The making of our home

Almost every one of my posts from the past year starts with some form of " I've been a bad blogger." I guess that's because I have been. I get so busy living and enjoying life that I forget to make time to document it. I guess there are worse things to forsake...like the living and enjoying life part :)  


Anyway, I've been reminded recently that I've never posted any photos of the inside of our home after finishing up our what seemed to be ever-lasting main level renovation project. Thanks to all of you who have been anxious to see our progress and ever-patient with me while I worked on finding time for this post. For those of you who don't know, our entire home is a 'from the ground up' kind of project. We started over three years ago by pouring a walk-out basement and moving an old farm house on top of the foundation. We also added a large addition onto the back of the existing farm house. We lived exclusively in the basement for about two years until we got the main level nearly completed (minus the finishing touches) last December. So needless to say, we've been busy with our home renovation, doing much of the work ourselves (and thanks to family & friends) and hiring help when we could manage. 

I think that the last time I actually posted about our home renovation was when we were installing the stone on the front of our house. And before that, it was way back when we were in the midst of a roofing project. So much has happened since then. We basically started from a shell and made this house our own. I've had visions in my head as well as photos I've collected in a dream house binder book I keep of all my home ideas (before pinterest...old school!!) It's been neat seeing all of my visions become reality. I just love designing and decorating, and it's been fun taking a blank slate and making it a home. And actually, very easy as far as choices go. I'm not one to wavier on my style or second guess my choices. I think it's because I do so much research before I make any choices that I'm certain I'll love them. And it helps that I do have such a distinct style that I favor, which I call 'pottery barn style on a budget'. (I find great satisfaction in finding less expensive look-a-likes.) I like clean, bright, airy, uncluttered, casual, traditional, yet modern. I like craftsman style trim details complimented by a beach-y color palette of blues, grays, white and taupe. Thankfully Jason and I share the same sense of style, or at least he likes my sense of style, so we really work well together. 


It's been a fun journey, and one that will continue when we proceed to start on the second level of our home which is completely gutted right now. (We are working our way from the bottom up...with the walk-out basement level and main level completed and the upstairs remaining.) We have the plans ready though, so hopefully once it starts it will move along quickly. And then somewhere in the mix will be the addition of an attached garage with a second level studio/office for me that will also attach to the second level of our house. But, one step at a time!


With all of that said, it's time for the best part...the photos! Enjoy the walk through our most recent home projects:


The mud room (with board and batten trim work, hooks for all our coats, baskets for the kids shoes & gloves, and a gallery style wall photo display which I love...makes it easy to switch out photos and update them as I find the time.) 

And on a side note, I just love this little wire storage bin from The Land of Nod. Perfect for some of the boys endless sports equipment...

This room is actually somewhat temporary. When our attached garage is built, a bit of the garage will become part of the mudroom and will feature built-in lockers for all our 'stuff' similar to this... 





And the current mudroom will feature a small back staircase to the upstairs.


But on to other territory! From the mudroom, you enter the living room...

which features a very open floor plan into the kitchen, dining room, and down the hall...

I'm kind of a stickler for details, so it wouldn't be right if I didn't show you some of my favorite little features. Like the apron front sink...

and very cool 'industrial' style faucet...

the light fixtures...

the island...

the gas stove top with above pot filler and the double ovens...

And we can't forget the peninsula bar with stools for all the kiddos...

I've wanted white to-the-ceiling cabinets forever and love the contrast with the dark walnut island wood and dark wood floors. 

And I love the subway tile back splash you'll notice in the above photos. Although I think of all the choices there were to make, the back splash was perhaps one of the toughest for me. I knew I wanted subway tile, but I went back and forth between adding a decorative border or maybe an inset of decorative tiles above the stove top. And then there was the color. There were so many color choices. I had originally thought I'd choose white, but I am so glad I went with this smoky gray. As much as I love light and airy, I also love some contrast to keep things interesting and the gray tiles definitely contrast nicely with the white cabinets and play off the flecks of gray/silver that is in the granite counter tops. 


The dining room...

...features more trim detail with faux wainscoting trim and more of the craftsman style columns that I love that are echoed on the stair banisters and the columns between the mudroom and living room (and will continue upstairs eventually.)

Gabe and Cooper share what is now being used as their bedroom but will eventually be Jason's office once the upstairs bedrooms are complete...

It's small for two boys, but works for them for now and they're happy to be out of the basement and into a space all their own. I have ideas for a better way to display all their sports trophies and medals once their room is complete upstairs. They're definitely running out of space for all of their athletic hardware now...

Also on the main level is a small 1/4 bath, the laundry room and a few coat closets. AND, a walk-in pantry in the kitchen with built-in shelving. I don't have the laundry room, bathroom, or pantry completed yet, but will post photos when I do!


And, there you have it. Our latest home projects! It's been such a long, yet fun journey that we feel blessed to be able to do! We definitely couldn't afford our dream house if we just had it built for us all at once, so instead we continue as finances and time allows and we have patience and satisfaction in knowing that we are working towards making our house a home we will love.