Side note: living apart for two years was not our original plan, but a surprise deployment meant that it didn’t make much sense to move our high school age daughter to Kansas when her dad would be overseas anyway. Now that we know that he’s coming right back here anyway, it really justifies our decision. But seriously, thank God that it’s almost over!The MCC House is around 1400 sf and Magnolia Cottage is around 2000sf. I know–it’s still a huge downsize from the 3000-4000 sf homes we’ve lived in previously, but I’m willing to sacrifice square footage for the charm and convenience of living downtown. It also turns out that I really like older houses, with creaky floors and tons of character.
The first thing I did after I got the keys was hang my fourth of July pull-down banners and move my plants over. The wreath was on our front door at the old house but seemed perfect for the front gate of the white picket fence.
Harley hates moving despite the fact that we haven’t left him behind yet, so he makes almost every trip back and forth with me. I think it’s understandable given his history as a rescue, so he’s my velcro dog this week and you’ll see him in many of the pictures.
Because this is a local move, it’s easier for me to just load up the car a few (hundred) times and move things that way. It seems so wasteful to have packers come and pack us in a hundred boxes and waste all that cardboard and paper. Plus, after our last terrible move, I feel much more comfortable moving my things myself and putting them away right where I want them. The only drawback to that is that the rest of my family is gone right now, so it takes a lot longer as a one-woman show. And yes, I have wonderful friends who have offered to help, but I’m kind of enjoying putting everything away right where I want it.
I have a highly-recommended local mover coming on Tuesday for the heavy pieces, so don’t worry–I’m not moving the piano by myself!
Here’s a quick walk-through of the house. The owner and I worked together on a plan for updating quite a few of the rooms and we’re both excited about all the changes that will be happening over the next few months!
The front porch is nice and big, and has a porch swing on the right that I forgot to take picture of. The porch floor is going to be painted later this month; we’re partnering with HomeRight on that project.
The kitchen of the new house is updated; the upper cabinets are salvaged from another old building but the countertops and lower cabinets are new.
The laundry room also has plenty of storage. I’d like to paint these two rooms a lighter color but they are pretty far down on my to-do list, because as you’ll see in the rest of the house, there’s A LOT of painting to do!
The living room and dining room are on the front of the house and are both currently a sunny yellow. Actually, they were a sunny yellow last week but not any more–they’re the first two rooms that I painted.
The light exposure of the photos makes the yellow seem creamier; it’s much brighter than this in person. And yes, the front door is purple, for now!
The dining room had cornice boards that were painted by a local artist who once lived in the house; I took them down with the owner’s permission.
The stairs were painted, also, and I will be working on those as well, but figured I’d wait until after the movers come through since there are inevitably a few minor dings in the stairwell when the heavy furniture goes upstairs.
They are a bold statement, though, aren’t they?
My plan is to do a black tread with a white riser, and possibly add a seagrass runner. Honestly, it depends on how Harley can handle the stairs without a runner. The things we do for our pets!
The sunroom (or den) is on the right back of the house, through French doors off the living room. It also opens onto the back deck.
There are two full baths in the house; the downstairs one has the original sink and cast iron tub. The sink will get a skirt at some point (you can hide things underneath that way!), paint, and a new light fixture and mirror.
Upstairs there are three bedrooms, and they all need to be painted. (I’ve actually painted the master and Annabelle’s room already, but don’t have any “after” photos yet).
The master was pink:
The kids’ bedrooms were green. It’s almost exactly the same shade that was in the MCC house’s dining room before I painted it.
The upstairs hallway is fine as-is, which is great because I hate painting stairwells.
And I saved the best for last…of course, everyone has their own personal taste but the upstairs bathroom works best if you have a piña colada in hand when you view it!
I do love the clawfoot tub, though…
So, obviously this room is going to be painted in the next week or so. The owner’s long term plan is to add another bathroom and a large master closet upstairs…right now the closet space is somewhat lacking in this house so I am really getting my Marie Kondo on.
Things I forgot to photograph this time around: the back deck, screened porch, and patio, and the side entrance that goes into the kitchen. I also opted not to photograph the basement because it’s the typical dungeon/serial killer workshop that you see in most older houses.
Here’s what the living room looks like after its new paint (Sherwin-Williams Rock Candy):
And here’s the dining room (Sherwin-Williams Repose Gray):
We’re looking forward to putting our touch on this quaint little house over the next year or two and I think it will be a cozy space for a family of three (and sometimes four). I’m a little tired of painting after doing four rooms during the past week, but then I look at the huge difference a can of paint can make and it gets me motivated for the next project on the list!
Thanks for stopping by~
