Home is where your heart is

We haven’t really stopped with the house updates, they are pretty much continual when you keep having more children and other life events happen. I haven’t updated much, but I aim to change that as we embark on this next phase of home improvements. 

For starters, my parent’s master bedroom is finished and they’ve moved in. We took my grandfather’s previous bedroom and upgraded the space to a more comfortable and larger bedroom including an attached master bath. Previously there were two bedrooms, a hallway, and the bath but now there is just the one master bed and bath. Jason resides in the converted loft that Steve completed last spring, which is across the hall from the new master.

The majority of the work on my parent’s room was done by Steve; demo, framing, drywall, painting, floor installation, bathroom upgrades, etc. Done on the weekends primarily, he finished shortly after Christmas time.

We’ve turned our attention to the two rooms that my parents vacated – their bedroom and what my mom referred to as her closet. Lest you think it is an actual closet, it used to be my bedroom when I was a little girl and then served as my brother’s bedroom when Erin and I moved to a bigger shared bedroom above the garage (yes, our current bedroom). Are you keeping track of all these changes? Are you confused yet? It’s a room. If I was skilled in the art of photoshop I would draw you a schematic to give you a better idea, but I am not. At all. Which I should attempt because it would be amazing if I could detail every change that has happened to the footprint of this house since my grandfather bought and built it in the fifties. Much, I assure you.

In short, what has happened is that we’ve completed a shift in the house. My parents and brother are now completely on one side of the house, and we are on the other with the kitchen and dining room serving as the communal shared space in the center. 

I’ve termed the two new rooms the workroom and the playroom for simplicity sake. Calling them “Mimi & Bampie’s old bedroom and closet” was getting confusing and seemed silly. Cutter was searching for Daddy and going to the wrong room too many times to count. 

We have also gained our own bathroom upstairs which did not seem as big of a deal at first, but now that we have use of it primarily I’m finding it hard to believe we did not for so long. We previously had used the downstairs bath for showers, getting ready, etc. but now we have a shower just outside of our bedroom door. Silly, but gratifying all the same. 

So, we have two new spaces to us that we have wasted no time transforming into spaces that suit our needs. My Pinterest boards have been getting a work out; lighting, rugs, desk inspiration, art, bathroom organization. The list goes on. Steve has already painted (twice) the workroom, replaced doors, and started to work on a new floor.

My parent’s design style is polar opposite of mine. This has perhaps been one of the most interesting things to deal with as we navigate multi-generational living and all that entails. When I started cooking full-time last April, I slowly made changes to the kitchen and then when (with their permission as I asked for free reign) they went on vacation I overhauled the kitchen, taking everything out of all the cabinets and rearranged, redecorated, and redesigned to my heart’s content. Steve and I overall prefer things put away and counters clear, or at least corralled. My parents like things out that they can see and use. It’s simply a difference in style, but one that I couldn’t handle when using the kitchen daily. They returned home and required a tour to get reacquainted, but since I was spending the majority of my time in the kitchen we agreed it made sense to organize it how it worked best for me. Save for a few things, it’s worked out.

My parent’s bedroom – our now workroom – was painted a saturated yellow with a dark, bold red accent wall. We opted for a more open feel and painted the room Dove White by Benjamin Moore. The floor needs to be finished and we’re fairly certain we’re doing a plywood treatment (stay tuned). 

My mom’s closet – our now playroom – served as my brother’s adolescent bedroom (though I still consider him to be an adolescent) and thus reflects that in the colors of choice that are currently on those walls; bright green with an area of the ceiling painted black used as a solar system backdrop. We’ll be painting that room something brighter as well. 

For the workroom, we envision a room that is multipurpose in nature and is a veritable workhorse for our family. We have decided to homeschool and that will be the primary function of the room, but it will also serve as an office for both Steve and I as our office belongings have been displaced (in our bedroom) for the past year when we lost that workspace to give my brother an updated living space. It will also function as extra storage (there are two large closets in the room) and we will build built-in bookshelves to the one alcove wall as it lends itself to a space of storage. For now, that is the extent of the room’s vision, but I know it will change as we evolve, as everything does here.

The second room actually connects to the current kid’s room (and yes, they still all share one room) and thus we intend to use it as an extension of their room using it as a playroom for now. I fully intend to put all four children in one room once Ferris will be old enough. Having an extra room at our disposal for a child to play in or have quiet time will come in handy when the bedroom is predisposed for naps. We are also not naïve and are leaving the option open that eventually this room could be used as a bedroom. We live in the now however, and so we’re going to use it how it best works for us currently.

My punch list for these rooms is long, and many of them carry over into other areas of the house. That’s how most things happen anyway, move this to that room, that to this room, etc. I enjoy shopping the house and finding the best use for what we have, filling in the gaps where necessary.

Change is always exciting, but also always make me think of more projects that I want to do or that have fallen to the wayside and still remain on my ‘to-do’ list. Like the bookshelves in the living room that will one day be painted white. One day. These are certainly not the only house projects currently going on, the downstairs bath has been on the overhaul list for some time now but seems to keep getting shuffled to the wayside. Soon, downstairs bath it will be your turn, I promise. Just not yet. 

For now, we’re head over heels in love with our new space(s) and enjoying the blank slates that we can create and add our personal touches to. 

Kudos to you for reading through a post with no pictures; they're all on my phone. I'll post a separate update to try to clear up the confusion that I am sure exists. This house is a maze of years of tailored renovations.