Show and Tell - Home Tour - The Queen In Between

It’s Show and Tell Tuesday with Andrea at Momfessionals and today we are showing off our homes!

So we have lived in our house for 13 years and so far I have failed to complete any one room 100%! Since the house itself isn’t anything too exciting or out of the ordinary I thought I would take a little walk down memory lane and show the changes we have made.

Keep in mind our house was built in 1994 and when we moved in the entire house was white with lots of wallpaper. White walls, white carpet (even in the master bathroom), white cabinets, really light flooring and there was wallpaper in kitchen and both bathrooms. The carpet was definitely the first to go and the wallpaper was second on my list. We didn’t really have the money for lots of upgrades right away so I settled for a fresh coat of paint and we moved in.

Kitchen

The kitchen was the first major renovation we budgeted for. Mind you, my house had been on the market for several months and after a contract falling through we decided to pull it off and upgrade the kitchen before listing again. Oh how I wish I would have had a crystal ball at the point as I would have totally done things differently.

Here is the kitchen as it was when we moved in. The tile was the very first thing we did and I was so smart to pick tile that matched the wallpaper (not). I told you guys, so much white!!

Keep in mind this was pre-Pinterest and Fixer Upper! It was quite the transformation and I was ecstatic when it was completed. Over time I quickly realized that dark granite is so beautiful when it is clean and shiny but little kids have little greasy fingerprints and if you are OCD maybe black is NOT the thing for you!

Another view before which shows the fabulous box light in the middle. In hindsight I would have dropped the bar down to counter level and squared things off.

I definitely would have considered adding double ovens too had I known this would be a longer term home.

Flash forward another 7 years and I am still living here and was still hating that dang box light. Can we also talk about the over the sink light? I mean was that really the light that was suppose to go there? Did they forget to paint it, find it on a deep discount? I’d love to know what the inspiration was.

So finally this past March, both were removed and replaced by recessed lighting and these simple drop pendants I found at Lowe’s. The ceiling has been patched but sadly I still have not finished painting the ceiling 4 months later! #goals

Living Space

So apparently green (it was greener in person) was in when we moved in and I used it in my living area and master bedroom and once again it also matched the fun wallpaper! I also replaced the white carpet with some laminate flooring that Keith hated but didn’t bother to tell me! Thank goodness for a faulty ice maker which leaked and ruined our floors to the extent insurance replaced them all! I ripped them all out myself to save some bucks and ended up replacing them with something we love so much more. I was also able to replace the tile around the fireplace at the same time and all the carpet in the kids rooms!

If I showed you this today you would note a huge rip in the chair currently being held together with safety pins!! We so need new furniture but I totally suck at that too! I was super proud of the gallery wall after having the wall empty for about 5 years.

The corner fire place, bookcase and wall of windows has just challenged my non spacial mind.

View into the master bedroom from the kitchen. This is probably the view I see the most!

This is the view when walking in from the front door. I love decorating this table but have really been wanting a more traditional entry table.

Our formal dining room was never used and eventually converted first to a playroom and now an extra TV room and a place for me to scrapbook in my free time (insert hysterical laughter)

Master Suite

I totally failed to take a new picture of our master bedroom since I purchased new lamps! This room still has some work to be done but it took me years to find some sort of fun tables, pull the trigger on a rug and add the bench so I do feel somewhat accomplished. I really would like to repaint a lighter color since adding the dark bed but that is way down on my list!

This room has really come a long way from white carpet and marble countertops. Sorry for the crap lighting!

And this shower remodel was the latest project and I could not be happier. I wish the picture could really tell the full story of just how much of an upgrade this was. We were able to pull out the shower and give ourselves about another 3-4 inches of space too.

Quite the improvement don’t you think?

I have always loved the box window and thankfully we have lots of storage.

Enough about this little house today! If you are considering a new to you house that will need a few upgrades here are a few things I learned.

Do as much as you can BEFORE moving in! Painting full rooms and especially woodwork and cabinetry is a huge mess and honestly the chance you will do it once actually living in the space is not high.
Buy a house you can be comfortable with but is still comfortable to your pocketbook as well. Even though we could not do a ton of renovating immediately, buying a home in a lower price range has allowed us to still enjoy life outside of our house and save some money for larger renovations over time.
Do not rush into a renovation. Think through every angle and look at other houses as much as you can to really get an idea of what works and will function well. Ask other people whose houses you love what they love and don’t love about the features in their home.
Remember it is not necessarily the way your house looks that is the most important it is the people you share it with!! There are times I have been so concerned with keeping the house clean and orderly that I have passed on actually living in it with my family! Invite friends for dinner and don’t worry that the safety pin is holding the chair together.

To see my living space at different times of the year you can check out these posts!

Show & Tell: My Favorite Room

Other Show & Tell Favorites