House Tour: The Basement

Next stop: The Basement

This space was probably the most daunting task of the renovation. It needed a lot of work and was pretty disgusting when I first got into the house. Slowly but surely we made progress down here and now it is close to being complete (thanks, mom and dad!). The 3/4 bath and the utility/laundry room are still a work in progress but the family room area is complete.

I'll take you through the process in pictures:

There are still a few projects that need to be finished up (base trim, trim around the doors, painting the doors, adding knobs, finishing the carpet on the stairs). Leaving a few loose ends in every room seems to be the common theme in this reno. Having the bulk of the work done is SO nice though.

Down here we tore everything down to the bare bones, extended a wall to enclose a pole (eye sore), moved the doorway into the utility/laundry room, re-insulated, sheet rocked, painted, added new carpet (and vinyl in the entrance from the garage), added a gas insert fireplace. This area definitely took the most work. I would really like to paint the brick on the fireplace wall and build an old barn board wood cover for the current mantel. Definitely on my wish list to complete once all of the other little projects are finished up!

The {finished} Kitchen

Finally a couple of pictures of the {finished} kitchen renovation. I posted here about the progress during the reno, so now it's time to show the final product! My kitchen is quite small, but we made the most out of the space that we had to work with. So far I don't have any problem with storage/cupboard space. There are still a few things that need to be finished up and a couple others that I would like to do in this space.

First of all, I want to add back splash, thinking that penny round tiles would be fun! We need to fix the wall by the sliding glass door (thanks to the puppy who peeled it off, I think we're past that stage now, thankfully) and trim out the door. I want to give my extra cabinet a paint makeover so it looks a little more like it belongs! Someday I think it would be awesome to add more cabinets to that wall and close off the door that never gets used. Would be nice to add in a desk area and have some extra storage down the road. No project is ever done!

Twenty Thirteen

Twenty Thirteen. {2013}. I can't believe it. Life has gotten away from me in the past few months.

I am ready to take on the new year. I usually don't make new years resolutions because I have a really hard time sticking to them. As much of a planner as I am, I usually end up flying by the seat of my pants and just kind of rolling with the punches.

However, this year I am seeing goals for myself:
Live with intention each and every day.
Take time for myself each day {whether that's through taking some time to blog, work on projects/crafts, work out, etc.}
Work on saying "no" to people/things.
Get and stay organized {bills, school work, and around the house}.
Simplify. 

I hope that writing these things down will be a good reminder and motivator to stick to them. The last thing on my list is one word that I really hope will describe 2013 for me. I need to simplify my priorities and not take on so much like I have in the past. I need to get rid of 'stuff' in order to make an organized, happy home. Most importantly I need to take time for myself each day and not lose sight of my needs in the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Now that the major house renovations are wrapped up, I can't wait to spend some time purging/cleaning/organizing and I am looking forward to having a big 'ol garage sale in the spring. Less IS more.

I can't write this post without taking sometime to reflect on 2012, a year with plenty of ups and downs. It was a big year! Some of the mentionables:
Renovated my house with a ton of help from my whole family, and finally moved in!
Earned my B.S. degree from the University of Nebraska.
Became a mama to my puppy, Emma.

Some of the things I am looking forward to most in 2013:
Submitting my application for nursing school (and hopefully starting the program).
Vacation to Mexico with one of my best friends from college.
Making lots of new memories with family and friends.

Kitchen Progress

I love kitchens; I think they are one of the most 'popular' spots in a home. As you will see as you follow along, my style is really farmhouse/vintage/cottage. I have a big collection of Moderntone dishes that I really wanted to be able to show off in my kitchen. 

I wanted this space to be functional but I also wanted to be able to 'show off' my dishes (I planned to use them as my everyday dishes), and still display some of the serving dishes that would not be used as often. I had to keep this in mind when I went to order my new kitchen cabinets from Menards (of course during a sale).  SO, I ended up getting a decent deal on new cabinets - with a free sink base and upgraded self-closing drawers! This kitchen is not big, but I have found that I have no problem with storage (yet). Besides I'm all about simplifying - so if it doesn't get used and it's taking up space - it's going to go!

Here are some pictures of during the process. We had to replace some sub-flooring and some sheet rock on the exterior wall. This worked out well because we were able to re-insulate and vapor barrier, fix some electrical issues, and then we were able to fix/cover up (with a skim coat) the (awful) wallpaper without having to remove all of it! Win-win if you ask me.

My Blue House {before}

I haven't gotten around to taking pictures of rooms that are completed since I officially moved in, so I thought I would start just some of the before pictures. I must admit that when I first saw this house I was scared; I never saw the house in person before it was actually mine. I found the place online while I was still in college living in Nebraska. My parents had looked at it a couple of times and we (mostly my lovely dad) decided to move forward. However, I had been dreaming of a reno project for quite some time, so obviously I was able to see the potential and then got really excited! I couldn't wait to get to pick out the finishes and truly make this house into something that actually felt like my home. 

This house was a foreclosure and it needed A LOT of TLC (and then some). The previous owners stripped the house of basically everything, and what they didn't take was left damaged. They took everything from the furnace to Hostas from the landscape. There were a few fixtures missing and the doors had holes punched in them. The carpets were badly stained. Let's just say it didn't smell very nice and one of the first things I did after getting the keys was rip out ALL of the carpet and pad. 

front, from street

kitchen

basement bathroom

basement family room

utility/laundry room

'eat in' area of kitchen

looking from kitchen into the 'dining area'

living room

upstairs bathroom

bedroom #1

bedroom #2

office/craft room

 Whew. So there you have it. She was a real beauty! I am so glad that I got to incorporate my own style into this house and even though we still have a ways to go, I love that it feels like home! Of course, this little peach helps in that department, too:

little miss emma