We are one step closer to having a HOUSE to call our own! Let me tell you, if I could make the word "HOUSE" blink, dance, and leap off your computer screen and give you a kiss, I would. Holy moly moly. I haven't seen able to sleep the past 2 nights b/c I'm so excited!! We found a 2800 sqft (!!) house in Allen that is definitely calling us home! We made an offer last weekend, got a counter-offer on Friday, and drew up the papers that night! We have now learned that the seller has signed the papers and we have the home inspection on Tuesday afternoon. So crazy.
This afternoon we took my mom and Steven's parents over to see the house. They were all very impressed with our find and asked us what we were planning to do with the house before moving in. A LOT!!! So, here is a list of "before" pictures waiting to meet their "after." Let's hope that we are able to do this house proud!
I forgot to get a picture of the 1/2 bath and the living room... oops! Here is the rest of the downstairs:
Oh! Welcome to my home. It was so sweet of you to stop by. Thanks for the muffins, they look delicious! Oops, did I slip in to fantasy mode? This is the hallway leading from the front entry to the living room. The door on the right is the coat closet (slash under-stairs storage slash tornado hideout) and the nook behind it leads to the 1/2-bath. We want to extend the tile entry all the way to the living room entrance and paint the halls a warm tan.
Look left: This room will become Steven's study. I told him that he can have a study ONLY if he swears to keep it organized and looking neat. Who wants to place a bet that the entry to this room will have french doors added in the near future? I would like to change the carpet to a dark hardwood and Steven wants to put a light olive green on the walls. Also, the light fixture has to go! Since the house faces southwest (cul-de-sac), we'd like to replace the light with a ceiling fan to keep Steven cool as he works.
Look right: This is the formal dining room. Since we are not "formal folk" and have no need to entertain royalty in the near future.... and don't want to buy a dining room set.... AND we have a very sweet, slightly spoiled, very mobile baby boy.... this is about to become Jackson's downstairs playroom! I know, a bevy of toys strewn about is not my idea of a great first impression either, but this is a great place for me to keep an eye on Jackson while in the kitchen or folding laundry, and holds the added bonus of keeping our living room that much more "adult friendly." I wouldn't mind keeping carpet in this room, but I could be persuaded to go hardwood if we could find a baby-friendly floor covering to go over top. I have NO IDEA what color to paint the walls in here. I'm torn between "kids rooms can break the rules" and "but everyone is going to see this room." Any suggestions? This room has a doorway in to the kitchen.
Here is the kitchen! If you look all the way to the left of the picture, you can catch a glimpse of the front entry, from which I took all three previous pictures. I'm standing in the living room to take this picture. As described, Jackson's playroom/the formal dining room are through the doorway. I can't even get started on all the updating I would like to see in this space, but the first steps (read: what we can afford right now) are tiling the floors, painting, and adding a backsplash over the counters. In the long run I'd like to see a stainless steel undermount sink (right now it's white porcelain... and already chipped/scratched), granite countertops, darker cabinets, a new light fixture, and built-in stainless steel appliances. I said LONG run. Our friend Lauren did a fantastic job on
the walls in her kitchen, so I'm planning to ask her for some DIY tips... if Steven will let me. :) I think he's nervous to bite off more than he can chew... err... paint. The pantry is tucked away in the corner, to the left of the row of visible cabinets. Around that corner is the laundry room and entrance to the garage. I swore that I wouldn't have a laundry room that served as a hallway to the garage. I was wrong, but I'm going to make it so fun (lavendar walls! yes, I'm serious.) that I don't even mind it. It even has a window, which automatically cheers it up some.
This is the breakfast area (hence the reason we decided to hand over the formal dining to Jackson). I love the light fixture, but not the door. The window is screaming for a window treatment. Unfortunately, my idea of a "window treatment" is white blinds. Truly, I have no idea where to start. Added concern: One little boy who is learning to "pull up." All of a sudden, floor length drapes go from charming to disasterous.
So that's the downstairs, would you care to join me upstairs?
This room is to the left of the stairs, all the way at the end of the hall. It's above Steven's study, at the front of the house. This will probably become the nursery. Steven has a great idea: get the nursery all set up how we like it, and keep Jackson in this room until he's old enough for a big boy bed (or until we have another baby, whichever comes first). In the meantime, we can take our time setting up his big boy room right across the hall, and just transition him when the time comes. We are planning to use all the same furniture (except for the crib, because it's a little too big for a standard crib mattress) for our next child, boy or girl, so it makes sense to do it this way. I plan to paint the room blue and brown to match Jackson's crib bedding (yes, I know, so trendy!), so if we have a girl, we'll just paint over the blue part. This is one downside of the house: this room is 11x10 with a tiiiiiiiiny closet. Jackson's current room is 19x11 with a GIANT HUGE closet that goes on for days. I guess we'll have to find a way to get creative with storage solutions. I'm so glad that we got the wardrobe for Jackson!
This is the room across the hall that will become Jackson's big boy room. It will not be pink when it becomes his big boy room. It will be ocean blue to make the pirates feel more at home.
And here is the kids' bathroom! It's pretty small, but I think we may just be able to squeeze a few
monkeys in here! I also had the foresight to get the matching shower curtain, which is adorable as well, just in case we had a shower/tub combo in our house.
This picture was taken from the hall between the two bedrooms. The closed door on the left is the linen closet, which is across from the secondary full bathroom. The master bedroom is around the corner (to the left). The stairs are around the other corner (on the right). The door that's OPEN on the left is going to be the guest bedroom. It's 15x11, which will hopefully leave enough room for a small seating area on the far end of the room. My plan is to paint this room light (but vibrant) blue and accent it with items we collected while in Japan, intermixed with some Japanese-inspired furniture. I am very excited about decorating this room!
The room on the right in the large photo, and to the left here, is the upstairs playroom, aka game room. I see this being the kids' space and transitioning its purpose and appearance as they transition through life stages. As kids, I see them having sleepovers here and littering the floor with sleeping bags all over the place. As teenagers, I see this being the room where they play pool with their friends. In between, I see us spending Christmas mornings here and watching movies, all snuggled up together on the couch. I hope that this turns out to be a very special room. I expect that we'll carry the tan through the halls and in to this room as well. Did you check out the view?
This room, the master suite, and the guest bedroom overlook the "moat" behind our house and a beautiful green field. Unfortunately, this area is developing quickly and this area is zoned for commercial development (boo!), so we'll just have to enjoy it while we can. I'm hoping that the moat attracts businesses looking for an upscale location with a water view... but I guess we'll see! However it ends up, we'll definitely enjoy this view and country feeling while we can. One of our friends from church already offered to get us a dragon for our moat as a house-warming gift - how sweet! ;)
Now, on to the Master Suite!
Look left: this is the sleeping area of the master bedroom, taken from the
middle of the room. Did I mention that this room is 27x14??
Look right: this is the sitting area and bathroom entrance. This is also taken from the center of the room.
...and this is the master bath. Look down, do you see it? Yes, there is carpet in the master bathroom - yuk!! I had carpet floors in the bathroom in a house I rented in college. I truly never thought I'd see that again. Awful. So, this is high on the "fix before we move in" check list. We're going to replace the whole bathroom with tile and probably keep carpet in the bedroom. This is another room that has stumped me when it comes to painting! We may carry the tan in to this room as well. I have "before" pictures of the bath, but this update is beyond long-winded already. In fact, I would be surprised if anyone has bothered to read this far. No worries, I'm about to wrap it up.
So that's the house! I really hope (and would appreciate prayers!) that this is OUR house and that everything goes well during the closing period. We are already so excited about it and everything seems to have fallen in to place perfectly. I know that this would be a great place to raise our family and grow old together. Plus, the stairs will keep us fit for years to come! I hope to have some really fabulous "After" pictures in a couple months! Until then, any tips, ideas, etc are absolutely welcome. Yawn. I'm going to go dream of fresh paint, new floors, and lots of space! Good night!
Do you see him? He's hiding...
Can you tell Daddy dressed him today? Hahaha. I guess Jackson sees Mommy on the computer so much, that he knew exactly how to do it! He even managed to do his first Google search:
Oh! Welcome to my home. It was so sweet of you to stop by. Thanks for the muffins, they look delicious! Oops, did I slip in to fantasy mode? This is the hallway leading from the front entry to the living room. The door on the right is the coat closet (slash under-stairs storage slash tornado hideout) and the nook behind it leads to the 1/2-bath. We want to extend the tile entry all the way to the living room entrance and paint the halls a warm tan.
Look left: This room will become Steven's study. I told him that he can have a study ONLY if he swears to keep it organized and looking neat. Who wants to place a bet that the entry to this room will have french doors added in the near future? I would like to change the carpet to a dark hardwood and Steven wants to put a light olive green on the walls. Also, the light fixture has to go! Since the house faces southwest (cul-de-sac), we'd like to replace the light with a ceiling fan to keep Steven cool as he works.
Look right: This is the formal dining room. Since we are not "formal folk" and have no need to entertain royalty in the near future.... and don't want to buy a dining room set.... AND we have a very sweet, slightly spoiled, very mobile baby boy.... this is about to become Jackson's downstairs playroom! I know, a bevy of toys strewn about is not my idea of a great first impression either, but this is a great place for me to keep an eye on Jackson while in the kitchen or folding laundry, and holds the added bonus of keeping our living room that much more "adult friendly." I wouldn't mind keeping carpet in this room, but I could be persuaded to go hardwood if we could find a baby-friendly floor covering to go over top. I have NO IDEA what color to paint the walls in here. I'm torn between "kids rooms can break the rules" and "but everyone is going to see this room." Any suggestions? This room has a doorway in to the kitchen.
Here is the kitchen! If you look all the way to the left of the picture, you can catch a glimpse of the front entry, from which I took all three previous pictures. I'm standing in the living room to take this picture. As described, Jackson's playroom/the formal dining room are through the doorway. I can't even get started on all the updating I would like to see in this space, but the first steps (read: what we can afford right now) are tiling the floors, painting, and adding a backsplash over the counters. In the long run I'd like to see a stainless steel undermount sink (right now it's white porcelain... and already chipped/scratched), granite countertops, darker cabinets, a new light fixture, and built-in stainless steel appliances. I said LONG run. Our friend Lauren did a fantastic job on the walls in her kitchen, so I'm planning to ask her for some DIY tips... if Steven will let me. :) I think he's nervous to bite off more than he can chew... err... paint. The pantry is tucked away in the corner, to the left of the row of visible cabinets. Around that corner is the laundry room and entrance to the garage. I swore that I wouldn't have a laundry room that served as a hallway to the garage. I was wrong, but I'm going to make it so fun (lavendar walls! yes, I'm serious.) that I don't even mind it. It even has a window, which automatically cheers it up some.
This is the breakfast area (hence the reason we decided to hand over the formal dining to Jackson). I love the light fixture, but not the door. The window is screaming for a window treatment. Unfortunately, my idea of a "window treatment" is white blinds. Truly, I have no idea where to start. Added concern: One little boy who is learning to "pull up." All of a sudden, floor length drapes go from charming to disasterous.
So that's the downstairs, would you care to join me upstairs?
This room is to the left of the stairs, all the way at the end of the hall. It's above Steven's study, at the front of the house. This will probably become the nursery. Steven has a great idea: get the nursery all set up how we like it, and keep Jackson in this room until he's old enough for a big boy bed (or until we have another baby, whichever comes first). In the meantime, we can take our time setting up his big boy room right across the hall, and just transition him when the time comes. We are planning to use all the same furniture (except for the crib, because it's a little too big for a standard crib mattress) for our next child, boy or girl, so it makes sense to do it this way. I plan to paint the room blue and brown to match Jackson's crib bedding (yes, I know, so trendy!), so if we have a girl, we'll just paint over the blue part. This is one downside of the house: this room is 11x10 with a tiiiiiiiiny closet. Jackson's current room is 19x11 with a GIANT HUGE closet that goes on for days. I guess we'll have to find a way to get creative with storage solutions. I'm so glad that we got the wardrobe for Jackson!
This is the room across the hall that will become Jackson's big boy room. It will not be pink when it becomes his big boy room. It will be ocean blue to make the pirates feel more at home.
And here is the kids' bathroom! It's pretty small, but I think we may just be able to squeeze a few monkeys in here! I also had the foresight to get the matching shower curtain, which is adorable as well, just in case we had a shower/tub combo in our house.
This picture was taken from the hall between the two bedrooms. The closed door on the left is the linen closet, which is across from the secondary full bathroom. The master bedroom is around the corner (to the left). The stairs are around the other corner (on the right). The door that's OPEN on the left is going to be the guest bedroom. It's 15x11, which will hopefully leave enough room for a small seating area on the far end of the room. My plan is to paint this room light (but vibrant) blue and accent it with items we collected while in Japan, intermixed with some Japanese-inspired furniture. I am very excited about decorating this room! 
The room on the right in the large photo, and to the left here, is the upstairs playroom, aka game room. I see this being the kids' space and transitioning its purpose and appearance as they transition through life stages. As kids, I see them having sleepovers here and littering the floor with sleeping bags all over the place. As teenagers, I see this being the room where they play pool with their friends. In between, I see us spending Christmas mornings here and watching movies, all snuggled up together on the couch. I hope that this turns out to be a very special room. I expect that we'll carry the tan through the halls and in to this room as well. Did you check out the view? 
This room, the master suite, and the guest bedroom overlook the "moat" behind our house and a beautiful green field. Unfortunately, this area is developing quickly and this area is zoned for commercial development (boo!), so we'll just have to enjoy it while we can. I'm hoping that the moat attracts businesses looking for an upscale location with a water view... but I guess we'll see! However it ends up, we'll definitely enjoy this view and country feeling while we can. One of our friends from church already offered to get us a dragon for our moat as a house-warming gift - how sweet! ;)
Now, on to the Master Suite!
Look left: this is the sleeping area of the master bedroom, taken from the middle of the room. Did I mention that this room is 27x14??
Look right: this is the sitting area and bathroom entrance. This is also taken from the center of the room.
...and this is the master bath. Look down, do you see it? Yes, there is carpet in the master bathroom - yuk!! I had carpet floors in the bathroom in a house I rented in college. I truly never thought I'd see that again. Awful. So, this is high on the "fix before we move in" check list. We're going to replace the whole bathroom with tile and probably keep carpet in the bedroom. This is another room that has stumped me when it comes to painting! We may carry the tan in to this room as well. I have "before" pictures of the bath, but this update is beyond long-winded already. In fact, I would be surprised if anyone has bothered to read this far. No worries, I'm about to wrap it up.
Jackson pulls up on the kitchen gate!
In the process of sitting up by himself.
Jackson uses my legs for balance. I included this picture because you can see his first two little teeth. He's telling me all about his new skills in the picture (rarah rah rah rah!)
