Our Humble Abode

What used to be an odd nook off of the living room (which we used as a small TV room), is now our dining room. We opened up a doorway (seen at the far right of this picture) so that the dining room is now open to the kitchen. I wanted to give the small room a little 'wow factor' by creating a focal wall. I hemmed and hawed about using wallpaper and instead decided upon using Japanese masking tape (in silver) to create a diamond pattern on the wall. The best part is that the tape removes easily and without any damage to the wall. We still plan on replacing the ceiling fan with a drum pendant and placing a rug under the table.

Here's a better view of the open doorway that we had built from the kitchen to the dining room.

Originally, the refrigerator was placed on the left wall (where the doorway is now) and there was a window on the wall where the refrigerator currently is. What made the window so weird and useless was that it looked out into the carport and was mostly blocked by the refrigerator. Awk-ward! By removing the window, we were able to move the orientation of the fridge and have a space for the doorway. Still left on our agenda is to install cabinets above and to the right of the fridge for a more built-in look.

We replaced the old laminate countertops and backsplash with a Level 3 granite and mosaic glass & stone backsplash. Andrew and I did the backsplash ourselves during one of Finley's monster naps.

Originally this space was used as a storage area, but when we were moving everything around it became clear we really needed an office area. So we moved the desk and computer in here and it fits perfectly. I hung three mirrors horizontally to create a more open feeling and to reflect the light since there isn't a window on that wall. For $12 total, I really like the mirrored wall!

Just over a year ago, we decided to take our house off the market after five months without a contract. I had high hopes of moving from our tiny 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom house in central Austin to a much larger, better functioning house in the burbs. Unfortunately, with the downturn in the economy, we realized that we'd have to put those dreams on hold for awhile.

I really had the itch to turn our house into a home. I worked room by room to update and refurnish the house and now we're just about finished! All that is really left is to re-sod and landscape the front and back yards. (I didn't post any pictures of Finley's room or the bathroom since we re-did those rooms over a year ago and didn't make any changes to them. Although I do have great plans for Fin's big girl room makeover!)

With such small bedrooms, we didn't have the room for a large headboard/footboard. One Saturday while Fin was sleeping, Andrew and spent about $50 and made our own upholstered headboard. I also sewed a new bedskirt and got a cute rug for the floor.