Many of you know, that Tyler and I purchased a new home in February of this year. Now that we have had some time to "make it our own", I wanted to do a house tour!
Our currrent house is only a little bigger than our previous one, but is in a beautiful, and conveniently located neighborhood. The housing market has become so unaffordable, that we almost doubled our mortgage payement, for only a slightly better home. I am still dreaming of having a character-filled older/classic/traditional two-story home (with a finished basement), but until then, I will do my best to make this house works for us.
The key to making a smaller home work for a larger family, is to only have items that actually have a purpose. Keep only the things you need and use, and don't go overboard decorating. Having loads of wall decor and knickknacks, can definately make a smaller home look and feel cluttered! I have taken a minimalist approach to my home, and it feels so much more peaceful and cozy!
The Living Room
Let's start with the living room, which is the largest room in the house. Here is the view of the front door area. This room was already set up with the TV mount on this wall, so we arranged our furniture around it.
Here is the view when you first walk in:
Because our kitchen is small, and our living room so large, I decided to make a dining area in the back left corner. I love this older, wooden table, and wanted to make it work!
There used to be a built in table on this wall, and no doors, so we removed the built in, repaired the drywall, and added doors, then painted the wall and doors to match the rest of the room. We love having the option to "close off" the room from the rest of the house.
With the doors open, it creates a more "open concept" look and feel, and flows through to the kitchen.
Here is the view from the other side!
A few of my favorite areas:
Our kitchen is long and narrow. These are the original cabinets, painted white, and are in incredibly great shape! I love when homes have well maintained original features! The door leads to our side deck and back yard.
I love how many windows there are! Look closely, you will see our sweet little black pug sleeping in his bed! We keep his crate in here, because it's where it's easiest to bring him in and out.
When we purchased this home, there was an ugly, old, rusted and yellowed range hood here. We had an outlet and a low profile over the range microwave installed, which also free'd up counter space. Our washer and dryer area is open, so I added curtains to hide it if I wish.
The Bathrooms
Our previous home only had one bathroom, which was super stressful to share among five people! This home has that extra half bath, we so desperately needed! Both bathrooms are smaller than I'd like, but I am grateful to have two of them! The main bath has been totally remodeled.
And the en suite half-bath:
I added these cute little corner sheves to add some more storage. I keep my (minimal) skincare and makeup products on them for easy access!
The Bedrooms
Here is the master bedroom. We painted everything in this room, the walls, baseboards, and doors. I love the cozy light beige! We have packed quite a bit in here, including a king sized bed, two dressers, and a computer desk!
I love having my own bathroom (no boys allowed!), and having a walk-in closet is convenient as well!
My youngest two boys share a bedroom. Their bedroom is the same size as the master bedroom, so they have a decent amount of space. The floors are vinyl wood, but I added area rugs to protect them from these crazy boys!
My oldest has the smallest bedroom, but it's still bigger than his previous room, and he is happy with it!
That pretty much sums up the house tour! The back yard, while thankfully privacy fenced, is still a work in progress! While it is plumbed and wired for a hot tub, we still have not gotten one (not sure we ever will!). I want to also note, that our previous home only had a one car garage, and this one has an oversized two car garage, which we definitely need now that our teenage son has added a third car to the family! Some other touches we appreciate: Newer metal roof, water softener, reverse osmosis water filtration (in the kitchen), tankless water heater, and pantry. All things our previous home did not have.
Although this is not our "dream home" by any means, it is an upgrade from our previous home! It's a lovely home, and will work for us until we can find our true "forever home". I hope this inspires other large families, that are "living small", that by taking a minimilist approach to your home, it can look and feel bigger!