five on friday (home tour: laundry room/mudroom)

the laundry room and the mudroom were the most important rooms in the house in designing the house. 

unfortunately, not everyone felt the same way, so there were a lot of problems with this area as we were building.  mainly, it was made much smaller than the plans originally said.  not enough space was not ok for this space, but luckily my mom came through and figured out how to fit everything in.

although not all of the problems were resolved, it is still one of my favorite rooms in the house!

welcome

look at that beautiful blue.  still love it every time i see it.

the mudroom/laundry room is right next to the master bedroom

this area was the most important, because it had to have enough room for:

• dog's kennels
• place to hang jackets, and for shoes
• countertop for folding/cat food
• hampers
• washer/dryer
• sink
• broom closet

1. behind the door to the mudroom is the dogs kennels, nicely tucked away under a countertop

there is a door so that if people come over, all i have to say is 'kennel' and they will run in there and i just have to shut the door to keep them from jumping all over our guests.  this is nice so they don't always have to be in their kennels.  so far, they don't scratch at the door.

the Boston Terrier sign, says 'a house is not a home without a Boston'

i also insisted on having the cabinets above them, because that's where all their goodies are kept. (this will be in a later post)

if we end up getting a fourth dog (which is something we are considering), or when we have a foster (and if both happen, that means space for 5 dogs!), i'm not sure where she/they will go, but i'm sure we will figure it out.

2.  ok, i know this looks pathetic, but until we find a solution, it is working for us.  we have a place for jackets and shoes, it's just not the prettiest space in the house.

eventually, i would like to get a bench with baskets underneath for shoes, some nice hooks, and some storage above.  it's not a priority for right now, but it'll happen eventually.

3.  in the laundry area of this space is my must have sink.  i honestly only wanted this sink to be able to fill up the dog's water bowl.  which isn't the best reason to spend a lot of $, but it ended up that i use this CONSTANTLY.

i LOVE this sink!  best idea ever.  

and the cabinets house my cleaning supplies.  all in one area.  not the most ideal, but for fostering it had to all be kept out of reach from the littles.  so this is where it goes, and it's been working for me.

4.  obsessed with my washer and dryer.  

we didn't have one in the rental and it was pure torture.  ok, maybe it wasn't that bad because i got to visit Grams every week, but still.  it sucked having to haul all that laundry back and forth.  

i truly appreciate and love these.  they are LG just like all of the appliances in our house.  and i love the steam feature.  especially with the dogs.  and a dog that has a tail infection.  just ew.

5.  my little shelf above the washer and dryer.

it houses my laundry detergent, and similar items.  a little garbage can for lint.  and a wash bucket.

originally, i was going to add more cabinets, but i wouldn't have been able to reach any of the shelves anyways.  this worked out perfectly and i love it.

ignore the plugs and plumbing...apparently the plumber, electrician and HVAC guy all don't know how to use a tape measure.  my husband, ahem the electrician, is trying to think of a solution to hide it.

Things that still need to be done in this space:

• paint trim
• paint doors
• install end on laminate
• lockers or storage for jackets/shoes
• rug
• touch up garage door
• install garage door knob

Lily loves to sit in the laundry basket on top of the washer.  it's one of her favorite places in the house too ;)

home tour: master bedroom

Our bedroom is on the opposite side of the house from the kid's bedrooms (and no we don't have kid's but we built them with the hopes they would be for our kids someday).  We decided to put the master bedroom behind the garage, because then that way we would hear if the garage door opened.  1. because my husband is always thinking someone is breaking in.  2. because if we ever had kids we wanted to make sure we could hear them coming and going.  3. because the dogs room is the mudroom and that way they would be closer to our room (yes, I do realize I sound like a freak when I want the dogs closer to me than our future children).  Although, I must say we bought the quietest garage door opener so we can't actually hear it from inside the house anyways!  And this way the master is also closer to the basement, which is again so we can keep a close eye on our kids (for in the future when we finish the basement), plus that's Mark's area of the house.  

We have the same furniture as we did in our old house.  But we were able to put the 42" TV in our room now, which will probably someday be hung on the wall.

I love that Marley is in all of these pics too :)

The comforter, sheets, and pillow were all new for this house.  We had a beautiful set in our old house, but Marley chewed a hole through it as a puppy so we needed something new.  The pillow is my favorite because it actually has sparkles in the material.  The bedside tables will eventually have to change.  We tried to buy a matching one to the one we already have, but they no longer make it, so we will have to find something new.  The lamp shade on Mark's side of the bed is actually broken, a door actually fell on top of it, so I will be looking for some new lights too.

The closet doesn't have a door yet, but it is ordered.

I love our huge closet!  At our old house we had to always switch out our clothes for the seasons, and in WI that is nearly impossible to do.  It's nice that everything finally fits in one place.  The guy that hung our closets hung everything wrong so the clothes on the top sit on the rack for the clothes on the bottom.  Not cool!

But at least we can still use them until they are fixed.

Things that still need to be done:

• paint door, trim and step for doggies
• curtains
• bedside tables
• lamps
• hang some photos on the wall
• art?
• fix closet racks
• door for closet

home tour: master bathroom

We moved into our home a little over a month ago.  Things have been pretty crazy since moving in, so there hasn't been a ton of time to get things done around the house.  I am SLOWLY working on it. We are pretty much still trying to unpack boxes, so we know what we have, and get the necessities together, so we know what we need to buy.  We designed this home ourselves and plan on being here for a LONG time so we have plenty of time to get the house how we want it.  This house has been such a luxury after the horrible rental we were in.  Our last home was a foreclosure that we flipped and made a nice profit on, but that means it wasn't really ours while we were living in it.  We were constantly doing projects to sell it, not projects for us.  This house is all ours, and I am loving every single second of it, even if there are still a lot of things that need to be done.

Our master bathroom was a compromise.  The whole house was my taste and my husband wanted one area of the house that was his taste.  His taste being brown.  He likes anything that is brown or tan, which is exactly what he wanted for this space.  He was also VERY insistent on a rain shower, whereas I wanted a tub.  In the end, his rain shower won and even though I didn't get my tub, I am really happy with the end result. 

When designing the vanity, I knew I wanted my own vanity if it was possible.  Marky Mark isn't the easiest to share with, he tends to be a bit messy (although he would say otherwise).  I wanted some sort of linen closet, but there wasn't space for an actual closet.  We were able to get a huge cabinet for in between our vanities to do the job.  I haven't even come close to filling that up yet!  The cabinets are dark espresso, the same color as our island in the kitchen, with granite countertops.

my vanity

Although my mom disagreed with my window choice, I am very happy with it.  The tiny window above the toilet.  I didn't want a big window because at our rental we had one and always had to open and close the blinds.  This way there is a little bit of natural light, but no one can see in our bathroom.    And the wall next to the toilet was a must.

This is the view when you first walk into the bathroom.  We decided to hang our towels on a rack, rather than on a bar, because it seems more practical...thank you Pinterest!

Next to shower is a really long, empty wall.  I will definitely need to put some art up there.  Currently, we have a shower curtain hanging.  This is a very old curtain that will be gone ASAP.  We will eventually have glass doors, but it wasn't a must for moving in.  We will get the glass doors eventually, but for now the curtain will do.  

This is our fancy shower!  We each wanted our own shower heads, and of course we had to have the rain shower.  Because of the rain shower, we did tile all the way up and on the ceiling.  The niche has the only glass tile in the shower.  I would have designed a white subway tile shower, or something white and beautiful, but the glass tile in the niche will have to do.  The floor has travertine tile.  At the last minute we decided to add floating seats, originally they were going to be built-ins.  I like these much better and they don't take up as much space.  

We had a situation with our water, it was ORANGE!  We finally got our water softener installed so we are still working on getting the orange out of the stone.

Even though this room isn't what I had imagined it to be, it still turned out beautiful.  I LOVE the rain shower and use it almost everyday.  I really enjoy getting ready in this bathroom every morning.

Things that still need to be done:

• caulk around the shower
• glass doors installed
• side splashes for granite
• paint trim
• paint door
• touch up crown on cabinet
• hang hand towel holder
• organize cabinets
• art (maybe some floating shelves)
• remove orange from floor

setting up the nursery

Although the nursery was nowhere near done when we had our little visitor come stay for the week, we still had it to where we could use it.

Our good friends gave us their daughters crib!  It was such a blessing!  Their daughter was the last child I nannied for, so it was really special that they were able to give her crib to us.  I was so excited when Marky Mark put it together.  The room had sat pretty much empty since we moved in, so I was happy to see it finally coming together.

We put the cubbies in here, because I thought it would be good to use for organizing toys.  It did a pretty good job, but it could use some baskets for diapers and other supplies.  It was pretty convenient to just go in a grab a toy as needed.  Although, I'm not sure if a dresser might be a little more practical in the future.

My mom knit this gorgeous blanket!  This was definitely my favorite Christmas present this year!  It matched the green chevron sheets for the crib.  Our little visitor used it while she was here :)

I LOVE Scentsy! I had always loved these warmers and was so bummed when they stopped making them.  My mom, Grams and I went to a craft fair and there was a lady that was selling some of the older warmers for much cheaper than they originally cost.  Luckily, this was one of them, so we snatched it up!  I was too worried to put wax in it, so I just put it out for decoration.

I really wanted to get the Cloud B nightlight, but at $50 there was no way I was going to spend that much money on it!  I was so excited to see that Walmart sold an off brand for only $20!  This is the one that plays music and lights up.  I thought it was important to get a nightlight, because a lot of foster kids will even ask to sleep with the light on because they are scared.  Little girl LOVED this!  She would turn it on every time before nap and bedtime.  I had it set to run for 30 min and it worked awesome!

I picked a lime green paint for the nursery.  I wanted something neutral since we are open to either gender, but I thought that yellow was too girly for a boy.  Green was my favorite color when I was little (lime green still being one of my favs), so I thought it was a safe choice.  I love how it turned out, although I don't know that everyone agrees with me (ahem...my husband).  I was going to make it gray and green but since we have a lot of gray in the rest of the house, I'm thinking of adding some black in.  Originally I wanted a black and white nursery with lime green accents, but I don't know how great that will look with brown furniture (I was originally going to buy white furniture).

Anyways, that's how the nursery looks for now.  I have a lot of things I would love to add...

• curtains and rod
• dresser (?)
• baskets for cubbies
• rocking chair
• art
• shelves for decorations or pictures
• more crib sheets
• better toy organization
• fun rug (?)

And there are still a few things that need to be finished in the room...

• paint the trim
• paint the door
• closet doors installed!!
• shorten the blinds (they are too long and WAY too heavy) and cords (dangerous)
• closets hung correctly (a lot of our closets were installed incorrectly)
• dimmer

Five on Friday - house update (part three)

Things have been so crazy lately!  I have basically spent the last week of my life at Home Depot, Menards, running errands or at the house.  So much has gotten done, it's amazing!  Today is the day we find out if we have gotten enough done to be able to move.  (Cross your fingers!)

 This is my favorite counter top in the house!  It is in the "kids" bathroom, AKA my sister's bathroom.  It is a beautiful blue with some sparkles in it.  I LOVE it!

 My husband finally installed my beautiful orb light!  Everyone that has seen it says it is such an awesome light!  Makes me so happy!

 The dining room chandelier was also installed.  I think it is perfect for this area.

 My beautiful new appliances!  I LOVE them so much and can't wait to start using them!

My beautiful hardwoods!  They turned out amazing and I think Marky Mark might even like them after all!

house update! (part two)

So much has been going on at the house lately!  And so much more will be going on at the house this week!  Here's what's happened so far...

The flooring in the bathrooms was grouted so that the cabinets could be installed.

master bathroom

kids bathroom

half bathroom

 Then the kitchen cabinets were installed.  This was amazing to see because there are SO many cabinets!

looking at it from the great room

looking at it from the dining room

Also the house got completely painted!  You can see some of the paint in the images above and then these are my fun rooms (otherwise everything was kept really neutral)...

future child's bedroom in lime green

laundry room and mud room in aqua

So far I am loving how things are looking.  Everything is turning out just as I had pictured it in my head.  Now onto what is getting done this week...

Basically EVERYTHING!!  We are moving in about a week and a half.

• furnace is getting installed today
• finish the plaster down the stairs to the basement
• doors installed today
• devices and can lights installed (hopefully other light fixtures as well)
• all tile finished (our bathroom shower is really all that is left, along with some grouting and around the fireplace)
• flooring is being installed!! (hardwoods this week and carpeting next)
• garage doors are being installed tomorrow

These last two weeks are gonna be so amazing!  Can't wait to see it all finished!

walls and tile

So much progress is happening on the house right now!  We are getting down to the end, and there is so much happening all at once.  We have to move out of our rental in December so the house has to be done in time!

This week the walls and tile were all going at once.

The walls started with blue board and then they came in and plastered over it.  We decided on plaster because the guys we used charged less for plaster than for drywall.  (usually it is more to plaster)

blue board

plaster

For tile, I had picked it out awhile back and now all of the tile is installed on the floor and he started to work on the showers!  My favorite tile I picked was for the guest room and it looks really good.

before tile

my favorite!

I had to order the flooring for the rest of the house.  We are doing carpeting in the bedrooms and office, and wood floors for the great room, kitchen, dining room, entryway, and hallways.  It was SO hard to decide on which flooring to go with but here's what I picked...

The white and espresso cabinets are the colors we will be having in the kitchen.  The walls will have white cabinets, and the island will be espresso.  I picked a darker floor than what I originally wanted because I just thought it was SO pretty.  It is an engineered, hand-scraped hickory wood.  We chose this over real hardwoods because of the dogs. I can't wait to see what it all looks like together!

This week the cement is FINALLY going in!!  I can't wait until that is finished because that means we will have a garage and basement floor, and a front stoop.  It is going to be awesome because that means the furnace can be installed.  We will have HEAT people!!  Then the walls are being finished today which means that this weekend the painter can come in and get working.  As soon as he gets going, the cabinets can be installed in the kitchen, which means the counter-tops can be ordered.  So much to do!

House update!

Things have been moving really quickly on the house!  It's so awesome to see the progress because it helps make the time go by quicker!  I can't wait to get into the house because we HATE the rental we are in.  But it's only temporary and it will help us to appreciate the end result on our house!

So let's start from the beginning...

Empty lot...really exciting I know  haha

Then after we closed on the lot the most progress we got for a really long time was this...

our very own culvert!

Stupid permits took FOREVER!!!  So the lot just sat like this from April until about July.  Then this happened...

YAY!!  Finally something was going on!

So after that, things started slowly moving along...

a hole in the ground!

the long awaited building permits!

 And then things really picked up...

walk out for the fully exposed basement

support beam

walls going up

covering up the "i fart" on the trailer  haha

looking out our master bedroom window

roof going on

windows in

shingles on

interior walls are up (vaulted ceilings in the great room/ kitchen)

Along with all of this, we have the plumbing and HVAC done.  Mark is going to be doing all the electrical this week, and the siding should be going up.

That means in 2 weeks the drywall will start, along with the tile!!  Then it will really start to look like a house.  Can't wait!!  We should be right on schedule for moving in right before Christmas.  It will be the best Christmas present EVER!!