lots of TURQUOISE in this master bath

Turquoise. Three shades of turquoise made up our master bathroom. Wow it was bright and dark!
To tone things down a little, we painted it all the same color- more of a calming grey.

Updated by the previous owner/builder in 2012, we definitely love the shower, we just wanted to calm it down.

I have to pretend I don't see the popcorn ceiling since that will not be replaced any time soon {Jim put his foot down} but I do love all of the light that comes through these windows.

Even just adding primer made it look better already. That was some DARK paint.

With more oak accented with brass for the light fixture, we painted it instead of replacing. Again, painting the trim white and replacing all light switches and covers made a huge difference.

On this forever {later} list is to refinish the vanity {more oak to hide} and maybe even figure out how to re-do the vanity. I'm thinking concrete counter tops would be super fun. Or, marble?

Jim doesn't quite agree with me that it will be fun, but he said he would do whatever I want... at a later date. I'm still looking for new rugs that I love. For now, everything else is what we already had.

Again, just a fresh coat {or two} of paint really changed it and made it feel so much brighter and cleaner.

From the bathroom, we started on the living room which led to the hallway, Caden's room, Caden's bathroom and spare bedroom...

no more P U R P L E in the kitchen

We are a family that now loves purple. UCA purple that is, not purple walls in the kitchen. This was one of the first things to go. With tons of honey oak everywhere, we knew we wanted to tone it down as well.

It did not look horrible when we moved in, just very outdated and fairly dark. Luckily, the cabinets are in great shape, so we could get away with not replacing them all together.

The black quartz counter top was installed just a couple years ago. We knew getting rid of the oak would help it to stand out.

We have grand plans for future updates especially to the kitchen, but for now we are doing what we can do for the least amount of money to make the greatest impact.

As painful as it is, paint always seems to be the best answer.

It was a mess- torn up for almost a month so the paint on the cupboards could properly dry. I feel pretty lucky to have a man who although he HATES painting will do it with me.

We took off all of the cupboard doors, added fresh Alabaster white paint and new hardware. The walls are a nice new neutral shade of grey. Covering up the purple walls made a huge difference right away.

The baseboard trim is horrific and needs to all be replaced. It was not properly installed with gaps and backward cuts throughout the entire house.

For now, we added two coats of fresh white paint{after a coat of primer} and while it still drives Jim crazy, I think it looks just fine.

My fabulous handyman of a husband has replace all of the light and outlet switches and covers. They were all beige/almond with plenty of mismatched outlets which did not match the newly-painted white trim.

Replacing these has been a never-ending project in itself going through the whole house, but they look so much better.
With a serious dislike of those skinny old aluminum blinds, I insisted they be GONE.
Funky window sizes made it tough to figure out what to put up.

With so much black and white, we wanted to add color but it ended up being easiest to install simple thicker white blinds and valances with some color over the top.

SO much better.
Right now, we have a built-in microwave and oven. As soon as they need replaced, I would love to add a double oven and put a microwave elsewhere.

New light fixtures, back-splash, flooring and additional cabinets will have to wait but for now- we are super happy. I also have plans for a fun breakfast nook to go in the empty space under the octagonal window.

It was a lot of work but worth it for the cost of paint and cabinet hardware to brighten things up.
Next, we started on our master bathroom.

S T I L L painting...

Yes, we like some paint around here!

We have come to the conclusion that we will have projects to do around here for the next one hundred years. Being that we like to work and stay busy, I still believe we are in the perfect house.

After just three months since we moved in, during which we enjoyed Justin's football season and the holidays, I like to think we have made great progress.

More than anything, we are feeling more settled than we have for the last two years.
It is such a good feeling. There are still boxes to unpack and organizing waiting to happen but we are getting there. Slowly, but surely!

Jim is enjoying his job at Scott Air Force Base with normal daytime hours, his own desk and welcoming new co-workers. He is a man who loves {and needs} routine. This new routine has made him very happy.

Coleman and Caden are doing fantastic in school both landing all A's and B's on their report cards. Basketball starts for both of them this week at the YMCA- a quick five-minute drive from our house.

Ty has his own apartment just fifteen minutes from us which makes it easy for him to pop in when he makes the time.

Justin is finishing up his Bachelor's degree down in Arkansas but was able to spend both Thanksgiving and Christmas {along with his girlfriend and puppy} with us- time we all enjoyed.

We have just about painted the entire upstairs. We even have a few pictures on the walls. I will work on posting some before and after shots...