What Can Change In Two Years

On April 18th I celebrated the two year anniversary of home ownership. I can't believe so much time has gone by already. Our house has been a source of delight & comfort as well as a seemingly never ending project. I think that's how home ownership is supposed to feel. That's what I tell myself, at least!
So, I thought I would give you just a little bit of visual evidence of the work that has taken place.
You can check here, here, & here for some before pics. Here are some after pics. Does anyone else love before & after pics quite so much as me? They are such great FUN!
We will start with the kitchen. I had to take a pic of this corner because it makes me laugh. Our kitchen is actually pretty roomy, however there are four doors in this one corner so you can't use this space for anything. We have a basement door, bathroom door, closet door, & dining room door. In this pic you can't see the basement door. Just wanted to let you know that I haven't imagined Door #4.
Here is the built in hutch. Mike sanded the paint off of the counter top so we could restore the wood. He also installed l.e.d. lights under the cabinet so we can illuminate the counter top. Then he rebuilt the two top drawers into one deep drawer that holds all of our pots & pans. Have I ever told you that I love that man!

This is the pantry corner. Mike got me that antique crock for Christmas one year. It holds all sorts of exciting things like dish towels or potatoes. Just depends on my mood...

This pic shows you the new deep white sink & the wooden counter tops that I helped Mike make. I helped = I handed him drills, glue, clamps, etc. What would he do without me? *grin*

Here's the dining room. That hutch was Mike's grandma's. We also have her dining table & chairs. They are dinged up a little bit but I love them so much. There is so much history in a family's dining table & chairs. I like to imagine all the talks his family had there. Mike's mom comes from a family of seven so I'm sure there were many moments of hilarity & despair. I love having the physical reminder in our home.
Yeah, I'm weirdly sentimental about dining tables. It's just part of who I am.

In this pic you can see the defunct ceiling fan that still needs to be replaced. We haven't been able to decide on something that doesn't cost a million bucks.

This is the view into the living room from the dining room. Mike's family got us this flat screen tv for a wedding gift so we mounted it & Mike built a wooden frame to go around it. I think it is some of his best work.

Here's the other side of the room. I would love to have our loveseat reupholstered. Any of my bloggy friends do some upholstery on the side? I'm serious.

Here's the bottom part of the shelf that Mike built in the bathroom. It allows for so much storage! And it's pretty. And it holds all the stuff that makes me pretty. Therefore, the need for lots of storage *grin*

Here's the top portion. I had to take a pic of Dr. Phil. That little plant came to live at my apartment many years ago. The girls that I worked with at the jewelry store gave him to me as a housewarming gift. I have officially kept him alive for almost four years. That's a serious accomplishment for this black thumb!

We decided that we would keep the old school built in medicine cabinet. It has a tiny mirror, but I still love it. If I can't see my whole face & hair in it, obviously something needs to change besides the mirror!

Mike install these new light fixtures & they are a huge improvement over the boxy fluorescent ones that preceded them.

And here is the bedroom. I was a little bit afraid that I would get tired of the strong red color, but I still love it. We have another framed tv in here & Mike has done an excellent job of putting together some wall collages of wedding pics, his family, & my family. We used mostly black & white prints & I love the effect.

This is the corner where the newly constructed hamper will go. More on that to come soon!

See those two throw pillows on the bed? I purchased those back in the day when I had my little apartment. From the design on those pillows I picked every major color for our house. The red for the bedroom, the blue for the bathroom, the green for the kitchen, & even the taupe-y color for the living/dining room. I love those pillows. They justify all of my decorating decisions!

And here is just a shot of the opposite corner of the bedroom. Now you have indeed seen it all!

I'll bet you never dreamed it could take so long to walk through a one bedroom house! It has been a long journey for us & our project list is still as long as my arm, but it is fun to look back & see what we have accomplished thus far. The Lord has been good to help us do it, pay for it, & still love each other through all the little issues that inevitably arise with home improvement :-)