Making a house a home: Living room edition

The past few months have flown by. I look back and can't believe that it's already been 4 months since we have moved into our new home. Between moving, starting a new job, working on the house and settling into a new area it has really left very little time to blog so I'm hoping that since things are starting to calm a bit that I'll be able to focus on blogging a little more regularly. When I think back about all that has happened this year, it boggles my mind, but that's a post on it's own that I'll go into at another time.

In the small amount of time we have spent in the new house we have been able to complete a lot of projects. The whole downstairs area has been re-painted, that includes the living room, family room, dining room and kitchen, including all the cupboards and trim as well. I can say that I'm completely sick of painting, and to be honest I did little of it compared to Ryan. As much as I hate painting, it makes such a difference in a home. Before we moved in we had this icky yellow/off white color on the wall the reminded me of a smokers home. A new, fresh palette really made a huge difference. Adding in some personal items and lots of love have definitely made this house a home.

I can honestly say that I love our new home. Moving here has allowed us to be so much closer to family and friends and we love the simplicity of being able to call someone and meet up the same day, instead of making travel plans days/weeks in advance. I feel like this area is a step up from where we were before and as much as I loved the college town atmosphere, it's nice to be somewhere different and more...evolved. Living in town in so convenient for running to the store to pick things up and close to local events. Having the high school and middle school nearby is great for all the extras they provide (pool, tennis courts, track, football stadium). This small town atmosphere is definitely something I admire and am so thankful to have.

Here are a few photos of the home and projects we have completed so far. For now, I'm going to just show the living room and family room area.

Before: Living room looking into the family room.

Before: Living room (love the big picture window)

Before: Keeping Ryan busy with all the painting.

Before: Our old frumpy furniture (which now has a new home in the basement)

After: New furniture (FIL gave it to us because too large for his new home) & rug that we LOVE. Such a step up! Still need window treatment and a hanging light in the top left corner.

Cozy fireplace that is getting a TON of use already. 

Christmas Love

Our musical corner: Piano from my childhood home that my parents gave us and guitar from my dad. The area to the left leads to our dining room and kitchen. 

 Do you have any home projects that you are working on right now or the near future?