We’re Here for a Year | 6 Months In Home Tour

Last month, we crossed over 6 months in this sixth home of ours’. Six months into our one year here…half way. It’s kind of hard to believe that we are already on the downhill slope of our time in Kansas. I swear I was JUST unpacking boxes and scheming up visions for this house. Like I did at the three-month mark, I wanted to take a minute to go room-to-room and show you the progress we’ve made since moving in and give you a better sense for how things look right now. Since I am always making little changes here and there and often use projects and updates for some of my free-lance work, you might not be fully up-to-speed on all the changes around the house. So grab a (rather large) cup of coffee (or glass of water or wine…or whatever!) and settle in because I have a lot of photos to share with you today!

If you’re new here, catch up previous posts about our Kansas House here:

• Kansas House Before Photos
• One Week In
• Three-Months In Home Tour

(By the way, I cheated a teeny tiny bit in putting this home tour together. I  tried to snap fresh pics this week for the rooms that have had the most dramatic progress. There are other rooms, however, that I haven’t done a single thing to in the three months since the last tour…so I used photos I had from before. All in all though, these pics are a pretty accurate representation of how things look this very minute!)

Entryway

Shortly upon moving in, I tacked our entryway landing. There isn’t much space right inside the door, but we desperately needed a place to drop mail, shoes, coats, hats and more!

This mini command center fashioned out a shelf, bulletin board, and hooks was just enough to keep the small bits of our household corralled and organized. Besides adding some papers to the bulletin board and a ton of winter coats and hats to the hooks, this nook looks pretty much exactly the same as you see here! You can find the full Command Center reveal here: Command Center Redux.

Living Room

The upstairs living room has probably seen the most progress and projects than any other space in his house….hmmm, maybe second to the office. We spend a ton of time in this room and entertain guests here so it’s a good thing it’s one of my favorite spaces! In previous posts, this room has looked like this…

And now, we are here!

In the last home tour, the bones of the room were mostly in place. Since then, I’ve been able to add in some of the finishing details. It’s not all the way there yet, but I sure love the direction it’s going. The biggest change were the pillows and new tables. A quick note on the tables: I found these tables for a great price at a local consignment shop ($35 for the pair). The scale is a bit off for the couch and the yellow is a little more muted than I like, but I am really digging this slender option compared to the oversized ottoman we had here before. My original vision for these tables was to turn them into mini ottomans to go in front of the fireplace. And I still might. I literally waffle on it every single day. Time will tell friends, time will tell!

I also added this tiny table between the two upholstered chairs. In the store, I thought it was THE one since the legs nodded to both the new yellow tables and the gold mirror above the mantel. However, I think I’d prefer a round table here, so we’ll see if/when this changes!

I don’t think I’ve shown you all this shelf yet. This bookcase was set and styled very soon after we moved in, and I have hardly touched it since. My plan was to paint it white, but once it got filled up I haven’t had the heart to unload it all. I like to tackle big painting projects in warmer weather, so that project is on hold until the Spring or summer!

The State art prints are one of my favorite new additions to our home…I am still so smitten with them. We are already speculating what state we will add next. We have no idea where we’re heading in just 5 short months…and you better believe the waiting game has already begun!

The other new addition to this space is the rainbow quilt on our rocking chair. My mother made it in the year leading up to her death; and in my opinion, is the most exquisite quilt she ever made. It has since been gifted to me by my family; and while I’m still not certain of the events that ultimately placed this quilt in my care, I hope to someday share its story with you and show it in all it’s glory.

You can catch up on the projects in this space below:

• Making the Case for Curtains in a Rental
• Striped Fireplace Feature
• State Silhouette Artwork
• Couch Pillows
• Floating Acrylic Frame

Dining Room

The dining room is a bright, colorful and cheerful place to eat meals and entertain lots of our new friends. However, I haven’t done a thing to it since the last you saw it…well, besides move some chairs around!

I moved the second black square-backed chair and the fourth white chair down to my office, allowing us to pull the other three white chairs around the table. This has freed up some of the floor space around the hutch, and I think the room feels better with less furniture in it. Henry has since decided he no longer wants to sit in a high chair. I’m having a hard time letting that one go, so it stays as an accessory for now 😉 Oh…and I hung a wreath on the mirror for Christmas and decided to keep it. Boxwoods are always a good idea, don’t you think?

I bought blue fabric to cover the chairs and I had plans to make a fourth wallpaper art to hang beneath the crab. Time is a’ ticking though, my friends, and I’m just not sure it will get done before the trucks arrive. We shall see!

The green credenza in here works so well to hold serving and party dishes, and it really brightens up the whole room and makes it feel fun and fresh! However, I can never photograph its quite right, so trust me when I say it’s working really great in here!

You can catch up on the projects in this space here: Making the Case for Curtains in a Rental

Kitchen

I love the layout of our kitchen, but it is so brown…so so so brown. And as you guys probably know well by now…I don’t like brown. If we were going to be here longer, I am sure I would take on a few more projects to lessen the brown. But for now, I’ve added a bit of charm and a few organizational solutions that help me love this kitchen despite its hue! I have a few more organization solutions for this space coming up, so stay tuned!

You can catch up on the projects in this space below:

• No-Sew Roman Shades
• Kitchen Utensil Drawer Dividers
• Making the Most out of a Skinny Pantry

Deck

Okay…clearly our deck doesn’t look like these photos below. But at the moment, our deck is covered with snow, all the plants are dead, and the canopy cover and curtains are down for the winter. All that to say, the pictures wouldn’t be very pretty. However, I did want to show the progress we made out here since the 3 month tour!

We put astroturf down, a canopy over 2/3s of the deck, setup a plant and drink stand, and added a few strings of lights…ultimately creating a whole new space to enjoy and entertain in. We are so happy we took the plunge and made over this space because we really did use it a lot until the weather turned too cold. We are already looking forward to getting it back and running come Springtime!

You can catch up on the projects in this space here: End-of-Season Deck Makeover

Master Bedroom

The Master Bedroom is another space that hasn’t received any attention in the last few months. This is partly because honestly, I am pretty content with the space as it is. The big thing I want to do is paint the walls, and since I’m not doing that, I think I’ve subconsciously decided to just be content in here. I love our bed and pillows and curtains SO much. And while I am still frustrated by the blandness of the dresser wall, I can’t come up with a solution that doesn’t feel wasteful…so this might just be one space that waits for the next house to feel complete.

You can catch up on the projects in this space here:

• Making the Case for Curtains in a Rental
• Jewelry Organizer

Master Bathroom

While we haven’t made any progress on the bedroom, I did do a project and some final styling in our Master Bathroom! Every day I look at this cornice box and love it. I’m so glad I took the afternoon to make it because it helps the whole space feel more homey and complete. This is one space that I am pretty sure is done. There isn’t much more room to do anything in here!

ou can catch up on the projects in this space here: Renter-Friendly DIY Cornice Box

Henry’s Bedroom

I LOVE Henry’s bedroom so much. Yes, I’d prefer the walls to be bright white so everything just popped and felt super fresh, but I am really so happy with how this space came together. I’m not calling the room done quite yet (there is one more little thing I want to do!), but it sure is the most complete and finished room in the entire house!

I stare at this fabric feature wall every night as I read Henry his bedtime stories…and every night, I am SOO glad I did this project. It really, really finished off this side of the room and provided a jolt of much-needed color. Henry calls it his movie screen and pretends he’s watching movies on it!

You can catch up on the projects in this space here:

• Faux Built-Ins
• Pom-Pom Coverlet
• Bulletin Board
• Fabric and Artwork Wall Feature

Downstairs Playroom

Our house has a split-level layout, so we made the second “family room” downstairs into a playroom. The bigger, more comfy couch is also down here, so this has turned into our favorite spot to watch movies, play board games, and play Wii as a family.

Honestly, this space has given me a big ol’ headache. I LOVE the functionality of this space. The stretch of cube shelves, the toy bins, the big couch with a TV, the coloring table behind the couch…it all works so great. But the wide stretch of wall, with the 8″ ledge has proved challenging for me to figure out. I did this groovy 3D wall feature out of paper for a free-lance project months ago. I love the project,  just not in this space. But since I don’t hate it, it has stayed until I figure what else I want to do on this wall. Something is better than nothing, right? I reeeeaally want to figure this one out, so throw out some ideas if you have some!

I recovered yet another cornice box from our last house and put it over the windows down here too. Not only do I love the finished look, but it got the last two cornice boxes out my garage! #winning We also moved the ottoman down here since the size works really well with the big couch, and Henry LOVES to jump on it. I’ve recently fallen out of love with this ottoman (we’re going on 4 years with it!) and it might not make it to the next house. For now, it makes a great trampoline!

You can catch up on the projects in this space here:

• Toy Storage Solutions
• How to Add Feed to an IKEA Kallax
• 3D Paper Wall Art

Home Office

My home office is where I spend a ton of time…and since it’s right off the playroom, Henry is often in here with me playing, coloring or dancing (we do a lot of dancing!). I’ve done some really fun projects in here and love the wallpaper in this space so so so much.

I added this gigantic pin board above my new desk. I like the functionality a lot but the raspberry color was a tiny bit of a gamble. I love the raspberry and cobalt blue together, but it’s feeling a bit disjointed. I have two projects coming up that I’m hoping will tie everything together and help it look more like a unified space! Fingers crossed! (P.S. Wouldn’t a bright blue feature wall look amazing behind that hot pink board with all the white on the opposite side of the room? Sigh. Guess who is really hankering to paint?!?!)

You can catch up on the projects in this space here:

• Renter-Friendly Wallpaper Installation
• DIY Extra Large Pin Board (with a dry-erase surface)
• Office Dresser Storage with DIY Paper Dividers
• How to Make Typography-Style Artwork
• Thrifted Memo Holder

Laundry Room

Oh…our sweet little laundry room! How sweet it really is. I’m so glad I acted on a whim and whipped this little space in the back of our house into shape. I love coming back here, and those flamingoes still make me smile!

You can catch up on the projects in this space here:

• How to Hang Wrapping Paper as Wallpaper
• Rolling Laundry Cart
• Sweet & Simple Laundry Room Reveal

Phew! What a tour!! While these posts take quite a bit of work for me to pull together, it is always so gratifying (and encouraging!) to see how much we really have accomplished in this house. I’m so quick to get down on myself that I haven’t done enough or made far enough progress, but looking back through these photos and projects has shown me that we’ve really done quite a bit in our short time here to make this house a unique and homey space for our family. #missionaccomplished

Throughout the post, I tried so very hard to refrain from saying “but we only have 5 months left” in every other paragraph. But that is our reality, and I find myself saying it to myself and aloud quite a bit lately. I’d be lying to you if I said I was roaring and ready to take on a bunch of these not-yet-done projects before we move. While I do have some things up my sleeve and a few things I want to try, reality is setting in and I know we can and should only do so much in the time we have left here. Don’t you guys worry…the projects certainly aren’t going to stop…but I am noticing myself shifting my attention to smaller projects and organization solutions that can translate to the next home, rather than dreaming up big room designs and furniture overhauls.

So I’d really love to know what you guys think of the house so far! Leave me a comment below telling me your favorite spot…and be sure to come back and see me on Saturday as I spill the survey results and chat about what’s next here on THIHM!