Home Tour Part 1

(of course my wreath fell for this pic)

After about 9 months of building, we finally moved into our home and it has now been about 2 years here.  With each passing month, we are filling this house with memories that will last a lifetime- just as I imagined! (welcoming Rowyn to our family, family dinners, endless pool parties out back, etc.)  This labor of love is finally truly becoming our HOME- in every sense of the word.
My talented design sister, Jessica Marhoefer, had a photographer visit the house to capture a few of the design details, and this house will never be so clean again so thought I better blog it!

PART 1: Main living space-  I wanted an open, airy feel.  A clean, simple design that was classic and timeless.  I added shiplap to a few main walls to prevent toddler finger marks and scuffs.

 I was originally against a tv above the fireplace.  Now having it there... it does make the most sense.  I had to have a gallery wall, because I love displaying family pictures.  The large cabinets on either side of the built-ins are great for toy storage.

Butler's Pantry that leads into the formal dining room.  Many homes now don't have formal dining spaces.  I really wanted one- I had the idea of having family dinners and holidays spent there.  I will say in nearly 2 years this table has not been sat at yet... soooo I might rethink that if I were to ever do this building thing again.  But I sure do love the pretty wallpaper in there- still need curtains.

 That is just a little peak at the main living space of our home.  The first floor also has a mudroom, play room, my husband's office and my office- I'll share those next!

If you have any questions on the source of anything you see- just ask, I'd be happy guide you in the right direction.

As I finish posting these pictures and look around, I realize I need to CLEAN!!!

My Little Gal's Kitchen

I knew I wanted to get Emersyn a kitchen for Christmas this year!  She loves playing with the toy food at my mom's house, so I knew she would just pretend play with a kitchen for hours.  I began my hunt for a kitchen that I liked and that would look nice in our house.  I wanted the kitchen to stay in our actual kitchen.  My plan was for Eme to be on her play kitchen as I attempted making a real meal each night.  With that in mind, I wanted something that was decorated in a kid friendly way but also looked nice.  I didn't want plastic and most of the colors I came across were not pleasing to our home or style.  So I started thinking about the possibility of making one.  Although pinterest had loads of great ideas, i quickly realized making one was going to be more than I could handle right now.  So I finally settled on buying one and possibly doing some of my own DIY touches.

I purchased a similar kitchen to this one at Costco for $100.  (no longer listed on their website)

Needless to say this color scheme was not going to work for me!  Here is a picture I snapped of the outside of the box.

The first step was to select what paint colors I wanted the kitchen to actually be.  I tested a few free samples that I had- so that I didn't have to spend extra money on paint supplies.  

I decided to go with the gray shade and the mint color.  Both of these were calm colors that would blend in with our house decor nicely.

 Before I could paint anything, I had to use a spray paint primer on all of the surfaces that were going to get covered with paint.  That was almost everything!!  So I set up shop in the garage and it took about 3-4 cans of white primer spray paint to cover all colored surfaces.

After letting that dry completely, I brought the pieces into the house to roll with paint. (tip-paint dries better in warmer temps).  I simply spread out a huge paint rug and rolled each panel three or four times- just to be on the safe side!
Even pieces that had details on them- I went ahead and painted over all of it, knowing I would change them at the end.

 All of the handles and hardware got a gold spray painted finish.

 The backsplash was originally a multicolored tile look, I just painted over that with a chalkboard paint.

After literally an entire morning of assembling this bad boy, it was complete!!!

Christmas morning Emersyn went straight to the kitchen and got very excited!! We asked if she wanted to open other presents and she replied 'no'  She has been loving this kitchen!!

Her excited face lights up my heart!  Hopefully this kitchen will bring her many happy cooking moments!