The first month

Welcome back!  Now that you have an idea of what our home looks like, I think it's time to show you some projects!  Are you in?!

I want to start out by telling you that a lot of what we have done to the inside of the house has been undoing mistakes and fixing things that have become outdated or just worn. 

We were lucky enough to be able to have a month between the end of the lease in the condo that we were renting and the closing on the house.  So we had ONE WHOLE MONTH to prep the house and do various projects.

Project #1:

Rip out the laminate floor in the living room and replace with new carpet.  Now, I'm sure you're saying to yourself, "That floor looks nice!".  But, the reality is that it really wasn't.  The Realtor did a great job with her photos.  Actually looking at the floor in person revealed bubbles and a laminate that wasn't installed properly.  Plus, Kevin and I both agreed it was just too much wood.  We needed some carpet to warm it up and make the living room oh, so cozy! 

Project #2:

Take a look at that photo again, because project #2 also involved the living room.  Kind of an all for one project.  Remember my advice to keep your eye on the fire wood holder?  Yep, rip that out too.  It really made the space awkward and although having somewhere to keep your firewood is necessary, that little contraption was NOT necessary. 

Ta duh!  Gone.

Another view

Project #3: 

More and more and more tearing things out!  We also decided to replace the carpet going up the stairs, in the hallway on the second floor and in the master bedroom.  Isn't it always nice to have new carpet?!  Speaking of new carpet, picking out carpet was something that I was completely unprepared to do.  I went into the carpet store very unsure of what color I wanted and how much it would cost!  Anyone who knows me knows that I'm pretty organized.  I would say that I'm Borderline Type A. So, you had better believe that I attempted to research carpet costs and all that lovely, fun adult stuff.  I really had a tough time finding accurate numbers since it all depends on where you shop!  Back to the carpet store...I was overwhelmed.  It felt like I just said, yes to whatever samples the guy suggested.  But, I went back to the condo with the samples and stewed.  I originally was thinking some kind of sandy or mixed color carpet to hide dirt.  Kevin kept pushing a WHITE carpet...WHAT?!  WHITE carpet is found in sitting rooms of wealthy folks...not my house!  The more I looked at the samples (inside the condo and outside the condo and inside the condo again) the more I kept leaning toward WHITE!  Was I crazy?  I took the samples back to the store and asked for "Pearl".  Here goes nothing, I thought. 

The carpet was chosen.  Now onto ripping out the old, ugly carpet.  I have to tell you that ripping out old carpet is not the most exhilarating experience.  Particularly, tearing out the staples.  I recommend having a vodka soda before and after pulling staples. :)

The beautiful, green 90's style carpet
in the upstairs hallway.

AFTER!

Master Bedroom before

After (I love this picture...meet Rambo.  Isn't this
a perfect picture for a Home & Garden magazine?)

Last, but not least, I took a panorama of the living room.  This is a recent photo, but it gives you a nice idea of what we really did to the room.  We were lucky enough to come across an old, copper pot to hold the fire wood.  Best of all, it belonged to Kevin's grandfather.  Who doesn't love a keepsake?


  

Hope you enjoyed the first set projects.  Don't worry, that wasn't all that we did during that month.  Don't forget to follow us!  Up next:  The KITCHEN!

*Special thanks to Homestead Interiors (or on Facebook) for the beautiful carpet and great service!

Dreams Really Do Come True

Well hello there!  Here it is, my attempt at blogging.  :)  What better thing to blog about than our home?!  Home is where the heart is...and my heart lives in a log home.  Ever since I was a little girl, I have always dreamed about living in a log cabin home.  I know, you are probably thinking "Really?  That's what you were dreaming about?".  Well, really I was!  I may not have always known what I wanted to be growing up (that's a whole other subject for another blog!), but I always knew that I wanted to live in a beautiful, rustic log home.

 

Almost 1 year ago (July 31st, 2012 to be exact), we closed on a property that had my childhood dream written all over it.  Our home sits on 3 acres of land with a pond and lots of woods in beautiful Northeast Ohio.  Initially, when I discovered the listing for our house my husband Kevin and I were in a slump searching for houses.  We could not find anything that fit what we were looking for in a home.  It was like fate that day in May!  Kevin was committed to finding a 2-story home with some LAND!  Me?  I just wanted a nice house that wasn't a split level (sorry to anyone who lives in one, it's just not my style and at the time that was all that was on the market).  Okay, so maybe I had a few more demands than just those 2 things ;)  There it was!  Could it be?! 

A LOG home with 3 acres of land on a private lot?!  I was ecstatic...but moved ahead with caution.  I couldn't help but ask myself, "What's the catch?".  Of course, Kevin and I decided to do a drive by first before calling our realtor.  We pulled up the driveway and couldn't believe our eyes...was this too good to be true?  As we walked around the porch and peeked in the windows, we knew that we had to get inside this house.  I called our realtor and scheduled a viewing.

We were IN!  I would be lieing if I said it was love at first sight.  Here was the catch...it was a bank owned property that had been sitting vacant for almost 2 years.  Needless to say, our soon to be home needed some TLC.  Kevin was actually more excited than I was the first time we made it inside the house.  I was pretty nervous about buying something that needed what looked to me like "a lot of work".  Looking back now, I realize that although we have and will continue to improve our home, it could have been much worse.  Thankfully, I have an amazingly handy husband who DOES NOT leave a project unfinished. 

That brings us to now!  One year in and we are ready to open our doors to let you see what we've been up to and will be up to.  I'm posting the photos that were included in the listing of our house.  A little introduction to the look and style of our home.  We hope you enjoy the journey as much as we have!

 

The living room

 

 

 

The fireplace in the living room (keep your eyes

on that fire wood holder!)

                                                

 

The living room has french doors that open

onto the back deck.

 

 

 

Downstairs bathroom...we're excited to show you

what we've done in here!

 

 

 

The Kitchen!  This is where I spend most of my

time :)  We made several changes in the kitchen

right away, so stay tuned.

 

 

Looking into the kitchen from the "dining area".

 

 

 

This is the view we wake up to every morning.

 

 

 

The front porch. 

 

 

The master bedroom.

 

 

The upstairs bathroom.

 

 

One of the guest bedrooms.