refreshing reveal

last year at this time we were packing up our entire house and getting ready for a big refresh of our spaces.

i never really got around to blogging about the updates, and I have really missed blogging, so i thought i would jump right back into it with posts about the updates we made in our home!

if you’ve followed my blog for years, then you have already seen the transformation of our kitchen BEFORE last summer…if you’re new, you can jump to this post to see where we came from.


2008…

9-kitchen 2-2008

4-kitchen 2-2008

12-kitchen 2-2008

2-kitchen 2-2008


fast forward to twenty-sixteen…

1-kitchen 2-2016

4-kitchen 2-2016

5-kitchen 2-2016

7-kitchen 2-2016


and, here is the PRESENT…

we didn’t change the layout.

we didn’t buy new cabinets.

we kept our appliances.

we didn’t change the lighting.

what did we change?!

i’ll tell you in my next post…stay tuned.

home is…finally revealing our refresh.

{before and after} home is in the kitchen

we moved into our current house eight years ago.

we’ve done a lot of work on our home, but parts of it still need some major updating.

when we moved in, i took photos of all of the rooms in the house. i didn’t write a blog back then, but as an interior designer, i was used to taking “before” photos for client projects.

i knew that this house would be an ever evolving project of my own, so wanted to make sure i had photos.

i have written a post about our backyard using our “before” photos, but i haven’t written about any of the interior spaces with the before photos.

we are in the process of working on some additional updates to the house, so i thought it would be fun to start some “before and after” posts.

so, here it goes…

9-kitchen 2-2008

one of the reasons we bought this house eight years ago was because it wasn’t updated. yes, you read that right. we looked at houses that had been updated, but none of them had been updated the way we liked. and, even bigger than that, none of them had the lot that this house has. you can always change the interior of your home, but you can’t add to the lot it sits on!

8-kitchen 2-2008

the view from the kitchen window has changed a lot over the last eight years!

10-kitchen 2-2008

we updated all the appliances first.

4-kitchen 2-2008

then, i added our mason jar pendant lights.

12-kitchen 2-2008

11-kitchen 2-2008

in 2013, we {i} painted the cabinets…

2-kitchen 2-2008

and, we had laminate flooring installed on our entire first floor.


fast forward to twenty-sixteen…

1-kitchen 2-2016

2-kitchen 2-2016

3-kitchen 2-2016

4-kitchen 2-2016

5-kitchen 2-2016

6-kitchen 2-2016

7-kitchen 2-2016

these photos were taken at approximately the same time of day during february…eight years apart!


after living through the transition over the last eight years, i needed a side by side…

before and after 1

before and after 2

before and after 3

before and after 4

before and after 5

before and after 6

before and after 7

you guys, the majority of the change came from PAINT!

yes, we put in new appliances and floors, but the big change came on the walls and cabinets.

that being said, if i had it to do all over again, i would have gone about the painting differently. three years ago my kids were three and five and home with me most days. i did this all over the summer with them home! so, the paint job is far from professional, but it makes a big difference!

i cannot go into HOW to paint your cabinets…there are a lot of other places to figure that out, but what i can say is if you think it will make a difference in your kitchen {and home}, it will. there is no question about that.

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well, that was a lot of fun. i am excited to visit each of the main rooms in our home {before and after} in the next few weeks!

home is…eight years and a little paint.

the playroom: version 2015

when you enter our home, you basically walk into a big open space that is our staircase, living room, and dining room. this space is definitely where we do a lot of our living, but it is far from formal.

the playroom version 2015

there was a time when i longed for a playroom like the ones in the pottery barn catalog.

eventually, our living room became a designated playroom.

that was 5 years ago, and it’s changed a lot over the last 5 years.

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it’s still the PLAY room, but it is really so much more than that.

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it’s a place to sit, love, and create.

playroom 2.JPG

in the corner, near the front door, i set up a little workstation for myself. it’s a nice place to keep my laptop and be able to have it out of the way of everything else that is going on in the house.

playroom 3.JPG

the craft table is now in a nice open location with plenty of room to move around it and add more seats if needed. it is also where the kids eat their snack and do their homework after school.

playroom 4.JPG

although toys are not spread all over the floor like they used to be when the kids were younger, this is still the place they play…as in video games.

playroom 5.JPG

it is also a space where they snuggle up and read or watch cartoons in the morning.

playroom 9.JPG

our dining room is our only eating space where all four of us can sit together, so it is far from formal.

playroom 10.JPG

the sofa area is so cozy now.

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this space has always been one of my favorite spaces in the house, but i really love this version of the playroom.

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yes, that is the cat litter box underneath the easel. keeping it real, folks!

playroom 1.JPG

soon, i’ll be posting more details of each area with sources.

home is…the ever evolving playroom.

summer 2015: 85/89

yesterday was school supply drop off and the kids finally found out who their teachers will be for the year!

they are so excited about being at the same school together.

i am pretty excited about it, too!

at any rate, yesterday made the end of summer and beginning of school just that more real for me.

back to school 1

so i took down our summer list, and put up a little back to school vignette.

now i feel like i need to have a back to school party for the kids!

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back to school 8

back to school 6

back to school 9

back to school 10

earlier this summer i picked up some signs from the target dollar spot. they look like street signs, but are for the classroom.

back to school 2

i added a vintage flash card {and a couple other vintage cards} with a note on it saying:

back to school 3

back to school 4

{the kids gave their teachers different signs, but i forgot to take photos of them before we went to the school yesterday.}

it was a great way to “break the ice” with new teachers!

the little guy lucked out, and knows his teacher because she taught first grade last year. we are thrilled that she will be his teacher this year.

baby girl has a teacher who is new to the school, but she was so welcoming and friendly i know it will be a good fit.

i am really looking forward to teaching art literature in both classes, and volunteering whenever the teachers may need my help!

back to school 5

before school starts we have a great weekend planned.

a running race for a great cause.

ryan’s birthday.

a holiday weekend…maybe a back to school party…or an outdoor movie?!

and, on the little guy’s first day of school we will also celebrate baby girl’s birthday!

good times.