Home Makeover

By request, we have a Home Update... :)

While many of our boxes are now unpacked and organized, some are still full and tucked away in our "creepy-but-full-of-potential" loft. We are waiting to put everything in its rightful place until all rooms are finished. YIKES! could be awhile! Things might be taking a tad longer than anticipated...as things always do with remodeling. The baby room below is just the beginning!! After tearing down the paneling (a reckless act that began the day of our closing back in February because of our excitement), we discovered two layers of very old (probably lead-based) paint on top of two layers of even older wallpaper. That, coupled with a sagging ceiling, made the decision to strip down the entire room to concrete blocks and 2x4 planks. Pictured below is Kacey and Dad ripping the last bit of yucky dry wall out. Way to go men!

On Tuesday, Kacey cleared out all of the rubble and finished ripping the last remining dry wall pieces that were trying to hang on. It already looks much improved...you can even see the floor!

Currently, the rest of the house is thankfully not in such desperate condition because we will work on one room at a time (after the roof and electrical wiring are fixed!). Despite the work ahead, the endless paneling, and mis-matched cabinets, we have loved our new home from the minute we stepped inside. It stays much cleaner now that I can stay home and we don't have Arkansas dust coming in by the troves on our dogs. It is cozy and a perfect fit. It will be fun to share with a little one too :) If you have not seen any pictures yet, here are a few to give you an idea of our little "cottage". If it looks inviting, feel free to call and set up a get-away date! We would love to host a small vacation for you!

Here is our house!

Here is the side view of the fence Kacey finished. It also goes about the same distance back into the woods and then all the way across to the neighbors fence. Our dogs (and Jonas the black one on the left) enjoying the yard...kind of. We are discovering just how spoiled they really are, especially Bear (the big black on in the middle). Last week he caught a squirrel in the woods, which is amazing considering his lack of athleticism and interest in anything but wrestling Mighty, being pet, and food. Kacey and I decided it must have either been very sick and slow or slipped and fell out of the tree right into Bear's grips. Either way, he caught it and in the process, got a huge gash on his lower lip...the squirrel must have fought back pretty hard. With that said, he had to stay inside for about 3 days while the wound healed so that he wouldn't re-open it. Well, apparently he got used to the being inside. Now, if he knows I'm home, he periodically sits on the porch and gives me his most desperate cry hoping I will hear how miserable he is out in his almost one-acre backyard, complete with a friend and woods. Pitiful.

Here is the living room, which is currently acting like another storage room.

This is the kitchen, which will be the next remodeling project after the baby room is complete. This is where I spend a good bit of my day making three meals and doing lots of dishes!
The laundry room (which is housing 2 washers, 2 dryers, and our fridge).
The second living room which is also doubling as the guest quarters. In the three weeks we have been here it has already housed 4 visitors...all teachers on there way to their summer plans. We stacked 2 mattresses on top of each other (one is skinnier that the other) to create a make-shift couch! We sold ours in Marianna so we are improvising while on the prowl for some real living room furniture.
Our quaint bathroom, which is right next to our bedroom. WONDERFUL! Especially since my bladder now wakes me up several times during the night. Now everytime I get out of bed, I whisper a quite thanks for not having to walk all the way across the house and crawl over 2 dog gates and 3 dogs in the dark to get to the toilet (as I did in Marianna).
Here is our little bedroom.
Here is one section of our loft, which will eventually become a cozy hide-away library/craft and sewing room/workout space.

Hope you enjoyed the tour! We'll keep you posted with the progress :)