After my
HOME post earlier in the week I've had a lot of you ask to see more of the house. My first instinct (And in fact, the response most of you got) was to say "If you want to see it you are welcome to come for a visit." But since Blanding is out of the way for
some of you almost everyone in the whole world, I figured the likelihood of that happening was slim. And I love this beautiful house, and I want to share it... So here's a tour... (Note:if you are not interested in the house, you should skip this post because there are a LOT of pictures and details you just won't care about) Please keep a few things in mind:
One, while I do have a talent for taking pictures, I do not have a talent for photographing rooms. The pictures aren't good, I just couldn't get it down. So you'll have to trust me when I tell you how much more beautiful it looks in real life. And if you don't trust me, or don't think the pictures do it justice, the offer for you to visit is still open.
Two, don't judge. While obviously I picked up the clutter before I "invited you in" it isn't perfect, we actually live here.
Three, it isn't decorated exactly how I want it, but that's a work in progress, so if you have suggestions, I'm all ears.
This is the front of the house. Theres a cute little porch out front with a big built in shelf that's perfect for planters and seasonal decor'. There's a big delicious apple tree in the front yard that has the best apples I've ever tasted. The first night we stayed here, we hadn't moved most of our stuff yet, and we didn't have a lot of food, so we went outside and picked some apples from the tree. It was late at night, and the temperature had dropped, so they were ice cold, and so juicy they dripped down our chins. It was pure heaven. The really funny thing is that as I've talked to random people throughout the course of living in this small town EVERYBODY confesses to having stolen apples from that very tree at some point in their lives. It has a reputation. I like living in a house with a reputation.
(As long as it's a good one, not like, a red light district reputation...) And don't mind how not pretty it looks right now, it's winter, and everything looks dead, it's beautiful in the summer time.
So welcome to our happy home! This is the view from the front door. (And yes, that's Ethan scrubbing the mud room floor on his hands and knees that you see in the background - because we do it Cinderella style around here) The whole house has those darling arch ways all over. I love the character of old houses, and this one is no exception. I didn't choose the paint color. The owners had thier son, a professional painter, repaint right before we moved in, and I didn't have a say on this one, but they did such a good job I don't want to paint over it just yet. And I worried I would hate it, but after living here, I kind of like it...
This is a little nook built into the wall. Again with the darling character of this place. I decided an antique phone just belonged there. I don't know why, but it just fits.
From the foyer if you turn left you look into the living room/ dining room. The floors are all gorgeous hardwood or tile throughout the house, not a stitch of carpet anywhere. I didn't know how I'd like it, but after living here for a few months I have to tell you I LOVE IT! Not only does it look beautiful, but it's easy to clean and you never worry about muddy footprints or spilled juice. You just wipe it up and you're good to go. (Which is what Ethan is doing in the foyer picture... he'd been digging in the garden and tracked mud in...) I also like the feel it gives the house, and I'm a sucker for a good rug.
From the foyer if you turn left you see Ethan's room. It was actually an office, and he has a nice big room downstairs just waiting until he's mature enough to live in it without causing havoc all over the place. (Did I ever tell you the story of the time he smashed Tide Pods all over the laundry room?...) He's not to that point yet, so until then he's stuck up here and my office is currently taking up space in the mud room.
The room is all wood panelling, but the pretty kind, not the crazy 70's kind. And it has these amazing built ins all over. Its actually decorated in vintage cars. It's really cute if you stop by, you'll love it.
After leaving Ethan's room if you take the next right you come to the hall that leads to Adia and my rooms. Here's Adia's room first. It's decorated in pink and zebra stripes, not exactly what I would have chosen, but she loves it, and really it isn't so bad...
It's a nice big room with lots of windows and a fancy remote controlled ceiling fan, which is a highlight to her.
This is the view as you leave her room. The hallway is painted dark blue with big white shelves. Again I didn't pick the color, but it's grown on me now.
This is my room. I stuck with the white, red and blue color palate but it's still pretty plain jane. You can't tell from the picture, but there's actually a lot of space near that window, and I have my eye out for the perfect comfy blue chair and side table so I can curl up and read.
In my opinion, my room is the best. There are HUGE beautiful windows with deep window sills, on two walls. It's light and bright and that gives it a fresh, clean, happy feeling all the time - perfect for a new beginning.
This is the view of the bathroom as you leave my room. (The blue wall is to the left, you just can't see it. On the right, you can barely see some built in cupboards. The whole wall is covered with them. I wish I got a picture of it, it's one of my favorite parts of the house.
This is the main bathroom. Again, the pictures don't do it justice. It's done in a silver/grey/black color palate that is just so elegant. I got so lucky with this house, the owners did a lot of upgrades, that are EXACTLY my style. The light fixtures and little details all throughout the house are exactly what I would have picked if I had chosen them myself. Everything is classy and warm and elegant. I just love it all.
Another shot of the bathroom, because I know you desperately wanted to see our toilet, right? We have another half bathroom upstairs that is decorated in warm dark woods and tarnished copper fixtures. I love it too, but I totally forgot to take a picture of it. Oh, well, you'll just have to imagine it... or come for that visit we've been talking about.
So back to the living room. Two walls are made up entirely of windows, and it lets the light in nearly all day long. It always feels bright and warm and homey in this room.
And this is the dining room. This is a terrible picture, but the chandelier matches my table perfectly - just as if I had planned it that way!
Here's the kitchen. It has TONS of counter space and cupboards galore! In fact, a lot of them are empty because I just don't have enough stuff to fill them. The counters are granite and marble tiles, which I wasn't sure about at first, but I actually love now. It isn't a glamorous kitchen but it has some nice features like a glass cooktop, a super deep sink, track lighting under the cupboards and a great layout.
This is it from the other angle heading into the...
... Pantry area. There's a nice big pantry in this room, just off the kitchen... but for some odd reason I didn't even take a picture of it. Oh, well, you probably didn't want to see our breakfast cereal or canned goods anyway, did you? This room doubles as my craft room. I put a table in the corner and all my craft supplies, sewing machine, millions of cans of spray pain, etc go in those HUGE, DEEP built in cupboards. Then when I'm done I can put it all back in, close the door, and everything is neat and tidy. From here you can also see the door straight ahead that leads to the bathroom I mentioned before, but won't be showing you. And that little half wall there is actually the staircase that leads to the basement.
Here is the family room. It's basic, but nice to have a place to cuddle up and watch movies together, or to send the kids when I want to visit with grown ups upstairs. The windows are small, but there are a lot of them, and it doesn't seem dark and gloomy like a basement sometimes can.
Just off of the family room is another bathroom. Ethan has claimed it as his, which is fine with Adia who thinks sharing a bathroom with an almost teenage boy is "gross and smelly".
This is the playroom, which we haven't really done much with.
And a super nice food storage room which I've filled up with a little food storage, and a lot of books and craft supplies - hey, it's my house, I can hoard what I want to!
This is the laundry room. It has a super nice utility sink and a table with shelves that I use for folding. Don't mind the mess, you caught us on laundry day. This is the room that Ethan chose to smash the entire bulk package of Tide PODS all over the walls and floor. The entire room was blue... and it's not a small room. It was the devil to clean, I'll tell you!
Back upstairs there is a nice big mud room that leads outside on the left and to the garage on the right. I use the room for my office until Ethan gets moved down stairs (see above) I didn't choose this paint color either. It's yellow, and generally I don't like yellow at all. But this is the perfect color of yellow, and it reminds me of sunshine- if sunshine was a dessert... you have to see it to understand. But it's a mess today, so we aren't going to linger here.
Out the back door is a super nice deck with a built in spot for our grill, and plenty of room for (someday) a nice bench to sit on and visit while you cook out.
There's a huge yard with plenty of room to run and play with lots of fruit trees all over the place.
And beyond the yard is a nice big lot that they call the garden. Just so you know, that is NOT going to be the size of my garden! I do plan on planting one though, with lots of melon because it's warm enough to grow them down here, and if you can grow melon why on earth wouldn't you? The lot also has a nice big cement pad that was built for an RV, but works really nice as a basketball court as well. It also has a huge strawberry patch, raspberries, blackberries, and grapes.
And this really cool old shed that they fixed up inside to make it really nice, but it still has the cool old look on the outside. (this picture was taken in the summer, hence the green trees in the back ground.
This is a nice little covered patio just off the dining room. There's a big sliding glass door that leads outside, and it's beautiful to sit out there in the evenings and watch the spectacular sunsets. (Though it's a little nippy to be doing that lately)
The back side of the house
And this is the other side of the house with the big two car garage. It is built extra long so there's enough space for counters and shelves to make a nice little workshop and still park cars in it. I can't wait to get started on my power tool collection!
And that's it. I just really love this little place. I've always dreamed of owning an old house with tons of character, beautiful hard wood floors, and maybe a ghost. And now my dream has come true! I love the little details all over. I love that there is not another house just like it anywhere in the world. I love the fun and interesting stories the old owner (nephew of the people who built it) told us about construction, and the family, and the sacrifice they made to build it. I love the feel it has inside, safe and sturdy; a true haven. I love that we think Uncle Bernard, who built the house, occasionally still visits here. He sometimes clomps around downstairs, and turns the lights on when no one is standing next to the switch. And occasionally we smell his manly cologne, and when my niece Kalista (who has a gift for these things ) came to visit at Thanksgiving she was talking to someone, and I think it was him. I love that about this place too, like he's here to protect us and watch out for us... true or imaginary, it makes me happy to think of the possibilities. :)
So there's the tour. Thanks for "visiting". If you're ever in the area please stop by for real, I love having guests!
