House Update + Upcoming Projects
Oh man. Things have really been quiet on the blog. I’ve started so many posts but between a very active 6 month old, still making sense of our home and organizing and working about 30+ hours a week during naps and evenings, the blog and Instagram have become way lower on the priority list.
But I wanted to pop on and share a little bit about the last few months and our summer plans for the house.
The new guest bathroom has been a game changer. There’s no way to describe how truly terrible and unsafe our master bathroom is so having a nice, clean place to get ready and feeling okay about Hyler chilling with me in her walker is awesome. And Hyler has started taking baths in the guest bathroom tub which is just the cutest.
Our furnace went out the week before Hyler was born and a new one was installed when she was 4 days old. It was a big headache at the time but we’re actually so glad it happened when it did—before things got crazy cold and it gave us the opportunity to tag on an air conditioner for a huge discount. I can’t even imagine what the 100 degree day would have been like in Hyler’s room since hers doesn’t have the ability to use a window unit. The AC has been a game changer.
The family room has been rearranged a little since the last time I posted about it. It’s so nice that we got a modular sectional so as the room function changes in different seasons, the layout can too. That was my biggest hesitancy with buying a section with a fixed left or right end—they aren’t super conformable if you want to rearrange.
The dining room feels tight now that are eating family meals with Hyler in the high chair. The table is a good size for the space but since there are literally 6 doorways that all connect at the dining room, the flow isn’t always great. We’re considering getting a circular or oval table at some point to help with that.
I realize I never posted our front porch project from last summer so I’ll try to get something put together for that but we absolutely love it. Austin has been working on landscaping in the front yard and once we get pavers for a sidewalk up to the porch, it’ll feel even more complete. We’ve loved sitting on the steps and watching the neighbors walk by. Hyler is obsessed with being outside so we’ll be spending lots of days playing out there.
The living room ceiling over the bay window was leaking the other night during a bad storm which made us even more motivated to get exterior work done on the house. I want to put together a blog on those plans too but we really need to get moving on it. The siding is rotting and lead paint is chipping off in so many flakes. Next summer when Hyler is waking, we can’t have paint chips just raining down onto the porch and lawn. We’ll hire the exterior work out. People who know how to deal with lead paint and making sure our house is water tight seems important. :)
Another project we’re starting to tackle is the guest room. It currently has a not so comfortable full size bed and a not so comfortable couch in it. Plus a closet with all of our documents/office supplies/art things/etc. So we’re going to turn it into a space that I can work from during naps and a space that can be a great guest room and transition easily into a kids room when either Hyler is older or we start foster care. I’m excited to see the space transform.
One last project we’ve been talking about is ripping out the jagged back patio and starting over with pavers. We’ll make it larger than it currently is which means we’ll need to excavate the hundreds (if not thousands) of day lilies that form an insane root system by the back door. It’ll be so nice to have a space large enough for a table back there. Someday we hope to put in a deck but that’s definitely not this year.
If you're still reading this, you’re awesome. Thanks so much for following along in our fixer upper craziness. We love the house we are creating even if we wish sometimes wish it was all done already.