If you’ve landed on this house tour page from any of the others, it may seem obvious that Dean and I have moved a lot in over 20 years of marriage.
Which is entirely true.
The gist is we’ve not always been great planners. We bought our first house when we already had two kids and a third on the way. Then a few years later the commute was too much for Dean (and the three vehicles we went through in five years), so we moved back to the city. But moving into the city means prices are higher than outside the city so we could only afford a wee little bungalow (1050 sq. ft.). But that wee little bungalow was so good for us in so many ways.
We figured out how to work together, we launched Home Made Lovely and we spent a lot of time together as a family. Love grows best in little houses.
But alas we outgrew that house and bought the next bigger size we could afford (1350 sq. ft.) in a beautiful neighborhood. We loved that house and the yard and the neighbors. But it too became too small for us. (We have a large extended family!)
So in 2016 we bought this house.
It’s not huge, about 2000 sq. ft. plus a finished basement. But it’s open and there are four actual bedrooms upstairs. And more than one bathroom – which feels like a luxury with three teenagers!
And there’s a pool which I’ve always wanted – like forever!
We will be updating it as time and money allow. Just like you and your home!
So far we’ve managed to update the main floor living and dining rooms.
Entryway
The entryway started out with some good bones, a nice high ceiling and plenty of space. But it lacked character.
So we swapped out the light fixture, painted the doors and added some panel moulding and new wall paint.
Dining Room
The dining room started out the same as the entry…a little bland with good bones.
But we changed the lighting, added a coffered ceiling detail and more panel moulding – along with some new paint of course!
Living Room
And the living room too was a bit dark for us. But that was easily lightened up with some paint and our style of furniture.
Kitchen
Oh the kitchen.
The open layout of the kitchen with the island separating the living room from the kitchen was so much of the reason we bought this house. It just needed some updating.
Master Bedroom
The master bedroom is still not finished the way we want it yet, but we did paint and add in a few accessories to make it our own.
Daughter’s Bedroom
Our oldest daughter got a room makeover in early 2017 when we participated in the FrogTape Paintover Challenge.
(This page will be updated as we update the house.)