Whoooo! It’s been one whole year since we bought this house, and we have noticed a vast improvement in quality of life compared to our old house; it’s much quieter, friendlier and more peaceful. Mike immediately fell in love with this house, and I have definitely come around. With every gallon of paint that gets applied, this house gets better and better:) I thought it would be fun for the first anniversary to do a photo lineup of ‘the day we moved in’ vs. ‘today.’ I forget how much we’ve done in a year!

Being a 4-level split, this house has many floors, transitions, and several rooms to keep track of. I also thought it might be nice to give a glimpse into the layout of the house if you’ve never been here. Starting at the main entrance, there is the kitchen, living room and dining room, all on the ground level. When we were house hunting, I put my foot down on no split-levels right when you come in to the house. I got my wish, and we walk in on flat ground:)

To the right of the entrance (from this view) is the upstairs; our bedroom, the main bath, a guest room and the craft room are there.

Starting with the kitchen and dining room, we wanted to open and brighten the spaces. Taking down the peninsula upper cabinets and painting the rest of the cabinets a bright white has immeasurably improved this area. We also replaced a cabinet with open shelving, changed out the light fixture, added a bar top and stools,  added a geometric stencil , and added storage in the form of a buffet in the dining room. These were the first rooms we worked on, and it helped set the tone for the rest of the house. While this kitchen will eventually be replaced (along with those almond appliances!) we wanted to at least be able to enjoy the space while we wait.

The living room needed to have some drama added, and removing the lace curtains on the shiny brass rod was a definite start. Adding furniture helps, of course, but nothing has changed that room for the better quite like that navy paint. The furniture is all a holdover from the last house, but it works for now in this new space. We’ve got a ways to go, but this at least makes the main floor livable and welcoming.

Moving upstairs to the top level, the hallway has been completely transformed (minus the flooring. I am forever staring down that carpet!!) I am still head over heels for the stripes and the molding on the doors are something I consider essential for this house.

The bathroom has recently gone under a minor facelift, and is functioning  beautifully.

The craft room has been updated as well, though the room is not complete. I scraped the ceilings, painted walls, installed crown molding, and added storage and a desk. It’s mostly finishing touches in here, and has been put on the back burner.

The guest room has been the most recent makeover, and while finishing touches are needed in here as well, this is where I figured out how I plan on finishing the closet doors in all the rooms, as well as how essential the trim above the doors is.

This completes the upstairs, as the master bedroom has had zero improvements, besides switching from a queen size to a king size bed. I am sure when we hit this room, we will document every bit of it!

Moving to the downstairs, we have the second living room, the fourth-bedroom-turned- gym, and the 2nd bathroom.

The gym came about mostly for winter use, and does serve as a second guest room when needed.

The living room and the bathroom have not been touched, other than angling the couches and adding a few pictures on the walls.

Going to the fourth floor, it is definitely the man zone;  the bar area, the laundry and the brew room are all down here. The brew room has no window, cement walls and is no more than nine feet wide. But it makes the perfect laboratory and Schenny couldn’t be happier in his cave.

The outside of the house has certainly had some punch added to it, and this summer we’ll be adding more projects out here. Can’t wait to update you with plants, the patio, a new mailbox and those growing hops!

Finally, the garage and my pride and joy- the workbench. We’ve since added several more tools to the pegboard, more storage to the perimeter, and with it, more stuff to this garage.  I am still trying to do a good enough clean up job to take a photo, please enjoy this photo of my darling bench while we all wait for that day.

This completes the tour! So far, we have loved being in this neighborhood, meeting almost all the neighbors (some said they’ve never met their own neighbors of twenty years!) and have enjoyed bringing this 70’s era house into the new millennium. I wish I could sneak a peek at what next year’s anniversary post will look like:)