6 months in

 we have been in our house for a little over six months now so i thought i would do an update on how it is looking and all that.  we purchased the house and moved in when baby z was a few weeks old which was super hectic and crazy.  i naively thought that my newborn would sleep a lot and i would have plenty of time to whip the house into shape and work on the updates i had floating around in my head.  haha. reality hit and i really only had minutes per day to do anything extra for the house, and hubby and i had to work on a tag team parenting schedule on the weekends in order for me to have time to work on my projects.  so let's take a look at where we are now:

this is the entrance before we bought the house:

 and this is what it looks like now:

i still want to paint this whole area, including the door, and update the chandelier or get a new one

i added some pictures but i want to add some more.  i'd like to repaint the handrail and balusters, too.

front living room before:

and now:

an improvement, wouldn't you say?  but really, the previous owners used it as a formal living room, but it wouldn't be the best use of space for us if we did the same, so we are thinking of doing something like a library/office/play area down the road after we save up our pennies.  i also want to paint this room and retile the fireplace

kitchen before:

and this is what it looks like right now:

the only thing we've done in the kitchen is remove the valance above the sink window.  we plan on doing some major updates to the kitchen a few years down the road (assuming we are still in this house then) but in the meantime as a phase 1 update we will remove the wallpaper and wallpaper border, re-paint, paint the cabinets and update the hardware, do something with the floor, and figure out what to do with the nook area and i'd like to make a faux roman shade to go over the sink window, oh and replace the boob light in the nook area with something more my style

dining room before:

 and now:

i really haven't done much in this room either but i'd like to paint, maybe add some wainscoting/board and batten around the lower part of the walls, update the chandelier, get a bigger table and some nice cushy chairs, add a sideboard/buffet, add some art on the walls, make a roman shade for the window.  eventually we would like to open up the wall, since this room is right off the kitchen, to make a nice open layout.

living room before:

and now:

in this room i have removed the vertical blinds and added curtains, and bought those blue chairs, and hung a few pictures but that is pretty much it.  i still want to paint, possibly replace the curtains to something more fun and patterned, i would love to have an overhead light installed, add a mantle to the fireplace and retile, add art and pictures to the walls and figure out the best option for the entertainment/tv situation.  we are thinking about replacing the very old and drafty slider with some french doors that open onto the deck.

laundry room before:

and now:

i can't wait to update this space, i want to paint (stripes!), do something with the floor (new peel and stick? paint the existing linoleum? tile?), make a roman shade, make shelves, paint the cabinet, make a nicer area for hanging clothes, replace the ucky utility sink, add a cool light fixture, replace the washer and dryer

half bath before:

and now that it's almost done being updated:

i just have a few small things to do before this space is finally finished, hopefully soon!

here is the closet that we made into our pantry, just off the kitchen, before:

and after:

guest room before:

and currently:

in this room i've just added furniture and hung curtains, but i want to re-paint, add something above the bed (shelves? art and pictures?  empty frames? more mirrors?), add a shelf on the window wall, trick out the full length mirror, add some cool pillows, and hang more art on the walls

guest bathroom before:

guest bathroom now:

i haven't done anything in here besides hanging a shower curtain.  we plan on remodeling this bathroom as well so we will rip out the floors and the fiberglass bathtub so we can tile the floors, the bathtub area and install a real bath tub.  at this point we are thinking that we will keep the vanity but replace the counter (with white corian maybe?), paint the cabinets and replace the hardware.  oh, and since the walls are 1987 peach, i will be re-painting them.  and we will likely replace the skylight with a newer more energy efficient one.

master bedroom before:

and this is where we are now:

don't mind the mess, it's a lived-in room.  but really all i've done here is remove the vertical blinds and add curtains, and add the gallery wall above the bed.  i plan to repaint and add some more pics/art to the walls.  i would also really like to have a  ceiling light fixture installed (none of the bedrooms have ceiling lights) and get a gorgeous rug in here.  also, after baby z has been transitioned to his crib in his room i would like to have a bench or something at the end of the bed.

master bathroom before:

here is the amazing transformation after:

nothing has been done in this area at all.  we plan on ripping up the carpet and replacing it with tile, painting the vanity and replacing the counter and hardware, framing out the mirror and adding new lighting, doing something with the medicine cabinet (recessed shelving?  a nicer looking medicine cabinet?  floating shelves?) oh and i can't wait to tear out that stupid hotel style wall mounted hair dryer on the wall!

this is the master walk in closet before:

and after:

this was the first thing we did in the house, we painted, added a new chandelier, and some organizing paraphernalia

i don't have a before picture of the master bath/shower area but this is what it looks like now:

we tore out the moldy shower door and replaced it with a shower curtain, but we plan on ripping up the floors and removing this shower insert and tiling everything!  and repainting and replacing the light fixture.

bedroom we turned into baby z's nursery, i don't have before pics but just imagine it the same but empty:

i've done a little bit in this room, furniture and adding shelves on the wall and some pictures but i still want to paint, add a ceiling light fixture, re-do the gallery wall above the crib, hang some paper lanterns, re-org the closet and hang some curtains.

here is the office now, no before pics but use your imagination again:

i haven't done anything in here except hang the map and add the shelf above the desk but i plan to repaint, add curtains, add more art and swankify it up some more.  this room will be an office for the time being, but will serve as a kids bedroom when we have the next one.

there aren't any before pics of these areas because they really haven't changed, but:

the landing area that is outside of the 3 bedrooms, i just threw down that rug but this area will get repainted and that closet will get painted and organized

this is the hallway to the guest bath and the master bedroom, i plan to paint and add something to the wall (huge piece of art?  gallery wall?  mixed media?)

here are some pics of the backyard when we bought the house:

and now, sorry the pics are a little distorted because i took them from inside because it was waaaay to cold to go outside:

we cut down the huge cedar that was hulking over the deck and part of the roof and hubby has been pulling up the ivy and crazy wild bushes.  it looks a little bare now but we plan to make some raised beds for a veggie garden, a stone pathway and some pretty flowering plants and bushes.  recently hubs planted some rosebushes around the border near the deck.  we got big plans back here!

we need to re-seed the yard in a little bit, it's taken a beating this winter

we also plan on re-painting the deck and adding some nice patio furniture and making it look pretty and inviting

so as you can see we still have a loooong way to go, but i am learning a lot about how to decorate a space, and my style.  and i am now feeling good about letting ideas marinate for a bit in my head or on a mood board or pinterest before jumping into planning the space.  i am learning that it is better to live in the place for a little while to figure out how we use it and what we really want in order to have a better idea of how it should function and be designed.  how about y'all?  what are your experiences with making a new place your home?