Living Room, Dining Area, and Fancy New Light

When we bought this house, as you already know, we gutted as much as we could. We really wanted to make it much more open. You see, this house is small. Tiny, in fact. Going from a 6 bedroom house to a 3 bedroom was somewhat of a challenge. And the chopped up feeling of all the little closed off spaces didn't help that somewhat claustrophobic feeling that I initially got when I came here the first time.

So, the original view looked like this:

 

Here, we are standing in the dining area looking towards the front door and the hallway to the bedrooms. To your right you can see the kitchen, or the wall to the kitchen. 

 

This would be standing back towards the wall by the front door.

So after removing the kitchen wall, which you've already seen, and the wallpaper, which you already heard me whine about, there was the linoleum to remove. It was glued down directly on top of plywood, which was stapled over the original linoleum in the house. Which was very, very ugly. Which, now that I've watched about 150 episodes of Property Brothers, I now know was probably full of asbestos. Good thing I spent hours removing it and its one million staples.

Think about me when I die of asbestos poisoning. How sad that will be.

Anyways, the new hardwoods were laid, the kitchen remodel done, and the doorway to the garage moved. And here's what we have:

The opening in the wall by the front door was enlarged to create a much more open feel. The posts were removed, and we had my grandpa finish a board to lay over the half wall that remained. Much nicer and lets in a bit more light to the front door. There is a love seat in here too, you just can't see it. 5 people can't fit well on one couch. The ceiling fan is a rescue from the previous kitchen, and the only light to survive the reno process.

You can kind of get a sneak peek at the back splash in the kitchen from here. It is lovely. It makes me really, really want to get to painting those cabinets.  But with the wall gone and the garage door moved, kitchen is much, much bigger, much more open, and the whole area just feels so much bigger.

I would like to assure you all that my house is never, ever, ever this clean. We had the house appraised that day. The children were threatened within an inch of their lives if they messed it up before the appraiser came.  You can see my fancy new window treatments and custom blinds. I am very, very spoiled with my window treatments. I have a fabulous designer who makes me anything I want and never complains about my ideas or lets me pay for them. It's good to have a mother in law like that :)

The hardwood extends throughout the house. I think they really make it feel like a much more spacious area.

I want to turn your attention to that fabulous new light. Costco, baby. $39. Huge and awesome and matches the ones we got from Ikea in the kitchen. You should really look at Costco if you are in the market for anything having to do with your house. They have some pretty amazing deals there. Half our bathroom is from Costco. No, I am not being sponsored by Costco to tell you about their awesomeness. I just love that place.

The door is to the garage. Not really my favorite, but it was previously in the middle of the kitchen, which would have been much more of a pain. I have no idea how people functioned in that kitchen for so long. I would have been utterly insane, I tell you.



My walls are gray. They apparently photograph purple. But I assure you, they are gray. And the white rug is from Menards, and was very inexpensive. For those of you doubters that think white and small children cannot go together, you are probably right. But it didn't cost too much. I prefer it that way. If it gets wreaked, I probably won't lose my mind so much if I didn't have to pay much for it.

There isn't much to say. It isn't huge, but the changes we made have had such an impact. Anyone who has seen it has commented on how much nicer it looks now than before. That does make me smile :)

Big Boy Room

Yeah, I know. I already told you about his room. But we changed a few things already, so here it is again.

It is hard to design a room when you have an idea of what you want it to look like, and the toddler has a totally different vision. Mine was antique fire trucks. Just like his old room in the old house. We would put up the board and batten, and paint it the same navy color that we had before. It would look amazing.

He wanted Cars. The End.

So, because I am a kind and loving mother, I let him have some of what he wanted. Not all but some. And in the end, it is super cute.

So lets start with the before, shall we?

Love it. Two doorways, wood paneling and fluorescent lighting. Awesome.

And that carpet. So nasty.

So we ripped down the wood paneling, tore out the carpet, and ripped out that ugly desk and lighting. We closed off the doorway that lead to the kitchen, and the closet was sacrificed to the bathroom.

It is hard to see from the picture, but can you see the lines that go down the wall? Those are nail holes. Big nail holes. Apparently, whoever put up the paneling was so in love with it, they assumed it would live forever. So they put big fat nails in the wall, essentially ruining it. Fabulous.

Now, use your imagination for a second. Imagine that the hard drive containing all my "during" pictures did not get dropped and broken, and that you are seeing someone mud the entire wall. The process of skim coating basically muds and sands the entire wall, so you are left with a much smoother surface in which to paint.

Got the vision? Good. Let's move on.

The bright blue wall was not my first choice. But quite frankly, the room is very small. So blue and "hot green", as the boy calls it, makes it not seem so cramped in there. The bed is full of friends. My children are hoarders of stuffed animals. If you can look closely, there is a purple Figment from Disney World with a tutu sitting front and center. I assure you, that was not bought for him.

The fire trucks and pictures still have a prominent place. Someday maybe we can do that room again.

The closet, light, hooks on the wall, and rug are all from Ikea, as are the little storage containers that are under the bed. Let me tell you, I will be a happy, happy girl the day I do not have to drive 500 miles for an Ikea. Which, for anybody who is counting, should be approximately 18-20 months from now. Cue the angels singing, folks. That will be a good day.

He has a puppy quilt that great grandma made him which is his bedspread. It must have been in the wash. It tends to alternate with Lightening McQueen.

Anyway, the closet is super cute and just his size for now. So it works for us. The pictures on the wall are the antique fire trucks. And you can see in this picture now, what you have yet to see in any picture of our house.

Baseboard. Take a minute. Appreciate it.

More on that another day.

And the changing table turned dresser because we (sniff, sniff) are all done with diapers at this house. In case anyone cares, my brother insists I stole this from him. I assure you, if he ever gets around to having kids, it will be dropped off at his house the moment he announces it. Until then, it is needed to hold pajamas.

His toy box that is currently empty. Someday soon, I would like to make a cushion for the top of the toy box. Maybe something in green. The tractors and barn just sit on top, because it would be a pain to put them away all the time. Great Grandpa found the barn at a garage sale, and repainted it all up for him.

And of course, Mickey and the firefighter made it to the room. I looked long and hard for this print. He'll be hanging up for a long time.

We may be doing a redo of this room very soon. We are planning to build him a new bed, and take out the rocking chair. On my next trip to Ikea, which is very soon (yay!) I plan to get him some more pieces that match his furniture.

I like this little room, even if it is tiny. It holds everything we need it to. It is bright and cherry, just like the 2 year old who inhabits it. And if this tiny house has taught me anything, it is that we don't need so much stuff around anymore.

That's it for this edition. The little people are destroying something as we speak, I am sure. More soon...