Happy Monday! Here’s the second installment of my (Cheryl’s) house. The rooms below are the back half of the house, and you’ll see we have a lot of work to do getting settled in.
Master Bedroom
This room is actually pretty large. We’ve got our own bathroom and a walk-in closet. The slider opens out to the back yard. I’ve got the layout set, I believe. I need to decide on artwork, refine my little reading corner, figure out if I want to keep the desk in here or move the Mac somewhere else in the house, decide on rugs, find somewhere to store my hope chest, and talk Seth into removing the vertical blinds. I definitely want to update the bedding. And, I’ve been thinking hard about what to put above the bed. I’m freaked there will be an earthquake while we’re sleeping, so nothing heavy can go up there…
Master Bath
Not much to do in her other than artwork. I really like the counters. Really dislike the glass shower doors. If I ever build or remodel a bathroom, I will never have glass shower doors. Too hard to keep clean.
Eli’s Room
Unfortunately, his room has become the storage area. Yes, that’s a mattress leaning up against the wall. And yes, there are two wing back chairs in his teeny room. That all needs to be cleared out. I also need to hang artwork, figure out his bedding, and maybe get a natural fiber rug to layer with the little alpaca accent rug.
Wade’s Room
We’ve done the most in Wade’s room. This is because last winter we were sick for so long, that either or Seth or I ended up sleeping on the couch due to a child being in our bed, having a hacking cough, or not wanting to listen to the other person cough through the night. We decided we needed more sleeping options, so Wade got a new bunk bed. It was like Christmas. We also hung the huge map above his dresser a couple months ago. I still need to hang some artwork and figure out the best way to store his books. This one is pretty close (when it’s clean…)
Hall Bathroom
This bathroom is used by the boys and guests. Again, there’s not too much to do in here other than accessorize the counters and hang a couple more small pieces of artwork. And burn down the glass doors.
Atrium (aka prison yard)
Obviously, this place first needs to be weeded. It’s amazing what you just learn to overlook…My other sister-in-law has aptly named it the prison yard. I’m not totally sure what the original purpose of this space was? Maybe a not so successful attempt at imitating an atrium like this? Who knows. This is right off the music/sitting room and the window you see there is our master bath. I’m planning to create a little sitting area and bring in a mix of potted outdoor plants. Maybe do an herb garden, but it doesn’t get too much sun. During the summer, this place gives off a lot of heat because the hours the sun is shining in there, the brick floor heats up like an oven. I’m planning to get a light colored outdoor rug (maybe like this?) to reflect the sun and hopefully keep it from getting so hot.
Patio
The patio is directly off the dining area, and has also become a storage area of sorts, a makeshift theater (created by the boys this past weekend), and a staging area for the bounce house. This happens when you move from a 3,000 square foot house to 1,600 square feet and little room for storage. We’ve just sold a bunch on Craigslist, and will also sell the train table and the tall table and chairs. I want to still have an eating area, and have plans to talk Seth into making a custom outdoor dining table. I also want to replace the faded cushions on the current outdoor furniture, which you can see in the background.
PHEW! That’s a lot and I have to admit I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed with it all written down…luckily, all the tasks are small, no big renovations to be made. Even the few small changes we have made since moving in make the place feel so much more like us. So, I’m looking forward to settling in even more.
Feel free to give me suggestions in the comments!
Man, I just love this house so much! Some of my favorites are: The white counters in the bathrooms, the doors throughout the house, and my future guest room — the prison yard! No really, I think that spot is cool as H and has a ton of potential! It’s like a roofless room! I can just see all sorts of plants mounted to those pretty prison walls and a little teepee for kids and adults on one side.
And as always, thanks for showing off the real deal. Thanks for not removing the mattress before taking the picture. Thanks for leaving the laundry baskets in the corner. It’s like — GASP — a real family lives there! A family made of people with great style, who read books, and fold laundry. Thumbs up!
Agree with Emily! Love the reality! We’re moving to a rental early May…It’s a gorgeous old home and a beautiful blank canvas! Im pretty excited to make it ours even temporarily! Can’t wait to see more!
I need to get myself to MN for a visit…
I wouldn’t go so far as to say that we actually fold laundry…;)
It is so fun to see your house! I love that you are posting pictures now instead of when a room is complete. It will be fun to see your progress! I had 2 thoughts: 1. if there is enough room in the bathroom, you can hang a shower curtain in front of an unsightly glass door. Then you don’t see the glass until you are inside the shower and the water is already running and warm. I wish I could do that to our two glass showers, but the 2 bathrooms that have glass doors are really really small. 2. If you can add some vertical planters in the atrium, in addition to the rug, it might not get as hot. You can use some broad-leaved plants that don’t need a lot of sun.
Oooh, I like the idea of vertical planters. I’ve played around with the idea of doing a “living wall” of sorts, but never considered it might help with the heat issue as well.