Around the house - before

I wanted to post some pictures of the new house before/when we moved in so I can see progress on down the line :)

We LOVE the house. There are several easy things we want to change and update, though we aren't rushing to do most of them.

The first thing we are doing are the kitchen cabinets, breakfast area & small living area (that will act as the kids play area for now). I want lighter cabinets and walls. You can see below it's darker wood and green walls.

As far as the basics......a change in paint, door hardware and light fixtures are the only thing this house really needs to fit my taste :) Believe it or not, those things work wonders. It does have fresh paint, but the colors and the semi-gloss or satin isn't a good fit.

I think dark wood trim is fine, but I really just like light colors. I like things bright and to me the two just go hand in hand! This house is not new construction, so of course, I see these all as updates.

Along with the kitchen, we are doing to start the attic. At the top of the stairs there is about a 20x20 walk in attic. It's huge. We are going to go ahead and insulate to help keep it temperature controlled as well as prevent dust. I plan to store everything in here. On down the road, maybe a year or maybe three, we will dry wall and make it more of a room.

The house has a air filtration system, which is a huge blessing because I'm a freak about clean air.

Of course there are new things I want as far as furniture and such, but that will come in time. I'll post a wish list soon :)

Here are a few of the pics before we brought anything in...

Now for chaos...

No, these aren't great pictures as I took them with my iphone and such. I'll take some others with my normal camera once we are settled a bit more.

Instead of unpacking and organizing the kitchen, we are going to live somewhat out of boxes for a few weeks since we are having the kitchen done. 

Off the kitchen is the smaller living area and breakfast area. I love seeing the babies stuff there for them to play with.

You may spot a fridge above. We went with a Samsung. We got a wonderful deal on black Friday. However, the delivery people plugged it in while the electricity was off, so when it was turned back on, there was a surge. It's getting fixed and then when they get more in stock (end of January) we will get a new one.

We went with the Whirpool Cabrio washer & dryer. I heard wonderful things about these from many people on twitter and commenting on here. The salesmen also had great things to say. So far, the intimidate me, but I plan to start doing laundry today...

You may notice in the pictures above that there was a pool table in the upstairs gameroom. Well, we were only left with the lovely light that must come down : /

The nursery is almost done being painted. We still have the trim to go...

We are going to recreate the nursery. I can't imagine changing it up as we loved putting it together and having it in the other house. We have to get the chandelier re-wired because these ceilings are taller. I also have no clue what I'm going to do about drapes. The window is huge. I LOVE the chevron ones we had so I'm thinking I'm going to just get larger ones made and get blinds.

The twinkies things are all still in boxes and they are in another room with their crib, changing dresser and glider until the new room is ready. I'm ready to get them unpacked!

The walls in the living room floor are lined with pictures, paintings, trays, lamps, etc. I must decide where it will all go...

The whirlpool in our bathroom is filled with trash bags of blankets and towels. Did I mention there is a window to the front of the house there? It clearly had no window treatments either. I have someone coming to give us an estimate.

Brass. Not a fan. Sure, it's liveable. I will tell you, though. We changed all our knobs out at our hold house. Huge difference.

On Thursday, we are having about eight new windows installed. Moisture got into some of the insulated windows and as part of our inspection and repairs, those are getting replaced....

The previous owners were very nice and left a Christmas tree! Good thing because I'm not sure I could have gotten to ours. I put this one together. It is one you have to do each branch, but it is so sturdy and full. I really like it. I put lights on quickly, so those need a little work and Brent still needs to do the top. Now, will I be able to fish some ornaments out to unpack, while unpacking, to put on this week!?

The hardest part about getting unpacked, though the sweetest, are the little dumplings. Once I start doing something, it's time for them to eat and play. Then, when we are done, I need a little rest and food, so by the time I start doing something else, time for them to eat again! haha. Of course, I do NOT mind at all, but I could see it taking a while before we are all unpacked :)

We are feeling very thankful to be in a new home. We certainly had a few hoops to jump through getting here, but we are looking forward to being here for a very long while! I'll update with pictures as we go...of course :)

The twins are FOUR MONTHS OLD today! I'll do that post later this afternoon!