Friday, November 7, 2014

making a house a home: the cribs style tour, part two

If you're really into houses and you want to see what the downstairs of my house looks like, check out yesterday's post.

Okay, so now we can go to the backyard. The door is just off the breakfast nook and opens to a large covered deck. Duncan loves having a protected place to hang out outside, and we can't wait to get more furniture out here to hang out with him. Andrew is going to build a little area for his smoker, too. We both love that there is green space behind the house so we'll never have back neighbors. I have no idea why our grass is dying. We have a sprinkler system but I accidentally broke it already.

I forgot to take pics before Daylight Savings and clearly I had a photobomber on my hands.
Still left to do: Put down pavers for smoker, buy outdoor furniture, convince dog that he loves his dog house (yeah right).

Back in the house, I'll show you upstairs. One of the things I loved about this house is that the stairs were laminate and not carpet. I have no idea what to do along the stairway wall. I'm thinking of trying to collect something, like vintage mirrors or window panes, or even pictures of something specific, but we haven't found anything yet. There's a hallway at the top of the stairs and you can go left or right. Walking down the hall, you can see into the living room and entry way. If you go to the left, you'll come to our game room and office/craft room. The game room is open and you can see into the entry way from it. We just got couches to put up there and we plan to use this room for watching Blurays or when Andrew wants to play video games (I normally sit nearby and read or blog). The computer and printer go in the office/craft room. I would love to use this room for gift wrapping or scrap booking or whatever fun hobby I'm currently in the mood for. We also have all of our books in here and all of my extra picture frames, candles, etc. are in the closet so I can see what I have when I get the urge to do some redecorating. We have this extra chair and a half that's in here for now, but it may get craigslisted soon.

View from game room looking down (also Bauer's new favorite perch which TERRIFIES me | The greenspace as seen going up the stairs | From the bottom of the stairs looking up to the game room

The game room from two angles and then the craft room/offce on the top right
Still left to do: Go through old paperwork and file or shred, get a small desk chair, maybe recover couch pillows

To the right of the stairs, there's another bathroom and two more bedrooms. One is a spare bedroom with our old spare bedroom furniture. Nothing too special. I know I'm breaking the home decor rules with the rug but it's in great shape and I don't know where else to put it! The other room was just going to be a "junk" room but my mom was getting rid of a futon, so we took it. Normally when we have guests, we have my father-in-law and sister-in-law, so having two places for them to sleep is a plus. Both spare bedrooms have TVs with DVD players so our guests can watch movies or hook up their laptops if they want to watch TV in bed.

Still left to do: Get a hook for the hand towel in the bathroom. I think the spare bedrooms are fine considering the amount of use they'll get, but is there anything you would do to make it cozier?

A lot of people have asked us why we got such a big house for two people. Honestly, there's no real, good answer. The game room and 4th bedroom are beyond what we were looking for but they're both nice to have. If Andrew is watching football, it's nice to have somewhere to go besides our bedroom if I want to watch TV. When we have company, if the women split off from the men, there are two places to go. We don't need all this space, but we'll definitely find a use for it!

So basically, that's my house. I'm really loving life out here. My commute to work is cut nearly in half (but Andrew's drive home is longer). We've found a lot of cute, local restaurants. My coworker friend has invited us into her friend group, Duncan and I go on walks almost every day, and we're trying to meet the neighbors. There are trees everywhere and so far, watching planes land has yet to get old (we're really close to the airport). It isn't pinterest perfect, but it's ours, and that's more than enough.


  1. i'm not the right person to give decorating advice because i have zero creativity! my husband did all the decorating in our house. for ideas, pinterest that shite, girl!!

  2. i'm loving this tour, your house is beautiful. I bet youre loving the shorter commute! I did a hellish commute for two years and it made the BIGGEST difference when I changed jobs and then had a very short commute, i felt like I gained half my day back:)

  3. Okay, your back porch is now my favorite part of your house. That back porch definitely needs a porch swing. ;)

    I love the upstairs as much as I did the downstairs. I really like the idea of doing vintage mirrors along the stairway wall.

  4. What a weird question to ask someone "why such a big house for two people." Uh? Because you liked it and wanted it and could afford it? We get that question sometimes and it really pisses me off. We're a young couple...isn't there maybe the chance that we'll GROW into a house? Or maybe we just needed enough space to exist in the house together without killing each other? Or maybe I needed 2 extra bedrooms so one could be a guest room and one could be my office. Okay, I don't know why that got me all heated. I need to take my chill pill for the day! ha! Call me crazy but I actually really like that rug under the bed that way! I used to work in a rug store and we would have to think of creative ways to use rugs in rooms and we've definitely suggested that before! LOVING your outdoor space, for reals!

  5. Seriously people have asked about why you have such a big house for two people? GTFO. What the F is wrong with people? You're nice for your answer. Mine would be I DO WHAT I WANT.

    You're so fortunate to back up to green space. That's wonderful! Your yard is great, really fabulous to have a covered space back there. I can see you guys hanging out with a cute little table and some lanterns.

    I break every decor rug rule, my rugs are never the correct dimension according to decor rules.

    Both of our spare rooms are done like regular bedrooms with beds, but we also have bedroom furniture in there - old stuff/hand me downs. To make it seem not "empty" I have stuff on the walls in both rooms just like I do in the rest of the house. I'd put the chair from the office in the futon room before I craigslisted it just for another point of interest/place to relax!

  6. I'm really jealous of your covered patio. We have a quite private lot of 3/4 an acre but no deck or patio really. That will hopefully come in the spring *budget willing*

  7. Love the laminate stairs too!! I say it's better to have too much space than too little so if this fit your budget that's great. I mean like 5000 sq feet is pushing it but you know, an extra room or two is nice. We have two separate living areas and I really like that we can be in different spaces doing our own thing.

  8. People are so rude, because it's the house we liked that's why. Besides we have a cat and a dog that need space to! :)

    I love the covered porch for Duncan, I wish we had one for our dogs. Then going outside when it rained wouldn't be such a big messy deal.

  9. It's so spacious! I love all the light you get in from the upstairs! It seems so nice and cozy in the game room. I think it seems great, other people are just jealous. Your backyard is so big, seems perfect for hosting BBQs!!

  10. Everything looks great so far! Love that you have so much space - so many options! I also love your backyard with that covered deck. I'd love to have something like that. :)

  11. I love your backyard and that it is fenced in and doesn't have neighbors in the back. Perfect privacy. I love your house and just tell them that is big enough so your friend Kerry can move in! ;)

  12. Love how open and big your home is. Great job on decorating it. Looks fab!!

  13. LOOOOOVE!!! Like, seriously... I'm in LOVE with your place! I'm on my way right now to test out one of the guest rooms. ;P

  14. Your house is just beautiful. Those high ceilings! Amazing. I love looking at how different houses are in other countries!

    Oh and we live in a (technically) 4 bedroom house for just the 2 of us as well, and people have been hinting at asking why (but they're all too British to just come out and say it). Our neighbours told us they expected us to have children! I mean....!

    Enjoy your lovely new house,


  15. I love your house (I checked out yesterdays post too!). It looks great, and pinterest worthy is overrated, feeling like a real home is totally in!

  16. I really love your back porch!!!! I really wish our back deck was covered! We would use it so much more and I know the dogs would like that too! I also love your upstairs and the way the hall is opened like that.

    I can't believe people ask you why the big house? Umm none of your business, that is why!!! People have told Chris and I we must have 4 bedrooms because we thought about growing. Actually no....we didn't want to be cramped in a small space. We each have our own office, and we have a spare room for guests thank you very much!

  17. I want your house!! Seriously I am so jealous it is such a gorgeous house!

