Our hallway...

Before we started looking at houses, we made a list of things that were important to us.  At the top of my list was the floorplan, especially the location of the bedrooms.  I know that "split floorplans" are really popular (and have been for a while), but I am not a fan.  I may change my tune once my kids are older, but for now I am much more comfortable knowing that I can see and hear them from my bedroom. 

We ruled out a lot of potential houses on floorplan alone.  Having all three bedrooms off of one central hallway was a huge positive for this house...the fact that the hallway looked like it did was a major negative.

Getting rid of the funky, textured wallpaper was our first challenge.  It was tougher (and messier) than  I expected, and so I had to call in some reinforcements.

Maddie and Bella help out with the wallpaper while Noah is napping!

We decided to remove the door that separated the hallway from the living room. The hall instantly seemed twice as wide, and much brighter. A new light fixture added even more light. Then the old wood paneling and all the moulding became a clean, fresh white ("Snowbound" from Sherwin Williams) and the upper walls got a couple coats of silvery gray (SW's "Repose Gray").  Replacing the tile floor is on my "someday" list, but tiling the entry way myself convinced me to leave this job until I can afford to hire a professional! 

I've always wanted a designated place to put up family photos and the long, bare walls in this hallway gave me the perfect spot.  Now I have a showcase for our favorite portraits, snapshots, and even a few of my favorite drawings from the kids.

Our hallway is not just a way to get from "point A" to "point B" anymore, it's also a sweet little trip down "Memory Lane".

Our entry: A better first impression...

When we knocked on the front door of what became our new house for the first time, I was really excited about what could be inside.  Being greeted by a blank tan wall and some awful brownish-colored tile was a little of a disappointment. We could tell from the minute we walked in that there was work that needed to be done.

I've heard the phrase "You never get a second chance to make a first impression," but I'm just not sure that's true. Our entryway definitely got a new life after some paint, accessories, and an amazing new marble floor.

The decision to replace those mottled, brown floor tiles was an easy one...the process was not. The demolition was too much to handle on my own, especially since I couldn't use a sledgehammer inside during naptime (yes, I did try it once...let's just say that it wasn't my best idea).  I enlisted the help of my wonderful husband, Justin.  He spent hours and hours breaking and removing that old tile.

I had fallen in love with a marble and glass mosaic tile from Lowe's and had been dying to use it somewhere. Even though I knew that it was too pricey (and not durable enough) to use as flooring, I still really wanted to try it out.  After some discussion, we decided to use a much cheaper tile as the main flooring and use the mosaic as a border around the edges.  I searched and searched until I found 12" x 12" Carrera Marble tiles on sale at a flooring liquidator in a nearby city for under $3 each.  After a weekend of laying tile and a few phone calls to my brother Jason (who has some professional tiling experience ), my new floor was complete...and gorgeous! 

 

After tiling the floors, I painted 2 of the walls a charcoal gray color that matched the dark gray tiles from the mosaic (Sherwin Williams' "Grizzle Gray").  I decided to remove the old, beat-up wood blinds from the front door, and add some translucent window film for privacy.  Then I cut a 1-inch wide strip off around the edges of the film so I could still see any visitors clearly. 

Finally, I took on a few more naptime DIY projects to finish things off.  A freshly repainted, vintage mirror was strategically placed to reflect some of the light from the living room windows and brighten up the entry area.  A black and white bird print that I saved from my grandmother's trash pile and reframed found a new home on one of my floating shelves.  Next to it sits a ceramic piece that I salvaged from a broken lamp and painted yellow.   I also put up a few antique cameras that were garage sale finds.

Now I just wish someone other than the pizza delivery guy would use my front door...

Maddie's pink pad!

When we decided to buy our new house and move across town, Maddie got very upset. She loved her school and did not want to leave her friends behind. We made a deal: in exchange for having a positive attitude about the new house/neighborhood/school/friends, Maddie would get HER OWN ROOM!  {Bella and Noah were young enough to share a room for a few years, at least.}

{this was taken before we moved in}

Before we moved in, we painted the kids' bedrooms. Maddie chose a pale-ish pink (Behr's "Scented Valentine"), and even got to help paint. She got two new-to-her beds (matching twin sized antique beds that my mom had bought at an auction years ago and never used) and matching comforter sets in a hot pink and white damask print. She was thrilled with the results, until we finished re-doing the kids' bathroom.

Maddie had fun helping me choose fabrics and accessories to use in their bathroom, and now she wanted to do something special to her bedroom, too. Since her eighth birthday was coming up, we agreed on a "bedroom re-vamp" as her gift from mommy and daddy. She was pretty specific about what she wanted: canopies, a new desk, and lots of pillows!

We chose to start with the pillows, and headed to the fabric stores.  Maddie is a major girly-girl, so we picked mostly flowers and polka dots, with a little bit of sparkle thrown in.  After a few nap-times worth of sewing, her beds were both overflowing! {The sequined "M" pillow came from Santa.}

The dresser is another one of my mom's antiques. Maddie didn't like the original brown wood finish, so we decided to paint it. We took our favorite piece of pillow fabric with us, and went to every paint store trying to match the beautiful shade of blue in it. I finally found Benjamin Moore's "Robin's Nest", and we fell in love! The dresser came out beautifully, and I am really pleased with it.

 
After finishing the dresser, we moved on to the desk. I searched garage sales and Craigslist for weeks trying to find something that fit the small space between her beds. After a lot of disappointment, Justin suggested that we just try to build a desk ourselves. We started at Home Depot and bought 2 table legs, a piece of plywood, and some pre-cut plexi-glass. With Justin's help, I built the desk to mount onto the wall in the back. Then we framed out the edges with some moulding that we found in our attic, and I painted it a combination of white and "Robin's Nest". Her chair was yet another hand-me-down, the desk chair that both my mom and I had used as children. It received a couple coats of "Robin's Nest" and a new seat cushion that I made out of left-over pillow fabric.

The canopies were made using simple, sheer curtains that were left behind by the previous owner..all I did was sew some hot pink ric-rac trim to the edges. Then we built the frames out of wooden shelf brackets and some scalloped moulding from Home Depot, painted them white, and hung them above her beds.

Finally it was time for the finishing touches. A nickel lamp and a nightlight that weren't being used got simple shade make-overs with some grosgrain ribbon. We used more ribbon to hang paper lanterns, DIY tissue paper pom-poms, and DIY tulle pom-poms above her desk. Wall letters covered with scrapbook paper make sure everyone knows exactly who the room belongs to. Our interpretation of butterfly collection (re-painted garage sale picture frames, left-over scrapbook paper, and a set of plastic white butterflies from Target) dresses up the long, empty wall above Maddie's bed.

Maddie and I had so much fun working together on her room that we're already coming up with new projects...little things to add in the future to make it even more "her". 

Bright, happy bathroom...

The kids' (and guest) bathroom was one of the first spaces we worked on. It was embarassing: small and dark and dull. The "small" part was out of my hands, but I'd decided that the days of "dark and dull" were coming to an end.

The white tile on the floor and countertop were in good shape, and worked with the new color scheme, so we kept them. The mirror was also going to stay, at least until I could find a better one for a good price. The toilet and tub stayed, as well.  I'll admit that the bathroom is a bit on the girly side right now, but we'll be able to change things pretty easily once Noah grows up enough to mind.

The first thing we did was take away the door separating the two areas. It made a huge difference in the way the room looked (and made it much easier to move around when "bath time" came, too).  

Next it was time to re-paint. The girls chose "Glad Yellow" from Sherwin Williams...the name sounded perfect, but the color was a bit on the bright side. We decided to tone it down with some white beadboard around the bottom half of the tub/toilet area, white trim/moulding everywhere, and a white cabinet under the sink.

Instead of putting a towel bar above the toilet, we placed 3 nickel robe hooks within arm's reach of the tub.

Now it was time for the finishing touches.  I found two fabrics I loved from Hobby Lobby ("Serendipity Stripe" and "Serendipity Paisley") along with an adorable, wide ric-rac trim and smaller grosgrain ribbon in "Shocking Pink". I made the shower curtain first, then used the left-overs to embellish a few hand towels, the wastebasket, and a step-stool for the sink. Next came the set of orange and green mirrors that I bought on clearance from Target. A little craft paint on the frames and now they fit in perfectly, too.

My last project is one of my favorite parts of the kids' bathroom. First I painted 3 Target clearance-aisle picture frames with the same craft paint used on the mirrors. Then I framed a picture of each of my kiddos as babies in the bath. I mounted the frames on some extra beadboard, and then hung each on the wall with a ribbon. Voila!

Finally, the kids' bathroom was finished (until I find that "perfect" mirror, that is). It's a bright, happy, kid-friendly place that we all love!

Our starting point...

I fell in love with our house pretty much instantly.  My husband did not.  When he looked around during our first showing he saw dark rooms, ugly brown wood everywhere, mismatched floors, and some weird brick thing in the living room corner.  I, however, saw potential everywhere I looked.  This house had so much good in it...a floorplan that really worked for us, a neighborhood we loved, a great big backyard for the kids...and I had no problem imagining what a little paint, some fabric, and new lighting would do for the rest of it.

This post is all about what our "home" started out as...

Kitchen

Dining area

Living room

That "weird brick thing in the living room corner"

Hallway leading to bedrooms

Maddie's room

Bella & Noah's room

Kids' bathroom sink area

Kids' bathroom tub area

Master bedroom

Master bathroom

Future playroom

*I apologize for the horrible hodge-podge of pictures.  Some came from the original listing online, some were taken really quickly and while trying to wrangle the kids during our first showing, and one was even taken during our "cleaning day" before we moved in. *