I've been wanting to share a home tour here since I started blogging! Working on our house has been quite the journey. Part of the reason I haven't ever hit publish on a home tour is because I feel like it's always going to be a work in progress. But, I found an album hidden away in a folder on my desktop of pictures I took when I first moved in and it inspired me to share our journey so far.
A little background, first. My husband bought this house with his sister in 2006. Possibly the worst year to buy a house, but hey they didn't know that at the time. It's a 1950's bungalow, with a few quirks. And by a few, I mean every single thing about this house is weird and not done to code or in any sensical way.
They did a ton of work when they bought the house, so I'm grateful for that. It was a blank slate when I came into the picture, which I was also happy about. I had lots of ideas and still have a lot of plans for this place! Newly weds have hardly any money though, and we've been forced to take it slow and do one thing at a time. And I think there will always been a next project around here.
I started a dedicated page for our official 'Home Tour' up in the header. There you will find a floor plan, and a few pictures from previous posts. Here on the blog I've already documented our guest bathroom remodel, our guest room and master bedroom refreshes, and our back porch makeover. I haven't shared pictures of our kitchen, office, living room or dining room - so that's what I'm doing now.
Starting with the Living Room!
Our front door opens into our Living Room. There isn't much space for an entry way, but I do have a mirror and key hook right by the door. Other than that, the room is totally and completely dedicated to watching tv. Now, if this were any other house, I would hate that. I really think furniture should not be pointed at the tv, but rather be a place to gather and encourage conversation.
Because of the way this room is laid out there aren't any other options. Trust me, I've tried every configuration possible. None of this upsets my husband at all, and he loves that the living room is laid out to best support movie watching! I've adapted though, if we want to talk or have people over to play a game or something, we do that in the dining room.
So, this is what the room looked like about a year after we got married and I moved in. I have an earlier picture, but Blake is taking a nap on the couch in it, and it wouldn't be right to share that one here. When we first got married, we had a tan microfiber sectional and a brown recliner. I took these photos the day we got our leather furniture and added the white curtains. (Look at baby Delly! She must have been less than a year old)
I was in love with that shelving! It was so fun to switch up the pictures and decorations on that thing. I actually only took it down about a year ago. It became way too busy for my current style. (less is more!)
Currently, we have the same couches and side tables. We have Blake's grandma's steamer trunk in one corner now and I love that piece so much. We've added a higher bookshelf for our movie collection, gotten a new tv, switched to an ottoman coffee table and changed up the decor for a more nautical look.
The pugs couldn't not be in my pictures! They are a huge part of the living room decor. They are always in there, perched on the top of the couches - covering everything in dog hair.
I'm actually surprised with how consistent this room has stayed. I guess I shouldn't be. When you have a great set of couches, all you really will ever need to change out are the toss pillows from time to time. The only thing that I know will change in here soon is the carpet! It was replaced when Blake bought the house, but now that's over 10 years old. And when you have pets!! I get our carpet cleaned every 6 months or so, and it always looked brand new afterwards, but not so much anymore. That's kinda how I know it's life is running low. (Whether we get carpet again or try out a hard floor remains to be decided!)
Alright guys, leave a comment below if you are excited about this house tour! I'd love to hear your thoughts about glimpses into other people's homes. How do you feel about furniture pointed at the tv? Has your house changed a lot over the years or are you pretty consistent in what you like?