We Bought a House!

We bought a house! After the longest house hunt ever, my family and I closed on our new Colonial home in Connecticut yesterday afternoon. My heart is so happy for this new chapter to begin in our lives, one where we make a house a home.

My husband and I have dreamed of owning a Colonial style home since we sold our last in Georgia. A Colonial home typically has two to three floors with the kitchen and family area on the first and bedrooms on the second, with a fireplace. There are many variations of Colonial style homes in New England, smaller and larger than our own, but we are in love with our new house.

We bought a four bedroom 2 1/2 bathroom Colonial with white exterior and blue shutters. The house was built in the 1970s, so there is quite a bit of work to be done to update the interior. The only space that has been updated is the kitchen counters and the cabinets were painted recently. The appliances will need to be upgraded in the next few years. As far as exterior changes, we are replacing the blue shutters with black shutters, painting the front door red, and swapping out the gold light fixtures for black lanterns. In the future, I would like to update the front stairway, but that’s not a top priority.

I’m excited to see how the simple changes of the exterior change the look of the house. I’m dreaming of an outdoor bench in this entryway, or Adirondack chairs. What other items could you see in this area?

Our first upgrades to the house before we move in…Master Bedroom and Master Bathroom

The master bedroom and master bathroom are going to be completely transformed. My brother in law is AMAZING and doing the work for us (along with some help from Brandon). Since we only need three bedrooms, we are knocking down the wall between the master and the room next door.

The master bedroom isn’t very large and won’t fit our bed, plus we want to add a corner office to the space. The bedroom is currently carpeted over hardwood, so we are tearing up the carpet and refinishing the floors. My brother in law will also rebuild the walk-in shower (its small and narrow), add a ceiling bathroom fan, replace the lighting, re-tile the floor, and put on a new vanity.

Fireplace Upgrade

In the front living room, we are white washing the fireplace and painting the built ins white. The navy carpet will be torn up and replaced with gray pergo flooring. We are going to put a television on the mantle, a cream colored couch in the room, and hopefully Brandon’s favorite leather recliner.

The Foyer

The entryway floor in the foyer will stay as is, as well as the navy carpeting on the stairs. The entryway lighting will be replaced with updated fixtures and all of the walls, trims, and door will be painted.

The Dining Room

The dining room hardwood floors are immaculate, but the wallpaper needs to be removed, as well as the chandelier. I’m not a fan of gold light fixtures whatsoever. We have a few hanging light fixtures in mind, but won’t decide until the room is painted and our dining room table is in place.

The Kitchen

The kitchen is bright and white and beautiful, except for the wallpaper. We are removing the wallpaper and taking down half of the wall between the kitchen/dining room to create a countertop area. I’m really excited for even more natural light flooding into the room I will probably spend most of my time.

Want to see how we upgraded the kitchen? Read: Knocking Down the Kitchen Wall to Build a Breakfast Bar

The Downstairs Bath

The downstairs half bathroom needs lighting, wallpaper removal, a new mirror, and some TLC. We aren’t focusing at all on the countertop or vanity since everything is in great condition.

The Playroom

One of my favorite rooms in the house is the sunroom, which will be the girls’ playroom. We didn’t have any designated area in our last house for playing and Annabelle is beyond excited for her own space. Ailey doesn’t really understand she is going to have a giant room to destroy just yet, but she has enjoyed running laps around it.

Not Pictured – Girls’ Bathroom, Girls’ Bedrooms, Family Room

I am so pleased with all of the space in our new Colonial home since our family has been living on top of each other for the last year. There will be plenty of rooms for the girls to play in, for Brandon to watch his sports in, and for me to work on this little ole blog in. I haven’t had any privacy since I moved in with my parents last year and I’m overjoyed at the thought of closing myself off to write in peace. Stay tuned for plenty of updates, decor inspiration, and before/after pictures.