House Tour of Our New Home (finally!)

Before we closed and moved into our new home (mentioned here and here) I snapped a bunch of  “before” pictures.   My favorite thing about all the DIY’s we did on our first home was having the before photos to compare it all to.  There was no question that I would do the same with our second home.  I took a bunch of pictures when we first decided to buy the house but neglected to take and pics when it was vacant…whomp, whomp.  The house tour I am about give was conducted at the beginning of the year when the previous owners (aka Ryan’s parents) still had the house furnished with their belongings.

Our new home is an updated 1960’s rancher with a full basement.  It totals somewhere around 5,000 square feet.  The front of this house is very deceiving.

The door opens into a nice size foyer.  It’s huge compared to the barely-there foyer we had in our first home.  That chandelier was removed before we moved in and I have since purchased a new gem.

Immediately off the foyer is a large kitchen, completely updated with granite countertops and new appliances (about 2 years ago or so).  I plan to refinish the kitchen cabinets to lighten up the room a bit.  It has a great eat-in kitchen area that I plan to make my own as well…maybe a settee or something.

From the kitchen you walk into the formal dining room which is also connected to the living room.

The trim in this house is amazing.  Did you notice the wainscotting in the dining room?  The trim carries into the living room.  I adore the crown moulding throughout.  It’s painted a glossy creamish/beige color.  I plan to paint all the trim a crisp clean white so it pops off the wall.

Also on the first floor is a room I call the den.  I guess it could arguably be called the family room as well.  This room has beautiful built-in shelves that flank the fireplace.  The cherry paneling has got to go though.  It makes the room so dark….and we all know how I adore light, bright, crisp, and clean.

The master bedroom is located on the main floor.  Currently the room is sorta two separate rooms.  We plan to take out the wall/french doors and open up space up (do you see a trend here?!).  We also plan to gut the full master bath and create a space more functional for our twenty-first century needs.

The second and third guest bedrooms are also on this floor along with a full guest bath.

The “blue bathroom” as I refer to it, definitely needs an overhaul.   It’s really not on the top of our priority list though since it rarely gets used.  Actually if you were to see it in person, you would be in awe of how beautiful the tile and marble are….too bad it’s powder blue 😦

The basement is completely finished.  It includes a large rec room, a bar/poker area, pool room, and my craft room (or 5th bedroom).

Also in the basement is bedroom #4 aka, Ryan’s childhood bedroom.

And Ryan’s favorite part of the basement is his new work shop!  He can’t wait to add to his collection of power tools…I think there may be a tool or two on the list to buy this weekend so we start some projects!

Last on the tour is the sunroom.  It’s a cozy little space lined in beadboard (my favorite!) and brick.  It’s located off the kitchen and leads into the beautiful backyard.

In the summer, when everything is in bloom, this outdoor patio is just amazing.  Ryan helped build that pergola when he was a kid.  It was his first ‘big’ project with his dad.  We plan to put a metal roof on top and add a ceiling fan.  Luckily electrical already exists in the space!

It’s a great place to entertain.  We “borrowed” it a few years ago when Ryan hosted my 30th birthday party:

The backyard alone is about an acre and completely fenced in.  The pups are happy in heaven.  The have managed to find about 3 holes in the fence but I think we’ve remedied those spots.  (fingers crossed!)  …Talk about heart palpitations!

Along the stone wall (that separates the patio from the lawn)  is a great outdoor fireplace.  I can’t wait to (maybe) cook a burger on it… or just start a fire and roast some marshmallows!

The steps up to the lawn make a great place to take a family photo.  We took this family pic the weekend of the Surprise 40th Anniversary party….one of the last days Ryan’s parent’s lived in their home of 23 years!

I bet you can’t wait to see what the house looks like with my furniture in it!  I’ll give you a hint, it looks amazing!  I plan to start a few DIY projects soon then comes the big reveal.