Our kitchen is not completely done, but it is so close and finally functional! I'm excited to share all the details with you! When we bought the house, the kitchen was so dark and tiny that I knew it needed to be opened up and given light finishes to brighten the space up. Besides, I have a thing for clean, simple, classic kitchens. Layout wise, we relocated the sink to under the window and moved the dishwasher and refrigerator to the left of it. I am so happy that we had space for an island to add more work surface, along with extra storage and a trash and recycling drawer (I seriously love this feature). We also added new recessed LEDs for overhead light and pendants over the island.

Cabinets - Fabuwood Galaxy in Frost
Countertops - Silestone Quartz Lyra (I couldn't believe it when I found this $20 off a square foot at Lowe's!)
Sink - Free with countertops!
Wall paint - Sherwin Williams Repose Gray
Cabinet Pulls - Flat Black Cabinet Hardware Euro Style Bar Handle Pull
Pendant Lights - Linea di Liara Andante Industrial Factory Pendant Lamp
Faucet - Krause Mateo Single Level Pull Down Faucet
Appliances - All Samsung
Flooring - Pergo XP Southern Grey Oak
Succulent Planter - Homegoods
Bar stools - Zulily - (Is anyone interested in these? The counter at our apartment was taller so I'm looking to sell them and buy some lower counter stools.)
Close up of the dreamy countertops!
Excuse the fact that we haven't put pulls on all the drawers yet! The screws that came with our pulls are too short for the drawers so we had to get some longer ones.
Utensil Crock - Burlington Coat Factory (similar linked here)
Wood Paddle Board - Home Goods (similar linked here)
Candle - Bath & Body Works Vanilla Snowflake (so yummy!)


Wood Cake Stand - World Market (we used this stand for our wedding cake!)
Candle Holder - Target
Succulent - TJMaxx
(oh, and there's my little avocado waiting to ripen up!) #avocadoaddict


Turkish Dish Towel - Homegoods (You are just going to have to go to Homegoods to get these exact towels! They came in a pack of 2 for $6 and I can't believe how amazing the quality is!)
Hand Soap - Bath & Body Works Kitchen Lemon (yup, perfect for the kitchen)

I'm really looking forward to getting a backsplash up, but we have to wait until we put the window trim up, which we have to wait to put up until we replace all the windows! But, that means I have lots of time to find the perfect tile - I'm thinking something simple but a little playful.

Hope you enjoyed all the details of our kitchen!

There has been a little blood, a lot of sweat, and a few tears, but our house is livable and we are officially moved in! The past two months have been an absolute whirlwind. When we look at before and after pictures we don't even understand how it happened! A big thanks to all our friends and family who have helped us out!

There's still lots to be done before the main floor is finished (like doors, baseboard trim, closets, & new windows) so here are some before pictures compared to how things are looking now.

The Kitchen

Before

After
We are currently living without a kitchen sink or working dishwasher, but our countertops are scheduled to be installed next Tuesday and that day seriously can't come fast enough. I'm excited to put up the pendants that I just got - love them! At some point, we will install a backsplash, but probably not until we replace the windows and put new trim up.

Living Room
Before

After
Ahhh, this is finally a space that is perfect to hang out in! We decided to put up a new half wall, but still have to replace the handrail down the stairs when we redo that area.
Bathroom
Before

After
I love a bright, clean bathroom! We added a dark grey vanity to contrast with the light tile and paint and are using a few different metal finishes for some interest. It's going to be a battle of who gets to soak in the tub first!
Bedrooms
Before

After


Goodbye to disgusting stained carpet and walls! The bedrooms are currently a sea of boxes, but we will soon have space for guests and a little music room/office.

Until next time - you know where to find us chugging away at projects!

Things are moving along and we are finally getting to some of the fun stuff! Move-in is less than 3 weeks away! We are installing flooring, finishing up the bathroom, and cabinets are coming next weekend.

What a difference a fresh coat of paint makes!

We installed 4 x 8 subway tile surrounding the tub.

For the floor, we did a wood-look plank tile.

Here's a close up of the grouted tile. I'm in love with the subtle woodgrain!

After looking at all the wood floor options possible, we decided on laminate flooring for all throughout the main floor. We just finished installing it in all the bedrooms. Martin did a great job installing it!

It's going to be a super busy next couple weeks wrapping things up for move in! We are excited to move in but not too excited about finding time to pack and move! Stay tuned for the next update!

Here's a quick update as we are finally seeing some major progress on the house after this weekend, but things definitely continued to get worse before they got better. Electrical has been a much bigger project than expected, but is wrapping up so now we are closing up walls and starting to finish the drywall, which is very exciting!

All the drywall torn out of the kitchen and bathroom was a scary sight!


The completely gutted bathroom!


We built a wall back up between the two bedrooms where previous owners had taken a wall out.

We installed a new deep tub and plumbing and we are almost ready to prep for tile!


What a huge difference drywall makes in the kitchen!


My sisters came into town for the weekend and were a huge help! Since all the walls and ceilings are smoked stained, we have to clean and Kilz the whole house. Thanks to my sisters, we were able to Kilz 3 bedrooms in one day!


The rooms feel so different with the drywall on the new wall!


Starting to finish the drywall!


Until next time!

Between working on the new house and preparing to move out of our apartment, I sure am having a hard time justifying decorating for Christmas this year. So instead I put together a few things I'm loving from this year's Christmas collections. Click the links below to go right to the item. Next Christmas, be ready. I'm going all out. Enjoy!

one / two / three / four / five / six / seven / eight / nine / ten / eleven / twelve / thirteen / fourteen / fifteen