Greetings again from Panera (there’s no internet at home yet – so we stop in, get hot chocolate, and slap together a post or two for you guys whenever we have a spare moment thanks to their free WiFi). We know you’re anxiously awaiting interior shots of our new house all empty and move in ready from yesterday (can’t believe it’s really ours!). So here they are. I ran around quickly, which resulted in some less than perfect shots (our friends and family were outside in the snow waiting to start bringing things in so I made it snappy and didn’t have a chance to record a video so that’ll have to come later). But anyway, this is the blank slate that we can’t wait to start having fun with. Paneling? Check. A yellow and beige bathroom? Check. Dark wood trim? Check. Many different floor choices? Check. Brick that we’re dying to paint? Check. Off-centered windows? Check. Small box-like rooms? Check. Walls to knock down? Check. A sink in the master bedroom? Check.
In other words, we’re insanely excited to get in there and start making our new house feel like it’s really ours. Which usually doesn’t happen until the paint brushes and the hammers come out. And we have to send a huge shout out to the former owners for allowing us to be the lucky new residents of their pride and joy. They even hosted a party to welcome us to the neighborhood a few weeks back and listened with excitement as we mentioned what colors we wanted to paint things and what walls we couldn’t wait to knock down. It has been an absolute pleasure to buy their house.
But enough jibber jabber. You guys are all probably all thinking “just get to the pictures” (if you haven’t skipped this intro entirely and scrolled down already) so here they are. Oh and check out this post for a floor plan description that will probably make a lot more sense of the flow, some of our future plans, etc.
Here’s the exterior in that blanket of surprise snow courtesy of mother nature:
And here’s the room that has us at hello. It’s actually a formal living room with a dining room behind those built-ins, but we’ll be converting the formal living room part into an entryway/dining room with a huge opening on the left wall that leads into the large eat-in kitchen. And that back room that was once the dining room will become our home office thanks to the addition of some pretty french doors.
Here’s a look from the other direction back at the door.
And here’s the long eat-in kitchen we mentioned. Lots of paneling to paint! We’re also planning to paint the cabinets (not sure what color or colors yet) and add a giant island. The opening to the new dining room in the front of the house will be on the right wall in the picture below. We’re hoping to get at least a 5′ pass through so it feels really airy and inviting.
Here it is from the other direction. Another thing we loved about this house from the get go were the wide doorways that it already had. You know we’re suckers for the whole open flow thing.
Here’s another one of those nice wide doorways that leads down the hall (this was taken with my back to the master bedroom facing the front door). Burger likie.
Here’s the room where we’ll do all of our living (when we’re not in the kitchen, since everyone seems to end up there anyway). We realized we never used our formal living room nearly as much as our family room in the old house, so we longed for a bigger all-in-one room to gather (that could accommodate a lot of our large family and a sectional along with some other larger furnishings) instead of having two smaller sitting rooms that were half as functional.
We love that it feels airy and spacious thanks to the generous size and the awesome sliding doors (one leads out onto a raised patio and one leads out into the sunroom).
Here’s the view looking towards the kitchen with your back to that big square window in the picture that’s two images up. We’re planning to make that fireplace a double-sided one so we can enjoy it from the kitchen and from the living room- and we also want to widen that doorway to make the kitchen feel even more connected to both rooms that are on either side of it.
Here’s the sunroom that was added on a while later. The challenge here will be making it feel more integrated with the rest of the house since it feels so modern and new when compared to the rest of the house, most of which was built half a century before.
The other side of the sunroom has an off centered window and some dark brick that we can’t wait to transform.
Here’s the master bedroom. It’s a really generously sized room, and the reclaimed pine floors (with super wide-planks!) are pretty special, so we can’t wait to show them some love.
Here’s the sink in the far side of the room (with a shower and a toilet in a room to the right and a walk-in closet to the left). It’ll definitely be a challenge to make that sink feel integrated since it’s visible from the bed (romantic!) but we have lots of ideas when it comes to getting ‘er done.
Here’s the hall bath that’s back near the other three bedrooms. We love that it’s so similar to the original full bath in our old house (and the tile is luckily in much better shape).
Here’s Clara’s new nursery (it’s almost exactly the same size as her old one):
And here’s the middle bedroom that we’re calling the playroom (it’ll become another kids bedroom when our clan grows someday):
Here’s the guest bedroom that we can’t wait to offer up to family and friends stopping through. Of course we need a bed first…
And here’s they funny little yellow-beige bathroom suite (that room used to be the master before they added the new one along with that spacious living room behind the kitchen, so it has its own bathroom).
Can’t wait to redo this baby.
And here’s the little laundry room that we want to pack with storage and function to create a mini mudroom as well.
We love the lines of the back of the house (and hope to upgrade the exterior up front someday to match…).
Doesn’t the snow make our backyard look so charming? We’re in love.
So there it is. It was totally love at first sight for us. And we’re still so thankful for our buyers agent who convinced us to go look at the house (we snubbed our nose at it because it had a carport, and later learned that the owners were offering a full credit to pay for the conversion from carport to garage so it wouldn’t cost us a dime). Seriously, it makes us crazy to think that we might have missed out on this beauty because we were anti carport. But the (real estate) world works in mysterious ways.
Anyway, we hope you guys enjoy the first of many pics of our new place. Please bear with us when it comes to questions (since we don’t have internet access, and want to spend more time at the new house than Panera, we might not be able to answer a ton of new house q’s). You have our word that we’ll share more details about what will go where and what projects we want to take on as things unfold. We’re all about the whole real-time blog-as-we-go thing. Especially since we have so many new projects to tackle! Thankfully we have nothing but time (at least 4.5 years, since that’s how long the last house took us) to settle in and share every detail with you guys. You know we’re chronic over-sharers, so don’t worry about us sparing any detail. Stay tuned for diary-like updates as we tackle transformations both big and small. Until then, come on in and make yourself comfy in our new home! So glad to have you guys along for the ride.
Psst- You can check out our new BabyCenter post all about Clara’s new room here.
Karla says
You’re going to have a wonderful time with this one. It’s just oozing potential, and the size is perfect – roomy looking, cozy feeling.
Favorite picture – the silhouette of poor, lost, forlorn Burger in the middle of that wide, empty space. Don’t worry, Pup. Soon you’ll know you’re home.
Amanda- Hip House Girl says
I can definitely see why you guys fell in love! There is a ton of good space in that house. And am I crazy for loving the sink in the yellow bathroom?
Double fireplace all the way! (Imagine me saying that in the voice of the “double rainbow” guy.)
Katie Kildal says
It has tremendous potential! I can’t wait for the construction to begin! Congrats.
danyelle says
congrats!!! Very excited for you and can’t wait to see what you do with the kitchen, looks like my knotty pine kitchen, that I have been wanting to paint white for the longest time!
Amy B says
Love it! I totally love what you have to work with!
LIZ says
Love.it.
Jane @ The Borrowed Abode says
Oh man, it’s totally overflowing with fabulousness. I love those old ranchers in Richmond.
Cindy says
Congratulations! This house is so full of promise! I can’t tell you how envious I am that redoing it is your JOB and you don’t have to try to fit the work in, in bits and pieces after coming home from work each night. Sweet.
May this home be full of blessings, and may your family bless others in your home. xo
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Cindy,
Well we do have to fit in the programming, picture editing, post writing, and comment answering (along with Clara tending) but those are definitely also things that we love to do for the most part! We WISH we could just take on projects all day…
xo,
s
Michelle says
Welcome home!!! It’s GORGEOUS. And it looks SO big! Maybe that’s because it’s so empty right now, ha. I’m shocked that you’re contemplating a color other than white for the kitchen cabinets–you imbued me with my love of white kitchens! But I’m sure whatever you choose will be fabulous.
Sophie says
You guys, it’s so perfect! Well, it needs some love but it’s perfect for you! I’m so happy! ^.^
Sarah says
I love it!! Thanks for posting pics of the new place. I have to admit that I “blog-stalk” you on a daily basis and was elated to see pics of the new place so soon. :) I am a re-do/ remodel junkie, too, so I love visiting your blog and taking ideas from all your projects. Congrats on the new casa!!
August says
Wow, that living room is awesome! Can’t wait to see what the future brings.
Heather says
Love it! I can see that you will have a lot of fun with this one since it already has so much to offer! Congrats guys!
Holly says
I am so excited for you guys :)
Amanda says
Your new house is great! Love that you will eventually have a two-sided fireplace and that living room looks huge. The sunroom is awesome too! Can’t wait for the upcoming projects to begin.
p.s. – I laughed when I saw the same arches on the front porch just like your old house. It really is cool how similar the two houses are except I think this one will eventually be even better :)
Lauryn says
YAY!!!!!! Im so excited!
Hally says
I’M SO FLIPPIN’ JEALOUS. It’s wonderful! I’m crazy jealous of that window in your bathroom, (again.) We have two “non-windowed” bathrooms in our rental home right now, and its so dark and gloomy. Anyhow-
Enjoy and congratulations, all my best!
Lonely Wife Project says
I’m not sure what I was expecting, but I’m so pleasantly surprised by these pics. It looks like you two chose the PERFECT house for your family. It looks airy and cozy and I’m literally shaking in my pants to see what you do with the place. Congrats!!!
Najlee says
Love, love, love this house! I can totally see why you bought it. Can’t wait to see the transformations.
Witty Wife says
You two are such an inspiration! I am so excited to tag along for your new journey; my husband and I hope to buy a house this year, and you’ve made me real feel comfortable with the prospect of a house that’s not brand new or one that needs some work.
I like how you and your husband do this together! Your blog has (partially) inspired me to let my husband in on my blog. He doesn’t know it exists, but I write about working on our marriage every day. And I think you two do so every day to by working on your house together.
Tomorrow’s my husband’s birthday, and as one of his gifts, I’m going to show him my blog and ask him to write with me! You two totally had a part in that, so thank you!
Welcome to your new home! I can not wait to keep reading!
Natalie says
I’m a relatively new reader of your blog, and I’m excited to see the future transformation of your new house. The original features of your old house, and some of these features of your new one, look similar to the homes I’ve seen with my real estate agent. I’m encouraged by the transformations you did to your old home, but I’m wondering if you would be willing to share about how much you spent to upgrade everything? I realize it would be hard to give an exact number, considering you did the projects over time (and things cost different amounts in different parts of the country, of coure), but I’m just curious so I can decide if some of the homes I’ve seen can be upgraded without breaking the bank. I apologize if this question is inappropriate or has been asked a million times before!
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Natalie,
We actually have a post about that in the works for tomorrow. Some projectswere super cheap (painting cabinets and brick and paneling, taking doors off, adding new light fixtures, even widening doorways and renovating our bathroom). The major expense was the kitchen Reno (around 14K) and things like the roof (5K) and the new patio (3K) and the new driveway (3K) and the new windows (3K). That stuff adds up! More info tomorrow…
Kristie says
It’s beautiful! Can’t wait to see what you guys come up with!
The hard part (moving) is over, let the fun begin! Enjoy!!!
jane says
What a charming house. I love the paned windows, I think they’re a vast improvement from what you had before. Congratulations on finding such gem!
Emily says
I just was introduced to your blog and can’t wait to “start over” with you at the beginning with your new house! We just bought a house too and look forward to your renovation inspiration!
K says
I have been so excited for this post! The new house already looks amazing and I know you all will make it into something a million times more fabulous!! And major props on keeping us updated amidst the major move, this is something I would not have been able to do.
Ali says
You guys! This place is fab! I think I feel almost as excited as you to just to sit here and watch how it changes to suit your personalities! So glad I discovered your site; it’s incredible. Best of luck with all the renovating! :)
jodi says
looks great! i can hardly wait to see what you tackle first.
laxsupermom says
Wow! The house is really spacious. I can’t wait to see all of the improvements you have planned.
Chicago Cuisine Critique says
Can’t wait to follow along and see what you do with the place. Congrats! :)
Meg says
amazing! you guys have space !
S. Shaw says
Looks great! It’s brimming with potential which is very exciting for all of us. ;)
And how sweet that they invited you to a welcoming party. That was very thoughtful.
bethany says
WOOOOOO!!!!!!
i started following yhl after you had already (for the most part) finished up a lot of the big projects in old home, but now that i’m following along, i can’t wait to see everything unfold little by little… eek!
part of me wishes that everything was done and instant so i could ooh and aah over the “before/after” pictures, but i suppose that’ll have to wait a month… or a few… or a year… or who knows. :D
Roshni says
thank you so much for two lovely posts in one day!! I know I’m itching for you to go at it right away but seriously, you guys need to rest!! :)
Melssa says
So excited for you to start new as love all your fresh ideas. How fun and exciting!
Lisa says
Your new home looks fabulous and I can’t wait to see the ideas you have take shape! The one that interests me the most is the master bedroom sink because we have a similar setup but no cute folding doors.
Congratulations on selling your home and buying a new home!
Sarah at younghipandhandy.blogspot.com says
I love your new house!! And it looks so beautiful in the snow :) With the temperatures as they are, you might actually have a white Christmas. We’re jealous up here in NOVA!
Have you thought about doing any fun Christmas decorating that can take advantage of the fact that you’ll be re-doing some things soon? I’m thinking things along the lines of this painted tree from Design*Sponge: http://www.designspongeonline.com/2010/12/bash-please-a-folksy-mod-holiday.html
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Sarah,
Love that link! So much fun!
xo,
s
Blair@HeirtoBlair says
GORGEOUS. I am in love with it. I cannot wait to see what you do!
p.s. those floors? ::swoon::
Rebecca says
When you showed the carbon copy of your original bathroom, I actually thought you threw it in as a joke! Can’t believe how similar it all is.
My hubby and I are nearing the end of our 6 month long renovation of our 1928 bungalow so I am so excited to see how your process unfolds. Doing it with a baby deserves mucho respect!!!
Ellie says
oh i LOVE IT!! so excited to see the renovations!!
Carol N. says
Wow, this looks HUGE without any furniture in it as reference. Can’t wait to see what you do. It really does look like a dream home for you with the right number of rooms and places for you to make your marks. My brain would be running a mile a minute coming up with ideas!
kate says
Wow…what a great house OOZING with potential! I can’t wait to follow your blog for the next several years to see what all you come up with. Such an inspiration!! Keep up the good work!
Liz H says
So, since you guys left behind your old master bedroom furniture, have you already gotten new furniture!?! Also I’m so curious if you’re going to paint the wood beams in the living room? I’m so excited about watching the transformation of this house! It’s already beautiful so it’ll be so fun to see how you guys make it even better.
My husband, daughter, and I are moving into a new (to us!) 107 year old house in the Spring and it has tons of gorgeous woodwork. We’re planning on painting all the woodwork white except in the living room, which is complete with one entire wall of built in bookshelves. Any ideas on how to make it seem updated without painting all the wood white??
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Liz,
For your natural wood, sage green or gold wheat colors work so nicely with it so we’d recommend those colors for the walls. And yes, we’ll be painting our trim and beams and we don’t have bedroom furniture yet (don’t even know what we want) so for now we’re just sleeping on the floor…
xo,
s
Jen @ The Decor Scene says
OMG…..gorgeous. I see all the potential in your new Home. I’m so in-love with the built-ins in the front room, the long hallway….that is going to be goregous, the Family Room and that Sunroom….so jealous of that Sunroom. What a great size house. I can’t wait for the journey to begin as you blog about your new home. This home is going to be gorgeous when you are done with it. Just paint and this house is going to be so different. You guys really pick a great bones house and now you are going to put your YHL touch on it. YAY!!! Congrats!!!
Ashley says
Congrats! You two have some serious work to do! I can’t even imagine, I’d be so stressed out. I’m so glad you guys decided to buy a new (to you) house because I only found YHL a few months ago and everything was done by then. I’m really looking forward to reading :)
beth says
I had a whole living room full of paneling to paint in our current house. I love the after – so worth it, as you know after painting brick, too.
Mrs. W says
You all are going to have so much fun! Congrats and I can’t wait to see what you all do with the new place.
Emily @ LaForce Be With You says
How exciting! I can’t wait to see what you do with the place (a little at a time of course)! So glad yall keep it real in doing things piece by piece and not one huge redo!
Lesley says
sooo diggin the yellow-beige bathroom! I thought y’all were at my Mamaw’s house!!! Great bones to the house and I cannot wait to see all the transformations. Congrats guys!
Lili says
Wow, when you were giving the check-off list in the first couple paragraphs… I was kind of scared as to HOW MUCH of a fixer upper you had gotten… but this is GORGEOUS! I would move in and live in it just like that! Great choice, I’m so glad that you guys found it, and I cannot wait to see what you do to make it even better : )
Katie says
Um, that little yellow bathroom you can’t wait to remodel? It looks identical to MY little yellow bathroom that I can’t wait to remodel! I can’t wait to see what you guys do with it if you beat me to the remodeling punch! (And if I beat you to it, I’ll let you know!)