June 30, 2014 my husband and I started the adventure of home ownership and an adventure it has been.  We have had an absolute blast creating, building, and designing our new home here in Florida.  Not going to lie, there have also been those moments when we have said, “If we were renting we could just call the landlord. . . “.  You learn very quickly how to become a well-rounded person with house maintenance and DIY situations when owning a home.

I would not change those moments for the world!  Throughout the past year I have found a passion in decorating and taking DIY to a whole new level.  My husband, Ryan, has mastered the art of furniture building {hello farmhouse table} and tackling house maintenance and challenges {thank you YouTube}.  I can’t wait to share with you the progress we have made so far.  Just please keep in mind we are still turning this house into a home with projects to still be completed.

Welcome to Part 1 of our Then and Now: The Main Living Areas of our Home

Entrance

We started with messy concrete and a red door.  I love an amazing red door but I was itching to paint it!

I went with a darker teal to help bring out the original stained glass in the door and window.  We also spent the weekend painting the concrete.  Best decision ever!

Foyer

We have a lovely foyer that flows into the living room once walking into our home.  It is also an odd space because of the size and where the front door is located.
In other words, I would love a bigger table along the wall walking into the space but I don’t think that will happen!

Living Room

Although our home is a ranch style home, it has somewhat of an open floor plan with the foyer opening up immediately to the spacious living room.

The living room was the first room we started on.  We knew with family and friends coming over we would need a place to laugh and come together.  We started with zero furniture for this space.  The only rooms in the house we had fully furnished upon moving in was our bedroom and the guest bedroom.

After going to many, many furniture stores, searching online for the perfect rug, and Ryan starting his adventure of building furniture, we designed and created a functional living room.

My next adventure will be finding a chair for the far corner.

The biggest change we made in the living room was completing a DIY project of painting over the brass fireplace screen.  We actually used black spray paint that you would use on a grill and it only took a matter of 20 minutes!

Dining Room

Not too long ago I featured my dining room makeover on the blog.  It is by far my favorite space in our home due to the unique angle I took with the stenciled wall and the farmhouse table and bench Ryan built.  A lot of time and love went into this room!   Read more about it here: Dining Room Makeover.

Outdoor Patio

Our patio was pretty nasty and dirty when we moved in.  Therefore, it was a space we neglected and never enjoyed.

One weekend I decided to tackle this beast of a job.  I scrubbed, cleaned some more, painted, and designed.  I love the end result!  I also did a blog post on this space: Patio Space Makeover.  It is now a space we enjoy on a daily basis.

Kitchen

I love our kitchen!  It has so much space when it comes to counters, cabinets, and room for people to snack and mingle.  I am still debating about painting the kitchen cabinets.  It would be a huge undertaking, but so worth it I believe!

Here is the before of the right side of the kitchen:

The after:

Our kitchen also includes a sunny breakfast nook thanks to the bay window that lets in amazing sunlight throughout the day.

The before of the breakfast nook:
The after:

Laundry Room

As you can tell in the previous picture, the laundry/mud room is off of the kitchen.  It is an amazing space due to it’s size and having two doors that lead to the back yard and the garage.

 Our very first purchase for our new home was a washer and dryer.  I was so thrilled about buying our first set, that I named them Herb and Wilma.

I love this journey of decorating a home.  I love even more sharing this journey with you and what we have accomplished in the past year within our lovely abode!

Part 2 of the “Then and Now” will debut on the blog next week where you will get a glance at our bedrooms, bathrooms, and backyard.  I am thrilled to share the other half of our home with you and hope you enjoyed the first half!

Let’s keep in touch!

We have a brand new community over on Facebook, House & Home, where we’ll be chatting, sharing, and helping one another when it comes to home decor and projects. Come join us! Check it out here.

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