Hello, friends! We have now owned our new house for a little over 48 hours and we hit the ground running. There are 12 days between closing and moving day and we need to make each one count. {Click HERE to find out why we haven’t moved in yet.} I wanted to take a moment to share what we’ve been up to and some plans, so here ya go: a new house update!
Let’s start with why we settled on this house. {Missed why we are moving? Click HERE.} It was the very first home we stepped foot in this past summer while we were looking at homes. We all instantly saw the potential and loved it. And then we thought, “It can’t be that easy, right?” We kept looking and toured many other homes. My husband doesn’t care what kind of house he lives in, so it’s me that has been picky. But because we were seeking margin in our budget, I was open to any type of house that was in our set price-range. We walked-through split-levels, ranches, major fixer-uppers, bi-levels, colonials, cottages, cape cods, and bungalows. And in the end, God blessed us with a desire of our heart: a new house with character, charm, a sound structure, potential, and in need of some love.
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But do you know what he also blessed us with {and I could feel this deep down in my heart whenever I was here}? A wonderful neighborhood. In our first 48 hours of owning our new house, we met more neighbors than we have in our 3 1/2 years at our farmhouse. {Yes, we have met a few neighbors at our farmhouse and the ones we do know are absolutely wonderful!} My kids have been biking through the neighborhood and love the smiles and waves they are getting. Plus…they’ve seen lots of kids around. {Remember…we homeschool, so they won’t automatically meet kids, but will have to be intentional in order to make friends.} Anyway, I almost ugly cried while we trick-or-treated last night and I was able to see first-hand what a great place God has brought us to.
Okay, let’s get to the good stuff: pictures. {Want a little preview first? Click HERE for my very first photos.}
Here it is: our 1915 house. A bit ironic that it needs the exterior painted…ha! {Click HERE to find out why I said that.} My daughter and I are looking forward to getting the outside cleaned up next spring.
Right after closing, we headed over to the new house to run around and hoot and holler…and to start some demo.
Our first big project is sanding the floors. How many floors? We aren’t sure yet. We do have a deadline, so we are just working as hard as we can and will see how far we get. The minimum would be the entire first floor. Yes, I know. “Most people” don’t do this much sanding on their own. I heard that line at the rental center too. Do you know what? We’re okay not being “most people.”
I don’t display a lot of things in pretty corner cabinets, so this came out within moments of our first evening here. We want to do the floors in any places that will be exposed, so removing a lot built-ins has been a priority.
I love finding hidden gems of past owners and their decor style and taking out this cabinet revealed some fun wallpaper.
On the first floor, there is an office. And we originally thought that it would be perfect for my husband. But…then we really did some out of the box thinking and have plans for other rooms on the second floor. And especially the attic. We are in need of another bathroom and I would love to avoid doing laundry in the dungeon-like basement. That means we have decided to convert this room into a half-bath and laundry room.
Off the kitchen is {umm…was} a built-in counter. It was, well, kinda gross, so the hubby…
ripped it out…
I’m not sure what this space will turn into in the end as I’ve decided to live in our home before making too many changes. In the meantime, we’ll pull some desks in here as a homeschool base…once it’s cleaned up, of course.
Next up is removing a coat closet that sits right inside the main door. It is a tight squeeze getting through here, so we’ve decided to open it up. {And yes, there is space for a coat closet on the opposite side of our entryway.}
My husband only has time in the evenings to come over and work on the house, so this is what the closet looks like right now. Ahh, plaster…it makes demo a little bit more interesting.
Let’s take quick peek at the floors and my progress so far. Let’s just say that using a drum sander makes you realize you have muscles in your body that you never knew you had. It’s hard and very loud work, but it is going to make all the difference. Plus…it’s so much easier to make a mess when you don’t have to live in it!
Oh, friends, the windows and amount of light streaming in is wonderful. There was one other house that could have worked for our family, but something wasn’t quite right about it. I wasn’t able to put my finger on what was off though…until I slept on it! In the morning, my first thought was, “It doesn’t have enough windows!” I hadn’t realized how much I craved natural light until that day.
Let’s do a quick before and…well, kind of after. We’ll call it: before and during of our living room.
Remember that photo from my last post {with the grand piano of previous owners}? Here is the same view after taking a sander to the floors.
I’ve been asked what color we plan to stain the floors. Honestly, I don’t know. I am going to pick up a few samples and put them on the floor to make a final decision. I do know that I tend towards lighter and more natural tones. That means I have eliminated the dark floor options…and orange…and red.
So, what do you do when you have nowhere to sit and eat dinner? Use what you’ve got…a heat register. We snapped this pic after a full day of working and right before they put their costumes on to go trick-or-treating.
If you need me, I’ll be sanding floors…
♥ Leigh
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