New Year, New House

2014 was all about searching for a home  - eight months to be exact, almost long enough to carry a baby full-term.  It took me back to my dating days of going on first dates  (open houses), hoping he'd call back (getting a counter offer), then wondering if he was ever gonna commit (accepting final offer). We got our hearts broken several times, but in the end, just as everyone said we found the house that was perfect for us. The only problem was that it needed a lot of love to bring it back to its glory days. It was an enormous task to take on as first-time homeowners. We were warned -- multiple times -- but we're suckers for a challenge.

Here are a couple of  before and after shots, and almost all of these pics are taken by our family photographer -- Jeff. Without him, I'd just have highly-filtered instagram photos to chronicle the past two years.

Before ...

After ...
It took us a long time to decide on a color.  Jeff wanted to repaint the house red, but I just couldn't help but think barn.  So, we finally agreed on Benjamin Moore's Galveston Gray - and a pop of yellow to make it just a bit more cheery.

I'm not ready to reveal the finished living room, because it's not finished. Ha! But, here's a before and  ... middle. The yellow shag really says it all.

Before:

After:

The biggest change was ripping up that ol' shag and putting down beautiful hardwood.  We ripped off the wallpaper and painted the walls Farrow & Ball's Cornforth White (which is a beautiful light grey).  We decided to paint the fireplace white and stain the mantle. We went back on forth on that one for awhile, but now every time I stare at that brick I'm so damn happy. More to come, I promise.