1 Year!

Yesterday marked one year since we closed on our new house.  We have loved living in our house and I can't believe how fast time has flown. We've gotten a lot accomplished around the house too! So, I thought I would go through the big changes and progress that we've made.

Kitchen
The kitchen was the first project that we took on, we wanted it to be nearly complete before we actually moved in. I couldn't imagine living in a house without a functioning kitchen while you try to renovate. So, we took advantage of still living in our apartment in order to get everything done quickly.

Living Room
We didn't do that much in the living room. We painted the walls the same as the kitchen, BM Smoke, and were able to use our previous furniture. I did find a fun printed chair at HomeGoods that helps to tie all of the colors together. This room is more about function than aesthetics, it's where we spend most of our time.

Deck & Backyard
We stained the deck last summer and got new outdoor furniture to make both a dining and seating area.  We have enjoyed this area all year long, but it's really great when the weather is nice and we can grill out.

I've also enjoyed watching the plants that we've planted grow and fill in. I love this section of our garden and the flagstone pathway that we added last summer.  The butterfly bush grows so fast it is fun to watch each week, it gets bigger and bigger. Even after having been cut down to stumps about knee high, it will grow more than 10 feet tall and it adds a lot of privacy. I also love the flowering bushes, the knockout roses that we added and the hydrangea that blooms almost all summer long.

Dining Room
We made a few changes to this room in addition to filling it with furniture. But, I think the things we did had a big impact. We installed wainscoting on the walls, which made the room start to look like a real formal dining room. Adding floor to ceiling curtains in a neutral, geometric fabric helped make the room feel bigger.  Overall, I'm happy with how this room turned out, even though it's likely to change and evolve with us over the next few years.

Guest Room
We've had a couple of guests stay with us this year, but mostly family members.  The guest room isn't really 'complete' but it's definitely better than an empty room. ;)

Library
This is our most recent project and we have gotten so many compliments on the bookshelves. They really dominate the room, but that's exactly what I wanted!  We need to work on wall decorations and finally finishing up the last few furniture pieces, two arm chairs and an ottoman. However, I'm really happy that we've gotten this far. I love to sit on the couch in this room and relax on sunny afternoons.

We still have a lot on our list of things to do around the house though. See my list of goals for 2012 here. Upstairs we need to decorate the bonus room and office and finish the master bedroom.  We are also planning to do a lot more work outside. We've got the backyard looking pretty nice, but the front still needs a lot of work.  We're planning to sod the front yard later this spring and that should make a big impact! I can't wait to see what the future looks like!