The Gingerbread House

Since our home is a 3/2 box with relatively low pitched roof (and therefore, low ceilings), I knew I needed to keep with the cottagey feel.  I looked to my library of favorites and, of course, Traditional Home.  The biggest decision came with the kitchen.  We knew the almond appliances, wood paneling back splash and counter top, and linoleum floors had to go.  We just weren't sure what to do about the refrigerator sticking out all alone on the wall.

I knew I wanted the same white cabinets, carrara marble, dark wood floors, and charcoal walls like Chris Peacock's kitchen featured in a fall Traditional Home.

Beadboard for the bathrooms and subway tile on the walls.

I scoured the Internet for the best deals on sinks, faucets, vanities, knobs, pulls, and towel bars.  The local Habitat for Humanity store had this awesome 18" tile for $20/box:

Southeastern Salvage (a local overstock store) had floor tile for 77 cents a square foot:

The tile for the shower walls and back splash is from Home Depot and was the priciest at 22 cents per piece: 

This is My Little House

Instead of a baby, we opted for another project of sorts, a house.  Our first house.  Before taking a leap of faith and buying a 1955 home, just ask yourself:  Do I have hours on end to tackle the most mundane projects I do not want to pay someone else to do? Do I have the money to double my original $20,000 remodeling budget and not have a heart attack?  Do I want to spend the next ____ months finding more reasons to visit Home Depot every day?  Do I want to sacrifice my love of traveling for the next year+?  If you find yourself feeling excited and wide-eyed answering these questions, you are the perfect person to invest in a remodel!  I was pretty sure I was not that person to begin with, and now I'm very sure. However, I am neck-deep in it!  Let's just start with the befores.

We have been waiting a long time to do this!

I know what you're thinking: Why would you want to change that awesome bathroom?

Or this tone-on-tone-on-tone seafoam jewel?

This gigantic "bedroom" had a door to the kitchen and to the hallway.

One plus: double closets in the master bedroom.

Yes, there are 32 cabinet doors and 8 drawers, complete with wood paneling back splash and counter top.

This house met all of our criteria (how exactly, I don't know!).  Considering there was nothing actually wrong with the house, I guess I could have moved my stuff in and lived with it.  But that's not like me at all.  I said, "All we have to do is change the bathrooms, update the kitchen, refinish the floors, and change the outside!"  With my library full of 1,000 decorating favorites, I was ready to design!  Excitement and hope bloomed in my insides, and I had no idea what was going to follow.  I will just let the love of all things oak and teal/pink settle on you for a little while before unveiling the afters!

Annette Tatum's Little House

No, not a flashback to Little House on the Prairie... but Annette Tatum's baby line, Little House!  It's been much too long since my last post, and it is so fitting that my last post was essentially about me not wanting to have a baby yet.  Ha ha.  But I have to post to win a crib set like my favorite one here:

Although this may be my most beloved from Annette Tatum, my sister's baby store, Sugarfoot's, offers custom bedding sets.  So, of course, I've already designed enough crib sets to have at least nine children.  We'll have to see about that later. :)