Home Tour Part 2

Ok, so can I just go ahead and say that I was super nervous publishing that last post and then mentioning it on IG. It's very awkward to "put myself out there" like that. But I really do love looking at other people's houses and never think it's weird when others post, so I'm holding onto that thought. :) Anyway, on to Part 2. It would have made more sense for this part to go first because it really shows the layout of the house, but I had all the bedroom pics taken before these.

So this is a picture facing our front door/entryway. There is a coat closet on the left, and to the right is the living room. Behind where I was standing is the den, and to my left is the hallway to bedrooms.

That oriental rug came from my grandparents' house.

This is the living room. I still need to hang something above the couch {I have some botanical prints but I haven't found frames for them yet}. The chair on the right was my grandparents' as well. The couch is one that Chris and I got right after we graduated. It had a red slipcover on it, and it's been in my sister's basement for the past few years. I got a white one made for it and am happy with how it turned out. 

We actually had the decorating help of Mary Louise Menendez, who currently works for Southern Living but is getting into the interior designer biz. We knew of her family through Christopher and Craig as well as my friend Katharyn, and she sent out an email right around the time we were moving saying she would design a room for three different families to help promote her business. Christopher forwarded it to me, and so I "applied," knowing we probably wouldn't get it. But I was happily surprised when she chose us!! I have never worked with a designer before {I mean, obviously}, so I didn't really know what to expect, but she got my tastes immediately and knew exactly what I was looking for.

{When I published this I accidentally put Mary Louis Menendez. Ooops. Can't blame me since I am way more used to typing my own name :) }

Poor thing was probably regretting the decision to choose when I told her our budget, though {well, I didn't give her an actual budget so much as just said "We don't really have much to spend, so the cheaper the better."} But she did a great job working with lots of things we already had and incorporated a few new things as well. 

She found that straight-back chair in the back right as well as that white lamp on the dresser. The dresser was originally in our bedroom. The cabinet on the far right {you can see it better below} has always been used for our china and crystal, but she had the idea to move it into the living room to use more as a bookshelf. 

That green wing back chair was a hand-me-down from John's aunt, and we had it recovered a few years ago. And I immediately regretted the fabric and have always hated it. BUT, it actually works perfectly in this room! The colors in the drapes {which my mom found for me} really make the color of the chair stand out, in my opinion.

It wasn't in our budget to buy a new rug, so we are using one we already had. It doesn't go exactly, but it will do for now.

She found this beverage cart, as well as the coffee table and side tables below. She also picked out the fabric for the throw pillows and the couch, and I LOVE how it all turned out!

Ok, sooo the dining room. It is the least used room in our house, which is funny since we ate every single meal in the dining room at our old house. I bought the table and chairs at an estate sale six years ago and have been dying to get the chairs recovered. And I SWORE I would not bring them into the new house without them being recovered. Well, as it turns out, we don't have a money tree growing in our backyard, so there they sit. {And I really haven't found a fabric I love yet either.}

I am looking for a sideboard for that back wall. There is a pocket door on the right that goes in to the kitchen. That china cabinet also came from my grandparents' house. And this might be a good time to explain why I all of a sudden got all this stuff from my grandparents. :) My grandfather died in 2006 {my grandmother Mary Louis died in 1984}, but my step-grandmother has been living in the house {where my dad grew up} since then. She just moved to an assisted living place, so my dad and his sisters had to sell the house. So the three kids got the things they wanted, and my dad took pictures of whatever was left over to see if Chris or I wanted anything. I am sentimental about anything that belonged to them, especially my grandmother since she died when we were so young, so I was very happy to get a few things. Anyway...

This is a picture of the hallway off the main entryway. It leads to the master and SC's bedrooms. Those louvered doors on the left hide the laundry, and while I wish we had a dedicated laundry "room," it has plenty of space, and its location is good. There are some shelves to its right and another coat closet at the end of the hall. There is also a laundry shoot on the right wall that we actually use. The hall bath is the next door to the right, and SC's room is at the end of the hall on the right. Ours is on the left. Just to the left of the laundry is the door leading down to the basement and garage. 

Love seeing these pictures of my sweets right outside of my bedroom.

 The next pictures are of the den. This is where we spend the most time. My only complaints about it are that it's dark {need more lamps} and it smells like a camp fire all the time {gotta get that chimney cleaned out}.

It is right off the main hallway and connects to the kitchen {as you can see in the background} and the upstairs. We really want to change up that fireplace and mantle but have no idea how.

And if you wondered what a bunch of random busy fabrics thrown together looks like, well here ya go.

I got those chairs at Scott's in Atlanta for a steal! I didn't know where I would put them but I couldn't pass them up.

 I love that we can shut those little double doors to the hall if we need to {to keep the noise down for SC's sake}.

And here is the kitchen. It is roomy and has a ton of storage. We had such great cabinet space at the old house that I was convinced we wouldn't find that again, but this one definitely has just as much storage. I bought the kitchen table and chairs off Facebook before we even had a place to put them. John was annoyed but I just knew in our next house we would have a breakfast room/eat-in kitchen. :)

That door on the right leads to the patio and backyard. 

In my dream world, I would replace the counter tops with white marble, get white subway tile back splash and stainless appliances. I used to always envision white cabinets too, but I really do like the color of these. They just look darker against the darker granite, back splash, and wall color. 

This is the basement. We have absolutely loved having all of this extra play space and storage room. 

 Just ignore that cot rolled up in the back corner. And the previous owners left that air hockey table. We had no idea they were planning to do that until we got the pictures from the appraisal, and there it was in all its glory smack dab in the middle of the basement. John was thrilled. I was less than. My plan was to move it into the garage, but it turns out that the kids {at first} loved to play with it, and we couldn't quite figure out how to take it apart to move it. But now it mostly just takes up space because no one really plays it anymore {except Louis Lowry when he comes over :) }. 

The room was the color of the closet shown above {dark tan} and we painted it the same color as C's room on a whim, and I'm SO glad. It would have been so dingy otherwise. That closet is so nice for storing toys and games. Their play kitchen is also in there {to the right- you just can't see it}.

Those louvered doors on the right hide a wet bar. John has especially loved having that. 

The door on the left side of the armoire is a bathroom. And that door you can see on the far left goes out to the garage.

This is the full bath down there. 

I don't have any good pictures of the backyard because everything is dead right now, but maybe I'll post some in the Spring. 

Well, that wraps up the tour. Thanks for "visiting" our house! We love it and are so thankful to be making memories here with our family!