Today is the day!
I’m so excited to guide you through a full house tour and share info and resources for all of the things I frequently receive questions about. Onwards to the tour…
Before we dive in, I have to confess that as I write this we are already mapping out all sorts of changes for our home. I can’t help myself – but mainly, the girls have been begging for their own rooms for years, and we’ve decided to make a bunch of creative changes to enable this to happen sometime in the next year before Chloe starts middle school. More on that later.
On to the tour…
OK. First things first. Our home is 1200 square feet and has two closets, so we have to get creative about storage. As you can see below, when you walk in there is no mudroom or entry closet, so we fashioned together a makeshift entry with these hooks and this rolling basket for shoes below.
We mostly use our living room for movie nights, reading, lounging, and making pillow forts. We invested in the sectional and cozy rug to make it easy to gather with friends and family.
When we bought our home from friends seven years ago we opened the doorway between the living and dining rooms. The dining room used to be very dark, so we removed the window coverings, added white chairs and a pendant light, and I recently broke down and painted all of the dark wood white. This was a VERY controversial move, but I love it.
The paint is probably the thing I get asked about the most. The trim is Snowfall White and the wall color is Light Pewter, both by Benjamin Moore.
Now that the dining room feels light and airy, I love spending time here. We use the space for family meals, art projects, homework, and entertaining with friends. The built-in cabinets on the back wall store everything from art supplies to homework cubbies, to oversized platters, napkins, and candles.
Sources: Dining Table / Chairs / Basket / Stools / Ceramic Lights / Rug / Pendant Light
The dining room leads right into our long, narrow kitchen. We remodeled the kitchen immediately after buying our home. Since we were on a tight timeline and budget, we kept the existing cabinetry, and elevated the space with new lighting, hardware, and backsplash. You can read about our renovation and tips right here.
I love how it all turned out, and I especially love how inviting the open cabinets feel – all of our everyday essentials can easily be accessed by anyone who stops by for a visit. Not shown: a stackable washer/dryer, wall-mounted Dyson, and tiny half-bath are nestled in the back of the kitchen.
Kitchen Sources: Vintage Rug (similar here) / Hardware / Pendant Lights / Flush Mount Lights / Toaster / Dishes + Bowls / Paint Color
Since our home is over 100-years old and on a small parcel of land, we don’t have a garage, or attic, and our basement is the size of a postage stamp. The only items we store in the basement are tax and house records, house paint, and a handful of bins full of sentimental items.
That’s it for the bottom floor. Ready to head upstairs?
Let’s start with the master bedroom. This smallish room pretty much just fits our queen sized bed, nightstands, and dresser. I kept the decor very simple and minimal (surprise, surprise!), because after a long day juggling work, kids, and our new puppy, I like my bedroom to feel as much like a boutique hotel as possible.
The throw pillows and Moroccan blanket are both from The Vintage Rug shop and you can check out our bed styling tutorial right here.
My husband, Jordan, and I share a decent sized closet, even though I don’t much care for sharing. More on this right here. Below you can see how we maximized vertical storage by adding lower and upper shelves and have created zones for his / hers so we each have our own space. Here’s my side of the closet:
And here’s one of my husband, Jordan’s side (yes, he does like blue shirts and sneakers):
Sharing a closet ensures that we keep our wardrobes quite streamlined. I used these wooden hangers to create a clean boutique-like aesthetic.
Next up, the girls currently share the largest bedroom because we wanted them to have enough room to play.
They have the same simple metal bed-frames and we recently updated their bedding to freshen things up a little.
All of the bedding is from Serena and Lily and other sources are linked right here: Bed Frames / Pendant Light / Library Cart
The girls also share a closet which you can see below. We use the closet for storing their mementos, party dresses, and items to grow into and a bag of things to donate.
Closet sources here: Rose Gold Hangers / Canvas Bins / Wall Decals
In between the two bedrooms is a linen closet we use for all of our towels, linens, and personal care products. I have organized the open bins by broad category to make it easy to find first-aid and medicine, nail care, travel, and back-up products, and extra sheets (one for each bed) since I have yet to master the art of properly folding bottom sheets.
Next up, we have our one tiny full bathroom. We remodeled the bathroom to brighten it up, but it’s still quite cramped for all four of us to navigate (and I do dream of one day having my own spacious bathroom!).
Our only storage consists of the two drawers beneath the sink. These drawers hold our toothbrushes, extra toilet paper, and every day products.
We share body wash, shampoo and conditioner so we can keep the products in our shower to the bare minimum.
Bathroom sources right here: Tile / Light / Hooks / Mirror
The last space on the tour is our office which used to be our guest room. We recently removed the guest bed to make room for a work space built for two and a cozy love seat for reading and relaxing.
This space used to be a sun porch. Its small and bright and one of my favorite places to work, write, and relax.
Sources: Loveseat / Chairs / Desks / Rug / Light
Whew. We did it! I truly love our home, and I feel like it’s the perfect size for our family. Most of all, I’m proud to have created a space that supports our values. The comfortable living spaces were designed to make it easy to host and entertain on a moment’s notice, and the minimalist aesthetic enables us to rent our home out easily when we travel.
Hope you enjoyed the tour and maybe even came away with some ideas for your own home.
We’re currently finishing up a big exterior makeover which I’ll be sharing right here very soon. Stay tuned! Xx
P.S. Looking to streamline and refresh your own space? Join my signature program, The Get Organized Master Class, where I share the exact process and toolkit I use in my own home and with my private clients. Details and sign up right here.
Image Credit: Vivian Johnson Photography
