I really do believe that home is where the heart is….I just happened to live in my dream house before we moved to Beaumont.  So when we started looking for houses, I cried….a lot.   Moving and ministry and moving for ministry when you have 1 kid not moving with you and 3 teenage girls is hard on a Mama’s heart.  After being totally selfish and feeling sorry for myself, I thought about how the house you live in is not that big of a deal in the grand scheme of things.  There are way too many people who are homeless or never own a home or have difficult things in their lives that I will never have to face in my own life.  Perspective is a beautiful thing and I need it regularly.  The house we bought is the one the rest of my family wanted and they were relentless.  So driving home from Beaumont to Kingwood after we looked at this house for the 2nd time, I was crying (remember I said I was feeling selfishly sorry for myself) and I asked God to help me know how to add character to this 3 year old home that didn’t have much character and was pretty manly.  It was almost like a switch was flipped and I pulled up the real estate photos of the house and started brainstorming ideas to make it feel more like my style.  Freddy was gracious to just get out of my way and let me plan what I wanted and hire House Calls General Contracting to do the work.  I only have one more structural thing I want to do to one space, but that will have to wait for now.  Here are some before and after photos….

 

The first thing we did after we closed on the house was go STRAIGHT to Lowe’s to buy paint!  Sherwin Williams Repose Gray is what I already knew that I wanted throughout the entire house. It changed the whole feel of the house immediately.  We are huge University of North Carolina fans but that Tarheel blue was not what I wanted throughout my whole house.

 

The Laundry Room was bare and I wanted open shelves in the kitchen so it just made sense to put the 3 kitchen upper cabinets in the laundry room.

 

The Kitchen….  The open shelves and subway tile are my favorite.  I really liked the quartz countertops and the black sink.  I originally planned to paint the lower cabinets white but once the shelves were stained, I liked the contrast of the white tiles and the dark cabinets & shelves.  Illiza was the one who picked out the pendant light replacements 😉

Shiplap….I had to have it!!

 

Here are a few of my favorite details in my kitchen.

 

 

My Office….  The house has a very open floor plan so my office feels like it’s in the living room but I am thankful for the space.  Check out the columns!

My W Wall…I’m obsessed

 

The Master Bedroom….this room and the master bath were more of a smokey blue/gray color.  I didn’t paint the master bath.  I probably will at some point this spring.  I don’t love the masculinity of the master bathroom but it’s not bothering me so I’m living with it.  Freddy LOVES the bathroom.  He’s a dude.

 

Ilana’s Room…

 

Isabelle & Illiza’s Room.

 

Home Really is where your heart is.  This is a cutting board I found at Kohl’s one day.  As soon as I saw it, I wanted to use my wood burning tools to burn hearts in the places where Freddy and I have lived since we’ve been married.

 

Fayetteville, NC

Nashville, TN

Virginia Beach, VA

Rainbow City, AL

York, PA

Olive Branch, MS

Humble/Kingwood, TX

Beaumont, TX