House Updates from 2015

 When we first moved into our house, the front room looked like these two pictures--light beigeish walls. 

Now that room looks like this:

 We have the artwork and furniture picked out but we have to save up for it.  This room is going to be gorgeous with all the finishing touches. In the meantime, it is still one of my favorite places in the house.  The color is perfection and the light coming through the big front window makes everything glow.  Plus, you'll often find someone playing the piano or guitar in there, and that adds a charm all its own.

The hallway currently:

 I'm posting about the hallway because it is our current project.  If you look closely you can see the white stuff on the west facing wall.  That is there because Timothy moved the light switch for me from the west wall to the north wall.  I wanted room to hang a picture.  The light switch is all done but he's still patching the hole from the switch's original location.

 If you look at the ceiling you'll notice that Timothy removed the old swamp cooler thingy because the house has air conditioning.  I didn't want the old swamp cooler thing to stay there collecting dust so Timothy took it out and is patching the ceiling to make it look nice.

 I don't know if you can tell but the wall color in the hallway is a grungy yellowish-beige.  Me no likey.  We're painting it. We're also painting the cupboards.  It is going to be awesome.

You can look through into the dining room and my gallery wall.

Dining room then:

 Emeline's hair was so short almost two years ago!  You can see past her into the dining room.  It had the same yellowish beige color.  I didn't actually hate the color like I hated the original color of our old house.  It was fine . . . just not my style.

 The curtains weren't really my style either.  The plant was going strong though!  Don't look at it now, Kami, I'm working on restoring it to its usual health.  (Kami gave me that plant years ago.  I love it.)

Dining Room Now:

 Kami calls this the grown up view of the room.  If you look into the dining room from the hallway/kitchen you see one of my favorite Brian Kershisnik paintings and my plant (it fell, okay--it's coming back) and my white IKEA curtains.

 The walls are Brilliant White from the Ralph Lauren line at Home Depot.

 If you look in the room from the library you see the mural Timothy painted for me.  He free-handed it and I love it so, so, so, so much.  You also see the Ikea curtains.  I was advised by many not to do white curtains next to a white wall, and if my room didn't have an amazing mural I might agree.  As it is, I didn't want to draw attention away from the mural.  I have since discovered that when we have to close the windows that the light shines through the curtains creating a lovely little glow.  I am wholeheartedly a convert to white curtains because of the sun glow.  Keep in mind that early afternoon is my favorite time of day--the time of day that often necessitates the closing of curtains.

Across from the window is the mural wall.  I'm kicking myself for not hanging back up the other picture that goes by the Fiddler picture.  Clover knocked it down and I haven't put it back up yet.  I'll take more pictures of the gallery wall when it is entirely finished.  We love what we have, but we want to put up a genealogy chart and a picture that Timothy drew of his grandpa.  Plus, we're trying to grow a succulent garden to hang up underneath where the yellow dot planter is hanging--so there is still a gap there.  Overall, though, you get the idea.  I love it SO, SO, SO, SO much.  It is much better in person.

 Cowen's art plus Miriam's giraffe and crocodile.

 Harriet's portrait of me.

 Kami embroidered the Such Fun for me.  A little nod to Miranda.  It makes me smile.

 Emeline's dog.

Miriam and Eli art.

 Who doesn't want a mountie on their wall??  That picture shipped from Turkey.  As Dad said, "We live in a strange world."

A better view of Timothy's mural.  You can see the sun coming through the curtains-although the sun was going down in this picture.  I meant to take all these pictures in the afternoon, but time got away from me.

I should really document all the progress of the year.  We painted all the children's rooms, we put together Clover's nursery, and we fixed a bunch of more critical but less fun things.  I don't remember what all we did the first year versus the second year (we'll have lived here two years in May), but you get the idea.  This year is about the hallway, knocking down a wall, taking out cupboards, and recessed lighting.  Oh--and having a baby.  :)