Our Current House Tour – Modern Farmhouse Style in the Suburbs
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 about 2000 sq. ft. plus a finished basement, rounding it up to about 3000 sq. ft. total. It’s nice and 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!
Click/tap here to shop the look of our home
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 molding and new wall paint.
We recently gave our entryway a wee little refresh by taking out the tired black winter rug (that absorbs all the salt and snow-wet) and replacing it with a fresh round jute rug for summer. We also sanded the church pew-style bench and re-stained it to go better with our adjacent dining room table.
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 molding – along with some new paint of course!
Living Room
The living room looked liked this right after we moved in…Further changes were made during the pandem!c…
Kitchen
The kitchen is a huge part of why we bought this house almost 5 years ago. Not because we loved what it was then, but rather we loved the potential it had, and how open it was to the living room. Shortly after we moved in we did a budget makeover with Ikea doors, a bigger island, and new appliances. And while most of it is holding up well, there are a few things like trim that we’d like to upgrade from the cheaper materials we used at the time. (And please excuse the dinged and scuffed up island – I need to repaint it and we need new stools. The upholstery tacks on these ones are terrible for the island!)Master Bedroom
Initially, we painted and add 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.Our Laundry Room
Our tiny little laundry room is actually just across from the dining room on the main floor. Not much has changed in here. Except it’s a wee bit dustier most days and we did just reorganize the storage shelves with more baskets and bins.Our Guest Room
Our guest room is in our basement and didn’t get used (other than as a clutter collector) much since early 2020. But here’s how it normally looks.(This page will be updated as we update the house.)