of the living room.

 Before (the day we first saw the house)

Moving Day ( I already started priming ha!)

After

So much brighter! I painted the walls Benjamin Moores "Revere Pewter". I love this color because it changes with the light subtly. Sometimes it looks grey and sometimes a light beige. It's the perfect neutral for someone (like me!) who loves to change up her decor here and there.

Today I spent the day making a kid area in the front of the living space. We don't have a ton of square footage in the living room so making every sqft count but still making it feel open was important and challenging. After rearranging a few dozen times over the months I think I have finally settled on this. It's still not 100% done but it is getting there! The beige chair needs to be recovered and I bought some frames that need photos in them. For now it is done and my girls are happy being able to have their toys downstairs in a spot just for them. I like being able to tell them to pick up their toys and it is a quick 5 minute pick up with everything having a home.

I will be posting more home make overs over the next few months! My kitchen is halfway done and I am also in the process of updating the bathrooms. Stay tuned!