Our new house...putting it back together!

 The fun part of redoing a house is definitely putting it back together and seeing how all of the different things we picked out looked with each other. 

The Kitchen: I like the look of the oak cabinets; they feel warm and inviting so we knew we weren't going to change them. And we knew we didn't need to replace the oven or the microwave, so all of the other appliances that we replaced we got in black to match. I did a lot of online shopping and ordered our sink, induction cooktop and refrigerator all online. I actually ordered our dishwasher that way as well, but ended up going into the store and changing it to get one that they had in stock so I wouldn't have to wait months and months for it! We were initially thinking of getting a dark countertop because I'd seen a few pictures that I really liked, but we met with a home design consultant at Home Depot and we ended up getting something called 'River Gold' that looks amazing with our cupboards and our floor. We still need to figure out the backsplash. As for the floor, I went to numerous stores around Bellingham and had so many floor samples! We ended up with an engineered vinyl plank and love the way it turned out! Thanks to Dad for laying all of it.

The Before.

Looking at floor options...

And more options...different lighting; different countertop options...so many decisions to be made at the same time!

Finally have our new fridge! (This was ordered at the beginning of October and was just delivered last week. Covid closed down the production plant for a while.)

Amazing new slider...so much better than the weird doors that were here!

I just got these new curtains...they make it feel so warm! Eventually, we will have a small table in this area, but right now it's just an impromptu dance floor.

The Dining Room: We laid new floors, painted the walls and put up a new light fixture in the dining room. 

The Living Room: We had new carpet installed in the living room and have started to get things hung up on the walls. We are loving the wood-burning stove! 

The Before...old carpet; old fan; old trim.

Learning how the stove works!

The Playroom: We decided to use the front 'office' as a playroom. We added some shelves to the closet and a table for all their crafting. I think we are still figuring out how to best have it set up, but for the time being it seems to be working.

The Entry Way: 

The Laundry Room: This space is definitely still a work in progress! I love the floor that we picked for in here and I'm still trying to figure out how to best utilize all the cupboard space. 

The hooks work well for backpacks/coats but I still need to figure out a place to hang-dry clothes! 

This is the first floor of our new house! I'll put the upstairs in a separate post. 

Our new house...the updating.

 It was really hard to figure out exactly what I wanted because everything in the house was so blue. So we started by simply tearing things down and getting rid of stuff. The trim came off. The floors came out. The wallpaper came down. Countertops were removed. Appliances were taken out. There were multiple trips to the dump. 

Uncle Denny and Auntie Dar borrowed this trailer from their son Kevin...it made our trip to the dump much easier!

Pondering the new layout

We removed the jetted tub from the master bathroom (it had to be cut in half in order to get it out!) and took out the shower in the master bath as well.

Our new house...the way it was.

Back in August, we closed on a house in Lynden. It was on a perfect large, flat lot at the end of a cul-de-sac. However, it had floor-to-ceiling wallpaper, blue flooring, blue carpet, blue countertops, and a few blue bathroom appliances. We figured since we were living with Mom and Dad, it was the perfect opportunity to do some updates. We enlisted everyone's help and many many hours were spent removing wallpaper, pulling up flooring, painting, laying new floors, putting up new trim, and replacing fixtures. 

I have so many pictures of the process, so I will try to put them here in some sort of order so we can all make sense of it and also see the transformation that took place! The house is two stories; you walk in on the main level and can see all the way through to the backyard, through a set of doors leading onto the back porch. To the left, immediately inside the door, are the stairs and then a step down into the living room. To the right are a set of french doors leading into an office. Behind the living room is the dining room and behind the office is the kitchen. Through the kitchen (towards the garage) is the living room and a 3/4 bath. I struggled to get the pictures to upload in the order I wanted, so we are going to start our little tour at the garage entrance.

The door on the left side leads into the garage; the washer and dryer are to the right and there is a door leading to the backyard.

3/4 bath with two doors...one leading into the laundry space and one leading into the office. 

The kitchen. Lots of wallpaper. Lots of counter space. Huge cast iron sink with three compartments. Non-functioning dishwasher. 

Awkward doors leading to the backyard. Only the far right door actually opens.

Eating area; the door leads to a closet underneath the stairs.

Kyle is standing in the doorway that leads to the laundry room and then out to the garage.

Fully wallpapered dining room with orange-ish colored chandelier.

Living room with wood burning stove...looking into the dining room. 

Other side of the living room.

The office...note the wallpaper. 

Looking in from the front door...again, note the wallpaper. And the blue floor. 

And then there is the upstairs; at the top of the stairs is a nice landing area and then all four bedrooms. 

Hallway with large closet; the master bedroom is at the end on the right.

Small master shower with blue tile and 'cave-like' feeling.

Jetted blue tub, blue toilet, blue sink, lace curtains and brown flooring.

Main hallway bathroom; the tub and toilet are in their own little room to the right. 

Bedroom (or what we are using as Kyle's office because that is the closet!)

Fully wallpapered bedroom.

Carpeted stairs.

Looking back at the landing space.

Fully wallpapered master bedroom; the door to the left is the bathroom and the one next to it is the closet.

Other side of the master bedroom.

Fourth bedroom.