Welcome to Our New Home!

Since there are so many of my blog friends that I would love to invite over to my house to drink sweet tea, eat (pound cake anyone?), chat, and let our children play together, I thought I would offer this little virtual tour of our space.  We are pretty settled into our new house now.  There are still a few projects in the works, but that is always the case around here.  It is a pretty dreary Friday outside so we are just snuggling up inside and resting today since it has been a pretty crazy week.  So come on in and grab a comfy seat on the couch with us!

The front yard is a bit of a mess from all the rain we've had lately.  It never seems to dry out completely.  Plus, it is mostly weeds.  

Brody would like to welcome you to his home. 

On the way in, you can enjoy the new Spring flowers I planted in my old planters. 

Come on in the front door.  I got a new outdoor rug to match the blue front door. 

The Living Room

Upon entering, you see our living room.  Much better than our last house where you would have immediately seen my kids' lovely play room filled with all their toys. 

Is it acceptable to leave my bunny banner up all year?  You know I love it.  No curtains hung yet.  It is on the to do list eventually. 

Since our television now sits above the fireplace (not sure I actually like that), I used our media cabinet as Mattie's special spot for all her pictures.  We haven't gotten a new family portrait taken yet since Mattox arrived so this is the one when Brody was a baby. 

The opposite wall behind the sofas.  I think I came up with the best option for the sofa layout since the fireplace is set at an angle.  I actually eventually want a sectional sofa, but this actually kind of gives about the same feel with the couches in an L shape.  The arched entrance goes to our bedroom. 

Looking back towards the front door with the little hallway leading to the boys' bedrooms and bathroom.  The entrance wasn't large enough for an entry console table although I did hang my mirror there.  There is a nice sized coat closet with space for our shoe storage.  

I already showed off Evan's and Brody's bedroom, but here is their little bathroom.  They don't take baths/showers in here yet, but they do use it more and brush their teeth in here. 

This little decorative built-in shelf seemed like the perfect spot for my parents' Greek vase that I have always loved.  After all these years, my sweet little Brody decided to knock it off our old brick fireplace hearth (intentionally maybe?) so my husband did his best to glue the pieces back together.  It looks pretty good but is even more fragile now.  So eventually, I need to make a trip to Greece for another one, right?  

The entrance to the kitchen. 

The Kitchen

I actually like the color of the cabinets, but the countertops are nothing special.  We actually put this refrigerator in the garage and put ours in here because this one had some broken shelves. 

Cocoa likes to follow me around and got into this picture.  The door is to the pantry which is a very good size walk-in pantry, and the stairs lead to the kids' playroom.  

There is a large bar that I may eventually get stools for, but it is pretty high so I am not sure if we will really use it for eating. 

The dining area.  I bought a new rug for under the table from Kirkland's because I put the old one in the sun room.  The hard concrete floors with just vinyl tile covering them can get very uncomfortable to walk or stand on so area rugs are necessary. 

Hello, Cocoa!  Another view of the dining area with the archway leading to the back door to the garage.  The laundry room is back there too. 

I love this little gallery wall of some of our favorite portraits, including our family picture with Mattie and Evan's and Brody's baby portraits. 

The archway leading to the playroom beside the archway to the back door. We have hung our hooks for coats and school bags by the back door since taking this picture. 

Up the stairs to the playroom space in the room over the garage.  It has been nice to have all the kids' toys up there out of sight. 

The Playroom 

The view of the room from the stairs.  I think the wall with the window would be a great spot for some built-in shelves on either side with a window seat under the window between them.  That could make this a more teenager and adult friendly room. 

I used the nook on one side of the stairs for the television and video game playing area.  I often come up to find Brody napping in this red chair after he has been watching his shows. 

I put this old desk in here in hopes that eventually we will use the space for our school work.  Evan usually just uses the dining table because I usually have to supervise his work. 

Brody's little kitchen area is on the other side.  I would love to build him a little playhouse for this corner to put his kitchen in.  I am thinking of one made out of pvc pipe and cloth like this one.   The large blue tub holds all their dress up hats (they have a lot), and the drawer container below has more dress up stuff. 

We put both of these little white shelf units up here for extra storage.  That little dinosaur tent takes up way too much space, but they love it.  I would love a more space saving tent over in the corner instead. 

A reading corner.  I think a little tent or canopy over here would be perfect. 

The Sun Room/Office

The sun room area was a nice bonus since we needed a space for our old screened porch furniture.  I didn't want it outside because rain will ruin the cushions.   It also is nice to have our home office desk area in here.  We don't really use the desk for our computers since we keep our laptops in our bedroom, but I like keeping all of the bills and household papers in one place and not in our other living areas. 

I have used the big wall in here to start this little photo wall with some of our favorite portraits of the kids.  I figure I can just go up the wall as we add more.  Mattox will need a row of pictures too.  Not all the black frames match exactly because they were bought at different times, but they are pretty close so I am okay with that until I win the lottery and can afford to buy a ton of matching frames. 

Cocoa's little pen is also in here.  I didn't want to resort to a crate, but while she is in the chewing stage, it is a must when we are out of the house. 

The back door leading to the patio and backyard.  We had to install chain locks up high on the doors because Brody cannot be trusted not to go out whenever he feels like it.  

The Backyard and Patio

I like that the little patio area has a privacy fence.  

We picked this house because it was the best option available in the area with a fence.  It isn't a tall fence though so we worry Cocoa could jump it if she wanted to.  I also had to put a lock on the gate because I think a neighborhood kid let her out one time because I found her just outside the fence, and it didn't seem that she had jumped over it because she likely would have damaged it or hurt herself.  

The yard isn't huge, but it is big enough for the kids to play and for their trampoline.  It too has been a wet mess lately, but there is more grass back here. 

So we hope you enjoyed your visit!