My Favorite Things

We are so, so blessed.  This time of year is always great for reflection, and the Hubs and I have really been overwhelmed lately with how lucky we are.  I have two healthy and beautiful boys, a pretty kick ass husband, two great jobs we love... and this house.  This. Amazing. House.

Those of you that have been following this blog for awhile know I didn't always call it that.  In fact, in the early, exhausting, frustrating, overwhelming and nearly depressing months of living here, I was more likely to call this place a dump, and that's when I was putting it kindly.  But we saw a diamond in the rough.  We worked hard- real hard, and because of that we are now living in a home we never dreamed we could afford.  (Have I mentioned that we are currently paying less for this house than we did on our Bungalow?)

So much has changed even in just this past year.  A year ago today I still had 2 bathrooms that looked like this:

A Kitchen that looked like this:

Stairs that looked like this:

and another 700+ feet of gross carpeted floors that made me cringe when my child sat on it.  But we showed 2012 who's your daddy, and now not a day goes by when we don't say, "This house is amazing" or "I can't believe we live here."  Sure, there's still so much we want to do (I'm talking to you Family Room and Dining Room), but in the spirit of the season this post is about my favorite things in the house as they are today.  In no particular order...

The Nursery. 

There's so much I love about this room and how it all came together, but a few things stand out.  Like can you believe that Restoration Hardware is selling nearly the identical bird mobile as the one I made for $.21 for $129?

And the daybed- Best. Decision. Ever.  I was worried that I was going to regret not having a rocking chair, but this chair/couch/bed is exactly what I need, whenever I need it.  A spot for our whole family to read books before bedtime, a place to lay down to nurse when I'm so exhausted I can't hold my own head up, a spot to play, and kick and change clothes, or just to lay down and cuddle with my little man and take in the moment.

But if I had to narrow it down to just one thing I loved about the Nursery it would be the skylights.

Sure I'd like to get a growth chart on the wall between those doors and to fill the ledge with a bunch of old globes, but that's for another post.

This photo doesn't do them any justice, but light streams in from these windows and floods this little room and high ceilings with warmth.  I was feeding Bo in the middle of the night the other evening, and from my spot on the daybed I would perfectly see the amazing full moon.  The moonlight in the room was breathtaking.  I made myself take a mental photograph so that I would never forget it.  'Click.'

The Antler Chandelier.

From our first walk through I wanted one, but it took me months before I found an affordable one on Craigslist to spray paint.  Now this baby lights the house with warm, modern lodge light.  The layout of this house makes all the crazy half levels a mess of three way light switches.  We try to be efficient with our lights, but find ourselves turning off one light, turning on another, walking down 3 steps.  Then turning off that light, turning on another, walking down 3 more steps, turning off... you get the idea.  But we've found we can leave just the antler chandy on, and it fills the main center of the house with enough light to look awesome and keep us from falling down the stairs.  The way these bulbs face up instead of point down like the previous track lighting make the wooden plank ceiling glow and becomes a great focal point.  It makes me happy.

The Laundry Room

Whoever designed the layout of this house was a genius.  Wait- that might be a bit too glowing of a review for a guy that also designed 3 large gaping holes from our Master Bedroom overlooking the Living Room.  Let's just say when it came to laundry placement, he did something right.  This room is just outside the 'Kids Wing' and the 3 bedrooms on that level, has a shoot that drops down laundry from the Master Bedroom (that we added), and is located right across the hall from the bathroom.

Each night I can happily fold a load or two while my four year old takes a bath, close enough to keep an eye on him but far enough to give him and his super imagination some space.  The room is lined with counter top space giving me tons of room for folding, and with all the cabinets it doubles as a linen closet.  What better place to store your linens than the place you wash and fold them?  I love the big window with all the natural light, and all the little details in this room.

But again if I had to pick my favorite part of this room, it would be the rug that I painstakingly painted.  The room looks good without it, but adding it makes it colorful, fun and modern.  Totally worth the work.

The Main Bath.

This bathroom is by far my favorite of three, which is saying a lot considering that a professional designer and TV show put in a $60k one in our master. But everything in this room worked the way I was hoping.  The floating vanity with the lights underneath totally float my boat.

and I still take time to pet the goregous glass penny tile.

But my favorite thing, far and away, is the wooden sliding door with frosted glass panes that I built.  It not only makes the room visually, but by some bit of magic seems to fit the room perfectly and just as I had intended.  Sometimes I like to just open and close it repetitively, just because I can.

But my favorite thing about the house right now above all else,  is that it's really starting to feel like a home.  After a year and a half of hard work, and three trimesters of dreaming about cuddling & relaxing in this beautiful house we built with my babies, I finally can.  And it is amazing.

Happy New Year to you and your family.  I hope 2012 was as blessed for you all as it was for us.  Here's to new adventures (and home projects) in 2013! Cheers.