SEM Interiors

Kitchen Renovation :: Day 1 :: It Looks Better Already

2014-01-07T07:00:00.000-06:00

The cabinets, the fur down, the countertops, the appliances - they're all gone!! Quite a bit of progress was made on day 1! In the last picture you will see how they made a new hole in one of the kitchen walls-- this used to be a broom closet, but we don't really need it, now that the laundry room has plenty of storage. So, by removing it, we gain about 12in of additional space in the kitchen!

Click to see the BEFORE pics, in case you missed yesterday's post!

::Kitchen Demo Progress Pics::

::End of Day Pics::

Let the Demolition Begin!

2014-01-06T09:47:00.000-06:00

By tonight all of this will be gone!
I have been looking forward to this day since we purchased the house in May! I will be posting lots of progress pics over the next couple of months - so stay tuned!!
And feel free to giggle at the small hammer hole in the furdown -- Hubby's curiosity got the best of him so he busted that hole last night to see if we would be paying for lots of re-routed plumbing...thankfully it was empty! Wahoo!

Christmas Home Tour

2013-12-27T22:12:00.001-06:00

I hope each of you spent a very blessed Christmas season with your loved ones!

Our family made a lot of special memories at the Farmhouse this year. We decided that one of the gifts we would give each other would be the gift of time, so we made it a priority to spend more time together than we have in the past years. We treasured the time together with family movie nights, baking Christmas treats, reading stories, decorating, game nights, singing Christmas carols, hosting parties for our friends, family devotionals, etc. It caused us all to slow down and focus on the real reason we celebrate Christmas, Jesus Christ's birthday!

The decorations in a home don't make it Christmas, but they sure do add to the experience and excitement of the season. Decorating for Christmas is one of my favorite things, and I loved the challenge of decorating a new home this year. I hope you all enjoy the tour through the Farmhouse!

Meet my new best Christmas friend, Tartan Plaid.

And natural garland & greenery are my absolute favorites. The aroma and textures are wonderful!

I kinda have a thing for Christmas hand towels...

My dad made this with an empty wine bottle and a string of lights! How cute is that? It adds a lot of jolly festiveness to the wetbar.

Add a poinsettia to a room - and voila!

My grandmother loved her Christmas cactus - so my mom and I each bought one this year in honor of her

My new gift wrap station definitely came in handy!

Santa even liked the antler hat rack...I hope he didn't tell Rudolph about it!

This cable knit blanket...softest, most wonderful thing. And it's from Target!!

My precious mom has needlepointed gorgeous Christmas stockings for me, Hubs, and our oldest...she is currently working on the one for little miss priss which will be ready for Christmas next year! These are such precious gifts and we will always cherish them! The other 3 are for the pups and barn cat!

Thank you for visiting! I wish each of you a blessed 2014!

laundry room progress ... and tips for selecting a great painter

2013-11-05T16:26:00.000-06:00

To say the last 10 days have been crazy would be a huge understatement! Renovating in the middle of football season, I mean those two things are hectic in and of themselves... Add them together with all the other things that happen in life, and you have a very hectic reno! While technically, I was supposed to have 31 posts in the month of October for the "31 days challenge" - life happened. So, I will definitely complete the series, but more like by the middle of November! ha

Anyway... The final details have been added and priming in the laundry room began yesterday!

I absolutely love the contrast of the black window against the white walls and cabinetry. The countertop in here will be black as well, so the window and countertops will complement each other nicely. I am contemplating an awesome wall covering in here, too... more on that after my visit to the Design Center soon!

future gift wrap station (right side of LR)

hidden hot water heater and cabinets (left side of LR)

For the first phase of this renovation, we used "Painter A" - we needed the whole house, all walls, ceilings, doors, and trim painted - he came recommended and had the best price. For just painting, he did a good job and we saved a ton of money compared to the other bids we received... we didn't have any belongings in the house yet, so overspray wasn't really an issue. Then...we had him come back to float and paint walls in a new bathroom and paint the screened porch. That was where we saw him trying to take short cuts and his quality of work was not what we saw the first time. Overspray was on the porch, porch floors, door, etc. We were glad when he left, never to return to our house again!

So for this phase, we are using "Painter B" - and we are so impressed with him and his crew! They have taken every precaution to prevent overspray on the walls and ceilings and other items in the laundry room, such as the hot water heater, which "Painter A" would have probably just ignored. This crew takes their time and does the job right. Are they more expensive? Yes, but in the end it's worth it! Remember our motto "Do it right the first time!" I won't spend the next days and weeks cleaning up the mess that "Painter A" would have left behind.

The moral of the story, if you take a recommendation for a painter from a friend, make sure they painted the same items for your friend that they will be painting for you. A great wall and ceiling painter might not be a good cabinet painter - and vice versa. Also, did they paint before your friend moved in? Or after? Another great idea is for you to ask the painter what they will do as far as prep work before they begin painting - then you can point out any holes in their plan before they get started.

Just a few little tidbits of helpful info after we learned the hard way!

now, let's not be too farmy.

2013-10-22T20:12:00.001-05:00

By now, you all know that I don't want a farmhouse with small plaid drapes, calico pillows, & red roosters in every room. However, I think it's important to embrace the style and surroundings of your home in your decor. So, here are some things that would fit my ::Farmhouse Chic:: style for our home, without being too farmy...

sliding barn door into the mudroom or pantry

a good ol' southern welcome in the entry hall

cowhide ottoman with sleek lines and nailhead trim. love it.

bringing some of the outside in with designer wallpaper

layer a cowhide rug over a sisal or jute rug

a nice set of antlers to hold the watering hose

so maybe you gotta have something a little farmy, so it doesn't look like you forgot where you live

add a few southern quotes to a gallery wall

image sources

Now you see how a few ways that "farmy" can be "classy."

my love for shutters.

2013-10-21T20:42:00.000-05:00

I have a rather serious crush on real working shutters. Their detail adds so much charm to the front of the house! If you don't believe me, allow me try and change your mind...

In my humble opinion, the shutters that are operational and proportional are worth the investment! Now, if they are out of your budget, you can always add the decorative hinges to your existing shutters to give you the same look, for a much smaller price tag. Here are some great options if that's what you would like!

Source for Images

See, the existing shutters on our farmhouse aren't proportional to the windows, have no endearing details, and are chipping. They must go. I can't wait to replace them with something new!

It would be funny to try and close those... not much of the window would actually be covered. Not to mention, they aren't even tall enough! Well, I suppose the previous owners just weren't as opinionated as I am, and loved them. As for me, I am ready for a change!

::AFTER:: Wet Bar

2013-10-21T17:12:00.000-05:00

Items changed and/or updated::

Old wine rack ripped out
Wooden wall planks installed
Custom cabinets built and installed
Built-in refrigerator
Marble countertop installed
Walls, trim, and planking painted Benjamin Moore White Dove
Cabinets painted Sherwin Williams Tricorn Black
Hardware added to cabinetry
Open shelving mounted in previous wine rack's spot

In case you missed it, this is the :BEFORE: Wet Bar post.

And just for fun, below is a ::BEFORE:: pic

a peek at the progress.

2013-10-18T16:41:00.002-05:00

It has been one crazy week around here!! I think all weeks during a reno are crazy though. ha! Sorry that I haven't posted any updates in the past 6 days - don't worry - I will make up for it with double posts each day next week! So, here are some of the things that have changed around our house this week...

Our laundry room last week ...

PROGRESS of the new laundry room cabinets

... a single bowl farmhouse style sink will be in the middle with cabinets below.

... and another set of washers and dryers will be on the right of the sink. Some people may think this is excessive. That's fine. Just know that my children go through 2-3 outfits a day playing in the dirt, spraying each other with the hose, running around with muddy pups, and then there is a pair of PJs to wash. So make that 3-4. Yeah. I do a lot of laundry. And that isn't going to dwindle any time soon... I am thankful to have kids who have clothes that need to be washed, for sure. The double washer and dryer were the Hubs idea. He is awesome, and likes to try & make my life easier. I will keep him :) And the two sets of washers and dryers.

The area on the right will soon be a gift wrap station because I usually just have my gift wrapping items jammed in some extra long plastic storage boxes ... then I forget what I have and usually buy gift bags and wrapping paper that I don't need. I am looking forward to wrapping gifts in this spot for Christmas! The closet on the right will be the broom/ mop/ vacuum closet.

A little mirror image of that setup on the left side of the laundry room... rather than a broom closet we have a hidden spot for the hot water heater, and rather than a gift wrap station we will have storage for some of the random items you see sitting around the floor waiting for a home.

They made great progress on the front walkway... The large stones you see laying by the porch were randomly placed as the pathway, and when it rained we had our own little pond in front of the house...right where we wanted to walk. So, this new brick pathway is higher than the grass that will eventually be planted around it so we won't have to walk through a mini pond anymore.

Here they are busting out the old columns...

The bottom left column kinda shows the top of the column that I didn't like and nicely asked them to change...

These are the plain cedar columns before adding the new trim...

And these are the after, with the trim that I l.o.v.e. I think it fits the style of our home perfectly. So much better than the dinky, rotten circular ones.

They will be primed and painted sometime next week! Also, how bad are those shutters? And how about that ridiculously small piece of trellis? haha More on the new shutters we have selected and how I want to rip out that trellis - coming soon!

take a break from the crazy

2013-10-12T22:11:00.000-05:00

or you might. probably will. lose your sweet mind.

take a date day with your hubby.

play with your kids at the zoo

road trip with your little boy to watch his favorite, and your favorite, QB play football

and let your little girl eat dirt

whatever you do, take some time for yourself and your family. Then you'll be ready to tackle the next day's renovation projects and all the decisions that come along with it!

::BEFORE:: Wet Bar

2013-10-11T12:15:00.000-05:00

It's time for another set of ::BEFORE:: pics. This time it's the Wet Bar's turn.

Sometimes the space underneath a stairway can be awkward and difficult to use. I really appreciate how they designed this space to be very functional. Our goal was to expand on that functionality and make it beautiful, too! Enjoy!

I must say that I am pretty impressed that 95% of that wine rack is full. Wowza.

Busting out the old...

Installing and painting the new...

Check back tomorrow for the ::AFTER:: pics!

Follow Peace of Home Interiors on Pinterest to see what other ideas I have found for the Farmhouse.

square v. round

2013-10-10T21:25:00.000-05:00

When I got home from running errands this morning, this is what I saw.

I did a double take. Followed by a minor panic attack. I didn't realize they would begin replacing the columns today! So needless to say, I was totally taken by surprise...And sure hoped those 2x4s would do their job as temporary supports well!

A few hours later I heard some serious banging and eagerly went out to see what was causing all the ruckus...

TIMBER!!!!!

Let's talk about how relieved I am that I wanted square columns rather than round...not only did those round columns look dinky on this house, turns out most of them were rotten through and through!

I am just thankful we got them down before they disintegrated and our porch collapsed. ha!

Now check out how much better, stronger, robust, proportional, every good adjective, etc. these new columns look compared to the old ones. I can't wait to see them once they add the trim details tomorrow.

A little word about the trim...The column on the far left was "trimmed out" and not to my liking. I think it looks too bulky. I thought about just compromising, settling, going with it since they had already finished that one...

Then I slapped myself, remembered our motto "do it right the first time", and called our contractor. He was completely understanding and is meeting me out here in the morning to discuss what trim details I prefer. Don't settle. I repeat. Don't settle. If you aren't happy, kindly ask them to fix it, change it, rearrange it. Chances are, they will be happy to make you happy.

What a difference square verses round makes. And what a difference some REAL, proportional shutters and hinges will make, too. Those lovely details will be added next, after the columns are completed...

What's next?

2013-10-09T15:45:00.001-05:00

Funny you should ask! Phase 2 of the renovation began yesterday which will include custom cabinetry in the laundry room, new built-ins and mantle in the family room, and new columns on the front of the house.

We based our decisions for these projects on the fact that the holidays are just around the corner! We didn't want projects dragging into late November or early December, so we worked with our contractor to decide what he could get done in a 4-5 week time frame. Here are some inspiration photos of details that will be added during Phase 2!

::FRONT PORCH:: replacing small round columns with larger square columns

::FAMILY ROOM::
built ins with either wood planks or some sort of wall covering behind the shelves

New mantle with brick detail fireplace surround

Some sort of panels or doors to hide the TV mounted above the mantle

::LAUNDRY ROOM:: pull out drying racks and laundry hamper

images via

I plan to weekly post progress pics of Phase 2! We are hoping this wraps up around the 20th of November...give or take a few days

Follow Peace of Home Interiors on Pinterest!

You will have a sneak peek at my ideas before they ever make it to the blog.

::AFTER:: Entry Hall

2013-10-08T20:49:00.001-05:00

Welcome to the Farmhouse!

I hope you enjoy the fall tour of our new entry hall.

Items changed and/or updated::
New front porch lighting
Painted front door
Fresh paint on all walls and ceiling
Addition of crown moulding
Addition of horizontal wood planking on walls above and below staircase
Sanding and refinishing wood floors
Removal of two closets flanking dining room entry
Removal of arches
Raising entry ways into dining room, kitchen, & family room
Sanding and refinishing stair steps
New stair balusters and newels
Raised entryway and added French doors into office
New light fixture at top of stairs

Make sure you check out the ::BEFORE:: pictures before going any further!

Just in case you missed the yesterday's post...here are a few images so you can easily see the contrast between ::BEFORE:: and ::AFTER::

::BEFORE:: entry hall

2013-10-07T21:02:00.000-05:00

Today's post is mainly pictures, but a picture is better than a thousand words! Tomorrow the ::AFTER:: pics will be here. Let me know what you think will happen with this transformation!

What to do with all that inspiration...

2013-10-06T07:00:00.000-05:00

So that we would all be on the same page, yesterday I shared the vision I created in my head for the FH before we ever began the renovation. You have to know where you are headed before you can begin a big reno project! Now, let's break it down and discuss how to take what you love about your inspiration photos and incorporate those details into your home.

How about we use one of my favorite FH details as our example- horizontal tongue and groove plank-clad walls.

Isn't that planking so endearing?! Imagine those rooms with just white sheet rock - I guarantee they wouldn't feel nearly as warm and inviting. LOVE.

The addition of tongue and groove planks isn't meant strictly for a FH, though. You can use this design detail in almost any home! In older FH the planking is usually original and what the walls were made from, when sheetrock wasn't an option. The family that built our FH used sheetrock, so we didn't have any original planks to work with. All I knew was that I wanted it!

I did know that it wouldn't be super cheap, though. This is where you take your inspiration and make it work for your home and your budget! Covering multiple walls in multiple rooms, as we saw in that first image, was definitely not going to fit in the budget. So, the hunt began for the perfect spot - not too big and not too small - where the planking could be added by our fabulous carpenter.

Alrighty, I showed you this original wet bar area yesterday. That wine rack is beautiful, but we prefer our wine chilled to in a wine fridge and the likelihood of us actually keeping the majority of those slots filled is slim. In the initial walk through we decided that the wine rack was impractical for our family and needed to go...

that left me with a long empty wall - that would be an ideal candidate for some wood planking -similar to this image below. wahoo! and yes, I do love that open shelving, too...

but covering just that amount of wall wasn't going to cut it. So if you walk out of the old wet bar above, hang a left, there is a small area of wall along the front of the stairs and a large wall above them. Now that amount of space would be perfect. And you would experience the loveliness and warmth that the planking brings the home as soon as you step in the front door. perfection.

and this handsome little guy is just too cute to leave out

There you have it. Take what you love and make it work for you! After pics of the entry way and wet bar will be gracing the presence of this blog soon.

Until then, enjoy yet another wonderful fall day and I will see you back here tomorrow!

opposites attract.

2013-10-05T07:00:00.000-05:00

You all know that we finally decided on a white for the walls , so now onto the doors.

The painter was painting all the walls and trim, so why not the doors, too? We wanted everything to look fresh and new. But fresh and new doesn't mean they have to be white!

The pictures below caused me to fall in love with the idea of using contrasting opposites of white and black throughout our home.

images

1 2 3 4 5

Black doors, black windows, black built-ins. Oh my! Once I fell in love I just couldn't get enough!

Originally we had planned to just paint the doors black. Then, when those were painted and made such an impact, we decided to have the wet bar, pantry, and banister spindles painted black as well. Y'all. The contrast is amazing!

So many friends have asked if we got all new doors because they can't believe that a regular 6-panel wooden door could make that much of a statement. You should try it! But beware, your painter and contractor might think you are crazy. I got some weird looks in regards to what I wanted painted black, UNTIL they saw the finished product! And tell your painted ahead of time what you want to have painted black because they tend to think painting black is more difficult, so they may charge more. You'll likely want to know that up front!

The black we chose was Sherwin Williams Tricorn Black because it was the truest black, without red, blue, or brown undertones.

You know I love my White Dove, but honestly white walls & white trim with white doors all throughout the house would have been too much of my new favorite color. The dark floors and the black doors make the white walls and trim really work well together! Now check out some before, progress, and after pics!

BEFORE

DURING

AFTER

waiting for countertop installation

Which do you think makes more of an impact? The before pic? or the after?

You know what I think - but I would love to know what you think!

Do you prefer the contrast of white and black? Or do you have something you love even more?Do tell!

OH! and make sure they spray. Don't let them brush. I'm serious about this.

The only door that was brushed was a pocket door between my office and the laundry room, on the day their sprayer broke. And I sure am glad it's a pocket door because you can see the brush strokes. When it's sprayed, it's perfection.

spraying interior doors

spraying pantry shelves

paint 'em white.or die tryin'.

2013-10-03T22:23:00.000-05:00

In case you are just joining in on the fun, read the articles from the previous 3 days to catch up!

:: DAY 4 ::
In my humble opinion, farmhouse walls should be white. At the least, please not the soggy yellow and dark orange of the walls when we took ownership of this one. Historically, walls of Farmhouses were white because farmers couldn't afford the more costly colors. Just trying to keep it real around here.

Little did I know that wanting to keep it real with white walls would be the biggest headache I encountered throughout this entire renovation. Think about your house, every room has different light. Different Shadows. Different window placement. Lots of things you don't think about until you are selecting a whole home paint color.

Y'all, the Hubs thought I was losing my mind. I bought 9 or 10 different sample size sizes of different "whites." I went to the paint store 3 days in a row, maybe it was even 4. I lost track. At one point I really thought I might not ever be able to pick a paint color. It was nuts.

By the time I got upstairs, I guess I had narrowed it down a bit. But hardly. 6 of 9 is barely narrowed down.

The problem began with the fact that the painter said he preferred Sherwin Williams. Well, hey, I am not a paint snob. The paint brand wasn't on my list of "Non-Negotiables"... I figured that would be just. fine. Yet that's where the problems started. All 7 of the Sherwin Williams whites that I sampled had too much color saturation for our walls, whether it be yellow, grey, or cream.

Now here is the kicker, I was trying to pick one white for walls and another for trim. I was down to the wire, bottles and jars of samples on the paper taped kitchen counters. I threw in the towel for SW and headed to Benjamin Moore.

While driving, I called my sister-in-law's mom, an amazingly talented Interior Designer in California, and told her I was losing my mind. In a total panic. She was so gracious and talked me down from the ledge, as she was prepping for an install. She also empathized with me and agreed that the Sherwin Williams whites weren't the best options. Her go to white is Benjamin Moore's White Dove because it doesn't have undertones and goes with everything. That was the exact description I was looking for. Whew! She also suggested that I use the same color on the walls and trim, just different finishes.

Y'all, I might still be testing paint samples if it weren't for her advice. She was so right. Benjamin Moore's White Dove was perfect. It was the warm white I was looking for, without being yellowish or full of cold grey. I used the EggShell finish on the walls, and semi-gloss on the trim. It. Rocks. And not just in the kitchen. It rocks in every single room!

If you are ever in a white painting pickle, just do yourself a favor and try it. We have received so many compliments on the color, and how perfectly it works with the flooring and door color. (More on that color tomorrow!)

do it right. the first time.

2013-10-03T18:06:00.001-05:00

:: DAY 3 ::
We spent many months designing what we thought would be our dream home, which we were planning to break ground on in late January of 2013...God had different plans and allowed us to use many of those design ideas in the renovation of the Farmhouse.

Having already made our priority lists for, let's call it house #1, we were actually much further along than most when we sat down to plan the reno, thankfully! After we returned home from our initial walk through of the FH, our minds were spinning. I had so many ideas that had to be prioritized and worked into a budget, but when it came down to it, some were non-negotiables.

Our motto for the renovation became "Do it Right. The First Time."

Now our "right" is probably not your "right" and that is ok. The items we prioritized might not even be important to you. Just decide, "What are the items that you aren't willing to compromise on?" This sometimes means they cost more, but not always, as you will see! For us, doing it right came down to quality. We wanted to make changes to the FH once, not twice.

There were some items at the top of our priority list that we were willing to pay more for, if necessary, so that we were completely satisfied and knew they would last and we wouldn't be shelling out more money a few years down the road to re-do the reno. A couple of our non-negotiables were, (1) solid wood flooring and (2) impactful lighting fixtures.

Let's begin with #1.
Solid wood flooring is something that I have wanted throughout our house, since the day after we had carpet installed in our first house 5 years ago - ha! Now, living in a place where lots of dirt will make it inside on little and big feet alike, I wanted floors that would clean up easily & look like new after a good cleaning.
We received 3 or 4 estimates for wood floors, it was interesting what a large range fell between the lowest and the highest bids. The lowest bid, which came from the a highly recommended flooring company was the only one that actually included solid wood floors upstairs. See, top quality doesn't have to be more expensive! You just have to search to find the best company with the best price. Here are the floors before and after. Love the impact the floors make! Just ignore the scarcity of the room...We had just moved in.

Now for #2.
A little over a year ago, some friends and I toured a Southern Living Idea House in town, and the design detail that made the most impact on me throughout the house was the light fixtures that they chose. We decided that using quality, impressive lighting fixtures throughout the FH would make a huge impact, so spending a more on a few of them would definitely be worth it in the end. And it has been! Don't think all of my fixtures were top of the line designers! In most cases, I found a style that I liked, and then found a less expensive look-a-like, of close if not equal quality.

A great thing about lighting is that you can save and change it out over time. It's not something that has to be purchased to meet a contractor's deadline. Set your budget, purchase fixtures that "WOW" you, and then continue to save up for the other ones on your wish list. Below are a few of my favs, one is designer and two are from Overstock...but they look like designer lights which had a much higher price tag!

images

1-2-3

Have you renovated or remodeled lately and made your own list of non-negotiables? If you plan to in the future, what would some of yours be? I would love to know!
Remember, it doesn't have to cost more to be the best quality with the greatest look!

Farmhouse Chic

2013-10-01T21:49:00.000-05:00

::DAY 2::

Welcome back!

I hope you all had as much fun as I did yesterday, browsing the range of fabulous topics in this 31 Days party! So many interesting and creative ideas.

My goal today is to get us all on the same page. To share my vision. The vision for our Farmhouse.

Let's see if I can train your eyes to see the potential I saw in some of my before pics, based on what I envisioned for our Farmhouse (FH) to be. Now don't misunderstand me, I am completely ok with the fact that your vision of a Farmhouse might be different than mine - I just think it'll be more fun for you to look at the before pics and try to guess what I might do in each room.

I received lots of questions from friends and family as to what my design style would be for this home. Describing it as "Farmhouse Chic" seemed like the best fit.

I wanted to keep the traditional farmhouse elements, but update, modernize, chic-ify them, so that the style of our family and the style of the home would blend. After all, if it doesn't work for you and your family, then you probably shouldn't do it!

A great source of inspiration for me was the 2012 Southern Living Idea House.

I mean if it wasn't many states away, I would just love to live there.

Everything is clean and crisp, while still being warm, southern, and inviting. I also love that it feels like a farmhouse without small gingham wallpaper and red roosters in every nook and crany.

When I first saw these pictures, the first thing I noticed was the bones of the house. The floors, the doors, the mouldings, the wood plank walls, and lots of natural light.

love the bead board vanity updated with a marble countertop

wood planked walls, painted a crisp white & paired with traditional fabrics and a natural fiber rug

doesn't this just make you want to curl up and sip a PSL? sigh.

again with the walls. lovin' them and the staggered artwork up the stairs

Southern Living does a lot of things right. Especially in this renovation.

In case you haven't seen all of their before and afters, check them out here.

By the time we were finished designing and planning, I had folders in my Houzz account, on Pinterest, in the Peace of Home folder on my desktop and laptop, screen shots on my phone, and on and on. I still feel like I come across pictures that I saved months and months ago.

Hopefully you have a better vision of where we are headed with this renovation, and just to wet your taste buds, here are some before pics... but not too many otherwise that kills the suspense. ha! I'd love to know what you think I will do in each of the following spaces. Who knows, maybe I will have a prize for the person with the most correct guesses at the end of the series!?!

Good luck!

wet bar of previous owner

dining room of previous owner

31 Days of Renovating a Farmhouse.

2013-09-30T20:58:00.000-05:00

Welcome!

Over the next 31 days,

I hope you enjoy reading about the excitement and craziness that comes with renovating a farmhouse.

I will add the link to every new post below, throughout the next month.

Enjoy!

::DAY 1::

I am so excited to be joining Nester and her 31 Days Party!

I have been brainstorming some of these posts for quite some time...

Honestly, when we purchased our farmhouse back in May, (Read how we ended up in a Farmhouse HERE and HERE - It's a pretty great story, if I do say so myself) one of my first thoughts was that this renovation would sure make a good "31 Days" post. If only the renovation could actually have taken place in a 31 day time frame! Now that would really make an excellent topic...

This is our Farmhouse - our own little slice of the country.

God has blessed our socks off and we are greatly humbled to call this place our home.

I hope you enjoy seeing all of the "before" and "afters" of our Phase 1 renovation, as well as learn some other helpful tips, money saving tricks, and avoid some serious troubles, when you renovate your own home, whether or not it be an actual Farmhouse.

I look forward to having you back each day throughout this fabulous fall month of October!

::Day 2:: Farmhouse Chic
::Day 3:: Do it Right. The First Time.
::Day 4:: Paint 'em White. Or Die Tryin'.
::Day 5:: Opposites Attract.
::Day 6:: What to do with all that Inspiration...
::Day 7:: Before : Entry Hall
::Day 8:: After : Entry Hall
::Day 9:: What's Next?
::Day 10:: Square v. Round
::Day 11:: Before: Wet Bar
::Day 12:: Take a Break from the Crazy
::Day 13:: A Peek at the Progress
::Day 14:: After : Wet Bar
::Day 15:: My Love for Shutters.
::Day 16:: Now, Let's not be too Farmy.
::Day 17:: More Laundry Room Progress

Dreaming of a Farmhouse (Part 2)

2013-08-20T07:00:00.000-05:00

If you missed yesterday's post, Dreaming of a Farmhouse (part 1), read it before going on so you aren't confused!

Hubby and I were driving around town one afternoon, and we began discussing the HOA regulations of the neighborhood where we were planning to build...We'd already had some disappointments from their restrictions during our design process, so we were chatting about them again to make sure we didn't miss anything. I pulled the HOA guidelines up on their website, and we began reading through some of them...which lead to this:

"What!? I can't have chickens? What if I want to have chickens.

If I am moving to the country then I want to have chickens.

but

I guess it's not worth scratching everything we have done so far just because we can't have chickens."

Our conversation went on a little longer, and then we just decided we would deal with the regulations...

So really, it kinda came down to the chickens.

They really got the wheels in our minds turning, making us wonder if that lot was really where we wanted to be. We didn't want any guidelines telling us what we could or couldn't do on our acreage.

We wanted to move to the country, for goodness sakes. You're not supposed to have rules in the country.

But, it would take a lot more convincing for us to change all the plans we had been working on for months and months and months...God knew that.

Less than a week later we received a letter in the mail from a realtor.

She mentioned that she had some clients looking for a lot in our neighborhood and asked if ours was for sale. I can still remember this moment so perfectly... Hubby and I looked at each, rather in shock, and laughing, and we both said, "Well, that would be crazy." And 30 minutes later Hubs was online looking to see if there was anywhere else we might want to live. Seriously.

God sure knew how to get our attention!

We kept saying how crazy it was and I couldn't wrap my mind around the fact that we had just designed our dream house, spent hours and hours, and lots of dollars on those plans. It didn't really make sense to me. At all.

The next morning, I opened an e-mail from the Hubs - He had sent me three listings in the area we'd been looking, and asked if any of them appealed to me. I immediately nixed 2 of the 3 - but said I would be willing to look at the remaining option,"but we better look quick so we can make a decision."

That Sunday we called and called and called their realtor who never responded, (come to find out he was at a conference out of state) so we just drove on over to take a looksie, & hoped the sellers would be home so we could have a tour.They were. And as we walked through the house, we began to see the amazing similarities between the layout of this Farmhouse with the house we had just designed. All of the rooms on the main floor were in the same places we had drawn them in our plans. Crazy.

And even though it had been built a long time ago, it still had a huge pantry, a wet bar, a mudroom, and a place for each of us to have an office, which were important elements in the other design. The rooms needed lots of updating, but the bones of the house were excellent.

We walked around the property and the trees were amazing. Trees were high on our priority list-The property specifically had huge Pecans - They're my fav. Also, Hubby had been planning on building a barn and he'd nailed down the exact amount of square footage that he needed. The barn on this property was the exact. same. size. What?!?! And it had an additional horse barn -- That would absolutely be perfect for a chicken coop. Yippee! We could have chickens here! And it isn't in a neighborhood, so we don't have HOA restrictions. Awesome. Both of us could totally see our family living here... but after we left, I still had some doubts and fears about scrapping Plan 1, selling our lot and scrapping our dream house plans, to move on to Plan 2.

I woke up the next morning with so much peace, and heard God speaking to my heart, asking me if I was willing to give up my plans for His plans. I cried a lot that day.

It was a spiritual struggle of wanting what I thought what was best verses what God was calling us to.

I have seen over and over throughout my life how God's plan is always better than anything I could dream or imagine, and I knew that, and I trust Him, but that was still a hard day. One of Hubby's most wonderful traits is that he doesn't struggle with fears. If God calls him to it, he goes. So while I was doubting, God used him to continue to speak truths to me. I handed over my plans and dreams to the Lord, and knew that He would carry us to where we needed to be. I drove to the Farmhouse the next day with one of my dearest friends, who had been a prayer warrior for us during this time. We left a note on the porch telling the sellers we were ready to make an offer.

God continued to work out all of the details, as He always does.

Our lot sold just in time for us to close on the Farmhouse, and renovations began soon after. It's been a crazy few months, and Phase 1 of the renovations ended on Saturday. I have lots and lots of before and after pics to share with you, which I will be doing soon! I would've loved to share them throughout Phase 1, but life was too crazy. Stick around to see what else we have in store because once Phase 2 begins, pics will be added weekly.

Throughout the last few months God has graciously revealed to me that this house had everything and more than we had designed, and it was the house He had intended to give us from the beginning. Had we not walked through the design process, we wouldn't have realized what a perfect fit this house was for our family. He even lead us to a lot that would be easily sold, just in time for us to purchase the Farmhouse. He was giving us what we had prayed for all along, and He has big plans for this place. Our prayer from the very, very beginning was that He would be glorified in our new home and that everyone who walks through the front door will leave knowing the love of Christ.

That He would use this house for His plans and for His glory.

This isn't really our Farmhouse, it's His.

An amazing gift from God, that we are blessed to call our home.

Somewhere during the craziness of selling and buying, our precious son walked up to me and said:

"So we sold the brown house (1st house), then moved to the small house (rental),

and then we are buying the white house, and Daddy is going to build me

a treehouse, and sissie a playhouse, and a long time after that we

will all go to God's house."

Just one more confirmation that this was all a part of God's plan!

xoxo,

Dreaming of a Farmhouse (part 1)

2013-08-19T14:19:00.000-05:00

Well I am sure that after my last post most of you were wondering what in the world was going on around here...And even if you weren't, you're about to find out!

You might want to sit down for this... We've had some major, awesome, exciting, life changing happenings going on around here. So grab a seat, and read on for the story of how our family of 4 ended up buying a farmhouse!

Let's go back to the very beginning of this crazy chapter of our lives, about 18 months ago...

We were mid-remodel on our first house. When we began the remodel, we were planning on living in that home for 3-5 more years. By the time it was complete, we were glad we had updated everything because we planned to list it as soon as we found a lot and were ready to build a house.

Sometime in the middle of the remodel, God started speaking to Hubby's heart, and calling him to move our family to the country. I was a little hesitant, as change isn't on my list of favorite things, but the more we talked and prayed about it the more excited I became

As a little girl, our family had a weekend ranch on 100+ acres in Columbus, TX. When it wasn't the middle of the blazing TX summer, we would go just about every weekend. Some of my favorite memories were made fishing, hiking, riding in my Poppy's old jeep, picking wild flowers, catching bugs, rescuing baby bunnies, and the list goes on. I owe our family ranch, in large part, for the fact that the country is where my soul rests. Just simply driving around and looking at property would cause the memories to come flooding back. I couldn't wait to get there.

So when we began the search, we were looking for 1-2 acres...we drove around and found an area that we absolutely fell in love with.

lot #2

We initially settled on one neighborhood that we thought was the right spot, but one lot we wanted got an offer before we placed ours, and the other one just wasn't the right fit. The lot owners were a little cookoo, and lived right next door. So that definitely worked out for the best.

(Fast forward about 6 months since we began looking and praying for the right lot to purchase)

We kept praying and seeking God's direction, and the night before Hubby and I left for Boston, MA, to celebrate our wedding anniversary, we found IT.

the trees weren't all dead - these pics were taken mid-winter ha

It met and exceeded all of our criteria. It was a true gem and we couldn't wait to purchase it! Hubs finally got in touch with the owner the day after we arrived in Boston, and they made a verbal agreement on July 4th.
If you know us, this date will probably make you chuckle because when something significant has happened in our relationship, it's typically on the same date as a major US holiday!
We returned home a few days later, set the closing date, and signed on that dotted line the next month. Both of us had so much peace, and knew we were stepping forward in God's will.

We immediately began the design process, with our builder and architect - they were ready to go and got started designing. We. Had. A. Blast. Hubs and I both had so much fun dreaming and seeing those dreams come to life on paper. Our architect was truly amazing and his vision and our dreams perfectly aligned. We did have a few disappointments along the way, due in part to the HOA restrictions of the acreage neighborhood. I had always wanted a traditional farmhouse style home with white siding and large porches, but in the HOA bi-laws the only exterior you could use was brick or stone. I sloughed it off, but was still disappointed that my full vision wouldn't be coming to fruition...or so I thought. The design process did take longer than we had expected, but we knew that God's timing is always perfect. Always. So we kept trusting, even though at some points it was really, really hard.

(To expand on that comment a bit, we faced some frustration when we placed our house on the market based on the original timeline we had been given by the architect. We covered the sale of that house in prayer, and trusted that if it was supposed to sell, that God would take care of those details. And WOW, did he ever! We had 7 showings in 3 days and received 2 competitive offers on Sunday afternoon. The house sold for above asking price and they set the closing date for October 31. Notice the correlation with the major holiday? ;) Our family moved to the rent house, and that is where our frustration began because we weren't where we wanted to be. Not in our newly remodeled house (that we'd just sold) or the house we had designed... But God taught us a lot about patience and trusting Him in all the details, and that any place can feel like home when you are surrounded by your family. And we did make a lot of fun memories there! The best part of all of this, is that now, looking back, it all makes sense!)

We wrapped up the design phase mid January, and all that we had left to do was to sign our final contract with the builder and then close on our construction loan at the bank. How easy is that? The timeline up until now had been determined by everyone else, and now it was more in our control than it had been thus far. Which is when we had the most unexpected turn of events...

Dreaming of a Farmhouse (part 2) post will be here tomorrow!

Check back to see what happens next.

Eternal Perspective

2013-01-15T19:10:00.000-06:00

The time lapses between posts are never intended to be lengthy,

but these past months, ever since we began seriously packing boxes and moving,

have absolutely flown by.

Honestly, I haven't even checked back to "approve" comments on my last post in months.

sorry!

As I was just looking things over, I stumbled upon a post from a few months ago that brought

me to tears...so if you dare, here is my heart felt, eternal perspective on a few things...

Beware, I might ramble. You've been warned. BUT I promise it will be worth the read.

Gosh, I sure do miss our first house. A lot.

So many amazing memories... where both babies took their first steps, so many birthday parties,

wedding showers for family and friends, Christmas Eve brunches,

dinners with our dearest blessings in life, were all hosted there.

Hubby started his entrepreneurial car business from that office, I decorated and re-decorated every square inch of that place...

I used to complain that it was "too small" and "we didn't have room to grow there"

Well, you should see our rent house. Our son calls it our "small house." ha.

This afternoon, I clicked on my "Peace of Home" tab in the Title Bar,

and as I scrolled through to my post on October 8th, my eyes welled up with tears that soon began streaming down my face...

I was suddenly overwhelmed with some crazy emotions in regards to what's been going

on in our lives lately.

Moving is tough.

Adjusting to a rent house and doing your best to make it feel like home for your family is hard.

It's hard because you know it's temporary.

Building a house...even harder.

Even when it's your dream house.

Talk about God teaching me patience and that His timeline is perfect.

Not mine.

Yikes.

These last few months have been challenging. tough. not my favorite.

It's helped to know that at the end, Hubby and I will have built our dream house.

It's like if we can keep looking to next fall (some still undecided deadline),

keep our eyes on the prize, this current situation is worth it.

And by all means, I do not mean to sound ungrateful for what we have.

I am so thankful for how God provided this rent house, but the internal struggle

is that it's temporary. It's hard to feel "at home" when you know you're moving in 8 months...or 10.

Interesting how God talks to your heart as he is

bringing you to a realization as to why you are learning these lessons,

and why the "learning these lessons" part isn't easy.

We always know deep down inside, even when it's hard, that He is growing us,

making us more like Him, teaching us to trust Him more,

and stretching us to that uncomfortable place...

Today, as I was running some errands and had a few hours of quiet time to myself,

He was speaking to my heart.

Reminding me why "temporary" is so hard. Why our hearts yearn, long, dream of something more.

This "small house" is just like Earth.

And the struggles in our temporary rent house are like those we face in our temporary home on Earth.

God has put us here for a short time, a blink of an eye, in the grand scheme of eternity.

And doesn't your heart yearn for something more, something greater?

Because God made us that way. To long for Him.

He designed us to long for something far greater than anything on this planet.

And that can only be fulfilled through Him. Our Savior. Redeemer. Father. Rock.

It's hard to be content in this "small house" just like it's hard to be content on Earth.

Oh! How I can't wait to spend eternity with God and my Savior in Heaven!

There is no sweeter thought!

Praising Him for all my days, surrounded by so many loved ones, dear family, best friends.

This world has become so evil, and has turned its back to Him.

We long for something more because this Earth is NOT our home.

Praise the Lord! I would be so discouraged if it were.

Heaven is our eternal home. My ULTIMATE dream house.

So much greater than our "dream house" in the country could ever be.

So, as I wrap up these emotions, the point of it all is to remember we are here,

on this Earth, temporarily.

God knows that, and He still has an amazing purpose for us.

He wants us to share His love with others!

Expand His kingdom. Reach out to others. Give of ourselves. Invest in peoples' lives.

Be content. (Something I clearly need to work on)

Pray daily for an eternal perspective.

This place is not our home. Hallelujah!

Run this race with everything you've got,

and when we enter into Heaven, running into Christ's arms,

it will have all been worth it!

May He say to us all "Well done my good and faithful servant."

Movin' to the country

2012-10-16T09:15:00.000-05:00

I feel as though I kinda left y'all hanging last week...

You know we listed our house for sale & sold it, but now what are we doing?

Last night I was reading through all of my favorite blogs,

when I found this download from the precious Lay Baby Lay,

and as I read it, I couldn't help but smile.

This is why we sold our house...

We are moving! Moving to the country.

We've purchased two acres and are mid-design process with an architect for building our home!

I don't actually have plans to blow up our tv, but our hearts are yearning for a slower pace of life,

we want space for our kids to run and play and dream,

and we know God is calling us to that place.

Last spring, Hubby came to me with his ideas for moving,

that he felt the Lord had placed on his heart.

I 'm sure I was hesitant and had a lot of questions, as I don't readily jump for joy in the face of change,

but now I can hardly wait to be there, out in the country.

I promise to share details with y'all about the house, and I hope to have lots of good advice to share with all of you about what I learn through the house design and building process!

Curious what the style will be?

Follow me on Pinterest, when I am not packing our taking care of our babies,

I am pinning my favorite home and design ideas.

For now, it's back to packing up our current house,

we move out October 30th!

(disclaimer:: the chorus of "Spanish Pipedream" by John Prine (as pictured above) is the only part of that song that applies to our lives. I listened to the song in it's entirety as I was writing this post ... nothing else about it relates to us. at. all. ha!)

Blessings,

Our House is For Sale ... SOLD!

2012-10-08T10:49:00.000-05:00

I was initially planning on writing to let all of you know that our house was for sale,

but before I had time to sit down and write this post,

our house SOLD!

Our house went on the market Thursday afternoon at 2:30pm, & by 3:30 we already had a showing scheduled!

Over the last three days we had 8 showings. Yes, 8! Hectic? Yes, but well worth it.

Then on Sunday, we received two offers and accepted one of them! We signed the papers last night and then went to dinner to celebrate! We should officially close in 3 weeks!

What a whirlwind of a weekend but, we are beyond excited and incredibly humbled by God's amazing provision!

Enjoy the following house tour,

using pictures from my talented friend
Tiffany of Tiffany Parrott Photography.
These were posted on the Houston Area Realtor website (HAR.com)
(check out her portfolio by clicking on her button in the right column!)

Selling our 1st home is rather bittersweet, we have so many amazing memories from the past 4 years in this home, but yet so many exciting things to come!

We've completed many, many projects here.

Some large, others small.

Some went according to plan, others didn't.

Some were DIY, others were more than we wanted to tackle.

All of them were fun memories for the hubby and myself,

and I have loved sharing with y'all, my wonderful followers, too!

We have many exciting things coming,

and can't wait to see what God has in store for us in this next chapter.

Over the next week,

I will be sharing some of my recent decorating projects and tips for prepping your home to sell!

Blessings,