We have been living here in our small apartment for a year now. It has been a hard to adjust from house living to apartment living, especially having 4 small children. I am a gluten for punishment so I have made a habit of scouring craigslist and trulia for homes closer to the church despite having a lease. And that most of the homes in the neighborhood are way out of our price range. Looking at all the beautiful million dollar homes was usually followed by a little moping and the occasional pint of Ben & Jerry's, but mostly a Pinterest party, where I furnished and decorated my dream home.
Well, my constant praying (and a little wishful thinking) has finally paid off! We are moving into an amazing house in a week! While it is not ours, (we are renting, but really, after having owned a home, I would much rather call a landlord to fix things than deal with it all myself) it couldn't be any more perfect for us. This new place is effectively twice as large as our apartment, has an amazing fenced yard, and is perfect for entertaining! And the best part? It is right across the street from the church! It is literally a 2 minute walk from door to office for Tony! With the many changes this year is bringing, for Tony to have the ability to come home for lunch or in between meetings is a God send. He is faithful, y'all! We are homeschooling this year and there will be a homeschool room that will also double as an office/ craft space for me. There is a living area downstairs which will function as a family/game room. We will have a guest room/office for Tony, as well. Seriously, I could not have built a better house for us!
The downside to all of this is that we are going to need a lot of "new" things in order to make all of this work. I have been on the hunt since the beginning of summer for a dining room set as well as a dresser for our room. I am a big fan of garage/estate sales and thrift shops, but you are at the whim of the thrift store fairies if you are looking for something in particular. Now, we will have 2 dining areas in need of furnishing. Gah! And there is a huge deck in the back that is just begging for some amazing patio furniture as well as a big grill and dining set. We will need extra bedroom sets now for the kid's and guest rooms as well. It seems that I will need to continue with my Pinterest parties for a little while longer!
Here are a few of my favorite place for inspiration:
Ana White
This woman is my hero. She takes diy-ing to a whole new level. (and yes, I did just use that as a verb. It's legit.) Check out her amazing plans for just about any piece of furniture, and more, that you could ever need. Her blog has grown from being a place for her to share her plans to a whole community of people sharing plans, advice, and pictures of their successes! A personal favorite is her Farmhouse bed, which also happens to be her first furniture project. Hopefully, I will now be tackling a number of projects I have been eyeing since i will have the space to do it now!
Ikea Hackers
This is a really coo place where people post their Ikea hacks. :p Seriously, though, there are some genius people out there, folks. I love to see how people reuse, repurpose or deconstruct some basic pieces into something beautiful and functional.
Design*Sponge
This site has been dubbed "Martha Stewart Living for the Millennials" by the New York Times and it could not be more accurate. The beautiful spaces, art, and design featured daily on this blog serve as inspiration to many, myself included. I love to look at all the amazingly clean, bright, and open spaces when I am feeling overwhelmed in my very "lived-in" house. There is an awesome diy section, but I am drawn more to the finished rooms to try and figure out how to incorporate a high street look into my box store budget.
There are so many more, too! Do you frequent any good design or diy sites? Let me know! I do have a whole house to fill, after all...
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