The Kitchen

With cabinet doors closed the kitchen looks pretty much the same all the time.  But with the doors open...

I'm loving having my cookbooks in that cabinet, even though I haven't used them yet.  lol

The biggest change we made here was to purchase a microwave for our counter-top since there's not one built in (yet).  We're still working on the best layout for all things making it the most convenient it can be and are still moving things around constantly as we use them.

This Kitchen has a lot of items that you'd think would make it easy to organize, but somehow we haven't figured out a great system yet:

There are Spice racks built into the back of one cabinet door = Awesome... but some spice containers are too big for those little shelves so you need more space anyway.
Under the cook-top are 2 pull-out shelves/drawers for pots & pans = totally cool... but real sized pots don't fit there, so you have to use a 2nd cabinet for pots.
The Pantry has this awesome mini shelf that pulls out of it so every inch of shelving is easily accessible = Clever Design... but the door opens right and that shelf opens left, so with both open, it's hard to reach all the way to the back of the shelves.  It's a good thing we're both skinny people.

Moral of the story: We're figuring out all the tricks little by little, and everything is subject to change.

The Office

The Office/Craft-Room is going to get a lot of use as I create anything & everything that strikes my fancy for this new house of ours.  I'm excited to get it organized and make it functional for all the future creativity.

This bottom of this closet is useless due to the stairs under it, but that doesn't mean it needed to have 2 paintbrush-strokes worth of paint and then be ignored!  No closet deserves that.  Then there were the raw wood shelves constructed in there, but they were never finished off or painted, so it looks very ad-hoc and rough.

Paint and some cozy photo albums make this into a functional & pretty closet:

(Please ignore the wire-basket microwave cart currently housing many things I have no idea what to do with)

This room is still a work in progress and needs lots of organization tricks and tools, but it's nice to know that it's getting closer.  This table is a catch-all right now, but I promise you there are upgrades in this room's future.

This bookshelf is supply central, and will gain more tools of the trade as I stock up from Michael's and Walmart.

Coat Closet

I know there are a lot of you out there who wouldn't think that a coat closet would warrant its own post. But let me tell you, this coat closet has caught my attention since the beginning.

This closet will be mostly for guests' coats, since we have a different coat closet for our clothes under the stairs.  But this closet is only about 1.5 feet wide, and there was no shelving at all in the closet when we moved in, so it needed a face-lift.

The walls were unfinished, so I hung a couple temporary hooks, and waited for the right time to use some Pinterest inspiration to transform this closet!

The entire closet got a fresh coat of white paint and then I could get started!
I bought some trim, cut it to size, painted it a nice black, and then re-hung the hooks.
The only thing left is to put a little shelf on the top for added storage.

I got my inspiration Here, and am thrilled with the results.

Eventually we'll probably paint the door and replace the doorknob, but for now the only thing left is that new shelf to install, and we can call this mini-make-over complete :)

The Living Room

The best part of the house, and the most used areas.  Pictures of this portion of the house are what caused us to request a showing in the first place.

Our furniture is a little dwarfed in the space, but time will fix that...

(Yes, Brody has 2 blankets in the living-room, yet he is lying on the floor!)

(Really want to update that light fixture over the Front door.... eventually)

The previous owners had a wooden hutch in front of the bottom half of that super-tall window, so when we saw the house we didn't know it went floor to ceiling... that was a nice surprise in our final walk-through.

There's still lots to do, Trim to paint, curtains to buy/make, and more furniture to purchase, but so far it's feeling pretty much like Home :)

Man Cave

This is of course Mr. Man's domain, and favorite spot in the house!  He has made it his own, and has many plans for this space.  So far it is coming along, but needs some money-saving time for more furniture.

And the other side...

(Man-Cave tour complete with another Brody Photo-Bomb)

Upstairs Bathroom

The Bathroom on the main floor of the house is the bathroom that we will be using every day, and also that guests will use.  At our Condo previously, our Master Suite had it's own bathroom, so having to keep the counters clear and the closet organized for guest-eyes is going to be a challenge for us (read: me).

The closets in this house are the only thing I knew going into it that I really didn't like!  They're not super funcitonal, and the wood/paint/trim-colors have serious issues, so this closet was one of the first to get a coat of fresh paint....

Then Baskets and Schtuff!

Definitely want to replace these shelves down the line, but for now, this face-lift is making me very happy.

The Master Bedroom

The Master Bedroom is obviously a place that needs to feel cozy in order for it to feel like "our house," and I think we are certainly on our way.

We are totally psyched that there are 3 closets in our Master Bedroom! (one not pictured) So these 2 are mine, and the other one will be Mr. Man's.

Yes, Brody followed me around as I took these photos and photo-bombed. 

We had a minor leak/ice issue in the master when we moved in, from the snow and Ice on the roof, so we protected the floor and windowsill with a tarp.  This issue has since been fixed, and we are very happy about it!

We Officially Own a House!

As of Tuesday Morning we are officially Home-Owners of a New-To-Us Split Level Ranch!

We could not be more thrilled as we figure out all the creaky spots in the floor and which light-switch works which lights.

I know many of you are dying to see pictures so short of saying "Come Visit Us!!!!" I'll be posting some side-by-side photos of each room.  Empty Pics from our walk-through of the house next to what the room is looking like now, 5 days after moving in.

Hope you enjoy them like we have!