PROJECT HOME: PEEKS AT OUR NEW HOME

It's hard to believe that 15 days ago we signed the papers and became homeowners. This was an unexpected journey we didn't plan to take for another 2-3 years. We were happily renting a condo from a previous co-worker and felt like it was something we could start a family in. We planned to wait, save, and give ourselves time before jumping into the home buying adventure. Little did we know that at the beginning of July everything would change! I can't really say for sure "why" we decided to move. Some of it had to do with getting pregnant, some of it had to do with being tired of renting and pouring money into something that wasn't ours, but most of it was the fact that we felt extremely lead in our gut to move. It's hard to deny that it was a God thing because as soon as we made the decision, our finances and all the right people came together within a week. We started looking at homes in mid-July and signed the papers for the one we fell in love with just a little over a month later.

Before we even started looking at homes we made a "must-have" list and a "wish-list" for what we would like to find. Check out that post here. It's amazing to look back on that list and realize that the home we now call ours fits perfectly within those desires. There was just something about this place that came alive for Jon and me. We saw ourselves growing a family here. We saw our kids waiting at the big window for daddy to come home, playing in the driveway, running down the stairs Christmas morning, learning how to ride their bikes. We saw our love and our family growing in this place. It had us the first time we saw pictures online and especially when we saw it the first time in person.

What I love about this space is that it needs some love. It's older, has great bones and good character, but just needed a family with vision and care to make it come alive again. We have so many exciting plans for this place. It's so thrilling to walk into the different rooms that desperately need paint and updates and visualize how beautiful it will look. We've put a lot of work into it so far and have a massive list of projects we hope to get done before Little Wallace comes in February. It's been so fun working alongside my husband to make this place our home. :)

Photos: 1// Front of our house. Can't wait to paint it and make some updates! 2// The "den", one of my favorite rooms in the house. I love the fireplace and beautiful windows. This place gets a little toasty during the day but will be perfect during the winter. 3// Dining room. 4// Kitchen. Love the footprint of this space. We're planning on making some major updates to the kitchen but are really happy with the overall structure of the space. 5// Living room with a view into the entryway. Right now this is serving as our box and decor storage room. So love those wood stairs! 6// The sunroom! Also known as the empty box, cleaning supply and tool room for now! 7// Upstairs guest bathroom. Love the layout not crazy about the green, purple, and gold everywhere. Makeover has been planned! 8// Master bedroom, with a peek at our master bath. After painting this room white, cleaning it, and updating the door knobs, we are loving this room. Currently we only have a bed and boxes of clothes in this space. Planning to fully furnish soon. :)

THINGS WE LOVE
* We love the neighborhood. All of the homes are so unique and spread out. It feels like we have just enough privacy. The neighborhood feels safe and is kept up nicely.
* It might sound weird to some, but we are so stoked about the drive-way. We really wanted a place that could accommodate a large crowd of people on a regular basis. We love having people over for get-togethers, bible studies etc., and wanted plenty of parking options.
* The space! This home has plenty of room for us to grow into. There are 5 bedrooms upstairs, 3.5 bathrooms, and a finished basement. We have a lot of exciting plans for each of the rooms and love that it will grow with us over time. I also love that the space has a good flow to it, some of the other older homes we looked at were very choppy in their layouts.
* Lighting. It was really important to me to find a place with great lighting. I love all of the windows in this space.
* Proximity was a huge factor for us, too. We very much wanted to move closer to our families but still be a good distance from Jon's work. We also didn't want to live in the city. We were looking for something more laid back and family friendly.

THINGS WE CAN'T WAIT TO CHANGE
* Bring on the paint! We were able to paint the entire basement and master bedroom before moving in, but plan to paint every room and lots of wood trim in the near future.
* Speaking of minor updates, we plan to change all outlet plates, door knobs, and lighting throughout the house. We've got a huge variety of outlet colors going on, all of the door knobs are original to the house when it was built in '71 and don't work properly and most of the lighting is mixed-matched and pretty unattractive.
* The exterior! This will be one of my favorite projects. We have big plans to re-paint the entire exterior of the house. We know exactly what colors we want and cannot wait!
* We have a lot of minor and a few major renovation updates we want to make throughout the house. More details on our plans to come.

I seriously can't wait to share this journey with you! My next project home post will feature the floor plan of our home so you can get a better visual of what we're working with and how we plan to utilize the space.