After being without a kitchen for months getting our kitchen belongings unpacked and cleaned from being stored in the front entry way closet felt so good. Finding everything the most practical place in the kitchen was important to do right away.

When we bought our house, renovating the kitchen wasn’t even on the list. There was so much else to do in our fixer upper, but a year later, we have a completely new space. How does that even happen?

We chose a 12x24-inch charcoal tile. It was $13 per square foot cheaper than the tile we had previously picked out and the scale of it also made it easier to work with—less tile and a simple shape means for less time setting them. The new tile had us rework other parts of the design and we created something we love even more.

Our kitchen project has taken longer than we anticipated—Isn’t that everyone’s kitchen renovation story? When we took out the metal cabinets and flooring in August, we found issues with the walls and electrical that needed to be addressed before anything else could get started. Once the cabinets were in the house, they didn’t stay in their packaging long. A few days after we picked them up, they were installed in our kitchen (because of amazing help from family). It feels so good to have the new cabinets in place after designing and dreaming for months. We’re sharing our how-to process and our first ever behind the scenes video. Eee!

The first room in our house that was transformed with more than just paint was a small room off the dining room that turned into our laundry room and only bath on the main level.

The work load doesn't intimidate us but the shortened timeline with expecting a baby in November has been a little intimidating.

Our main living area and master bedroom both were painted white when we first moved in. I think those spaces feel airy and have enough color with the furniture and accents we've chosen to have personality and depth. But I craved some colorful spaces sprinkled throughout our house. This small room that would one day be a playful nursery was a perfect spot for a little rebellion from the traditional feel of our house.

It feels like such a big project, especially for Austin's busy season and for me to be in my second trimester, but between advice from our parents and the kitchen experts at Lowe's, we can conquer it. We are sticking with stock cabinetry and will DIY them look more custom and high-end. We're trying to stay under $6000 for everything top to bottom (sans appliances).

We've woken up in our new house every day for a month and a half and it's still hard to believe that this place is ours. SO much work has been started since mid-January. Each room has been turned upside down (for better or worse) and some rooms are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. It's pretty gratifying.

We've been demo-ing walls and fixtures to get them ready for the plumbers and electricians to be able to just come in and do their thing. Right now there are 5 rooms in the house that are partially demo-ed -- all three bathrooms, Austin's office and the kitchen.

Things look so different here. I can't believe we've only been working on this place for a week and a half. It's so encouraging how quickly things are taking shape but not having internet yet means I haven't been great at sharing it.