It’s a blank canvas! Sharing the before pictures of my new house…

July 19, 2013

There is something so exciting yet slightly intimidating when faced with a blank canvas! That is how I felt the first time I stepped into my new home. Like it was one large blank canvas waiting for me “paint my picture” on it, knowing what I would choose would set the tone for the entire home.

It was also the first time I would be decorating a home from scratch as a “home decor/diy blogger.” There’s pressure in that folks! At our last home my taste and style evolved over the years and when we left it was still a mish mash of ‘before and after.” Project in my mind that never made it onto the canvas. This time around I have PLANS people! I have a vision….

Today I wanted to share with you the BEFORE canvas…because every great AFTER must first start with a BEFORE! So, here’s a peek at my new home.

I will be sharing lots of fun projects, design ideas and decorating ideas with you but for now let’s take a TOUR of our new house! (and excuse the pictures they were taken with my phone. smile)

I’m in love with our wrap around front porch, completely Southern including the addition of ceiling fans and rocking chairs!. We love the view from our porch, where we can sit and rock under the fans! When we enter the house from the front door we have a wonderfully large foyer and staircase. It has great vaulted ceilings and hardwood floors.

I love that the stairwell is open on both sides and open along the top.

This angle is standing in the formal living room looking across into my new office complete with french doors!

Since this blogging gig has turned into a “job” and I use that term loosely since it’s so wonderfully fun, I am excited to have my own office! I love the french doors and that it’s on the main floor. This will be mine…all mine! 🙂

This is looking into the “formal” living room. Because it’s not a large room, I am considering a grouping of club chairs in here. I just love the intimacy of a grouping of chairs and I think it would make a nice place to hang with guests before dinner in the dining room.

The dining room is most definitely one of my favorite rooms in the house. Complete with wainscoting paneling, large wide crown molding and the trey ceiling the details are just lovely! I love how light and bright it is. In fact the whole home, as you will notice, has gorgeous crown molding and wide baseboards throughout! Lots of attention to detail.

Here is a view from the breakfast area looking back down the hallway into the kitchen and the entryway. There is a full bath on the main floor which makes it really nice for guests. The door you see leads to the finished basement, which we’ll visit shortly!

Are you shocked it’s not white?! ha. We looked far and wide for a white kitchen in a home that was right for us. Not an easy feat! It’s the one thing I compromised on, but I have great plans for it! I adore the hardwood floors and how open it is. It also have stainless steel appliances and the cabinets are very high quality. Stay tuned for some fun ideas in this space.

I think this room is TRULY my favorite space. Maybe because I’ve laid claim to it as my “own hangout room.” With a formal living room and a recreation room in the basement, I am going to create a space here that is cozy and warm where I can watch my shows while the kids and Bama Boy hang out in the “man cave” downstairs! grin.

This is the view from our backyard! Believe it or not, we are on almost an acre here. All of the wooded area behind the fence is part of the property but we love that there is a smaller area fenced in for our dogs. It’s the perfect situation. It’s very quiet and private back here.

Another thing we loved about the house is the back staircase. It makes it so convenient for the bedrooms on this side of the upstairs. Unfortunately, it results in piles of things on TWO staircases…make that THREE since we have a basement. Tell me we aren’t the only family who piles a million and one things on their stairs? 😉

This is a peek into my daughter’s new room. Her new black iron canopy bed was the first purchase we made for the house. She is so excited to have a canopy bed and we’ve moved her from a twin into a full. The best part of her room is her “other room.” Yes she has TWO rooms in one!

This is a finished attic space which she is going to make her “lounge.” What teenager doesn’t want their own lounge? ha!

You can see a sneak preview of the colors and look we are going for in her room. This will be a fun one to decorate and she will be helping with lots of input and ideas!

So I lied before, THIS might end up being my favorite space in the new house! My dedicated craft and photography room. The room where I can work and leave messes and shut the door at the end of the day. With a separate office, this space will only house crafts and props and supplies as well as an area set up for taking photos. I’m so excited about the potential of this room!!

I don’t have any decent pictures of the master bedroom, but here’s a glimpse of the master bath. It’s one of FOUR full bathrooms in the house so this one will mostly belong to me. 😉 It has an huge walk in closet with full organizational system. It’s a dream bath and dressing area!

So you are probably wondering why I’m showing you this room in the basement. Well, we are converting this room into our son’s room, and I promise we’re not just locking him down in the dungeon. He is moving back in with us, after a year on his own and we want him to have the basement as his “own space.” This room has a finished ceiling, walls, outlets and a door but otherwise it’s most definitely not finished. This is our first project in the house. We will be converting it to a cool “loft industrial” space for him. Watch for this upcoming reveal!

Here are some pictures of the future recreational room i.e. “man cave” and oh do I have plans for this room! My family will finally be getting their dedicated University of Alabama room! Roll Tide!

Can you believe this is a basement?! It’s so light, airy and bright with two large picture windows!

It also has heigh tray ceilings, lots of space to hang out and…

a back entrance to this gorgeous private brick patio!

There are two more bedrooms upstairs, an office for my husband and a guest room as well as several bathrooms to decorate! Plenty of space for a family with a teenager, a college student and two dogs. 🙂

My weeks in the new house have consisted of tons of this….

Two guess where I am here…..

and this.. Ikea has become a “dirty word” with Bama Boy these days! ha! The first room I am setting up is the family room. Here’s a glimpse of the direction I am going in there…

What do you think?

Yes that is brass! Did I hear a collective gasp or does it meet with your approval?

Here’s a little secret I’m going to end with. Shhhh….we are leasing the house for now. We had to get into something quickly and we decided renting for now was the best option to do that. We have the option of buying it down the road, and we most likely will do that BUT for now it’s MINE but not really MINE. So I’m going to be sharing TONS of great ideas to make fabulous, but not permanent, changes so that ANY house can feel like HOME!

My new home and I will see you back here….often…at the picket fence!

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