Home {A Picture Tour}

 

We’ve been in our new home about 44 days now. I unpacked the last box a few days ago. THAT was a huge accomplishment y’all.

I can’t do anything in life without lots of thought, sometimes too much thought…making things spiritual that maybe not everyone sees in a spiritual light. Not that I’m some super spiritual being, but that is just the way God made my brain to work.

So, of course, moving is no different.

I have constantly been reminded that this new house is not my home. I’m just passing through.

Yet, while I’m here, I want my home to be a home that is welcoming, a respite, a place for deep and good and light conversations of all kinds, for loved ones, for friends, for meals around the table, for good memories to be made, and comfort found in the bad moments.

God is a home for our souls. He is welcoming, a respite, a place for deep and good and light conversations of all kinds, for loved ones, for friends, for meals around the table, for good memories to be made, for comfort in the bad…God is all of those things for us.

So how can I make my home {and my heart} more like God? MORE welcoming, MORE of a respite, MORE of a place for conversation…those are the things I’m pondering as I create this haven of a home for our family and friends.

These thoughts have all spurred a 31 day series that will start on October 1st. 31 Prayers for our Homes. Go here to see each of these 31 Scripture prayers for our homes!

Until then, I wanted to share a quick little picture tour. A lot of these pics I’ve posted on instagram, but for those that may not follow me there, you can see most of it right here! For the series in October, I also hope to share a little bit of these glimpses again with more info, sources, and my thoughts on making a house a home.

This first picture is of David and I just after closing. Thank You, Lord, for this new home You’ve blessed us with. May we use it for your glory and to give freely of the love you have so freely given us!

We had so.many.people helping us move in, paint, unload my kitchen. I was truly overwhelmed with the gift of TIME that so many showered on us!

My kitchen is open into the dining and living space. One big open room. I love it. My favorite room of the house!

Here are the stools we bought: AmeriHome Metal Bar Stool Set, 30-Inch, Black, Set of 4

This next bedroom is Emily’s. My kids each chose an accent wall and the other walls are gray. This is the first time in 13 years my girls have had their own room! I will say, it has cut down on their fighting a lot! And they even hang out in each other’s rooms!! A miracle, I tell you!

Accent wall color: Valspar Paint + Primer Cotswold Green, Gray walls: Valspar Paint + Primer Online Grey 

This was our first dinner in our new home that I actually cooked. ha!

You may remember that my awesome husband built this farmhouse table (and the matching bench on the other side) a few Christmases ago! Check out all the details here.

Metal dining room chairs came from Target!

Caleb picked orange for his accent wall. I think it turned out GREAT after multiple coats of this crazy orange paint that my dear friends kept on painting with.

Accent wall color: Valspar Paint + Primer Orange Fruit 

This front porch is another favorite spot! I sit out here QUITE often with a cup of coffee and a good book!

These are the rockers we have. (Sam’s has them much cheaper!) Indonesian Teak Outdoor Porch Garden Rocking Rocker Chair

And here is the hutch I painted a few weeks before moving it in. I’ve moved things around on the hutch a few times, but I am still LOVING the color and how pretty it all turned out!

Read this post for all the details on paint color, chalk paint and tips on using it.

This is the family room in the basement, where the tv is, the desktop computer and where the family kind of tends to “hang out.” This large brick wall is now WHITE. I ended up painting it, look at the pics below. 🙂

Hannah (the oldest) has a room in the basement! I love how the light mint color she chose for her accent wall turned out! Beautiful!

Accent wall color: Valspar Paint + Primer Meadow Mist Signature

And the living room. White couches!! Ahhhhhh! I love them! But oh how many comments I’ve gotten! I will have to do a whole post on these lovelies. (If you’re really curious, go to pinterest and search “white ikea couch” and you will see the very blog posts that convinced me to give these a try!! My couches are from IKEA also, the Ektorp model.

I worked on my plate wall one day and was placing the plates on the table before I started hammering nails in the wall.

This was the first stage of the plate wall. I have since added a few. I will share a few updated pictures again in the October series on praying for our homes.

This was my kitchen in FULL use one day! I was making 5 lasagnas, a breakfast casserole and something else I can’t remember. I can’t believe all this counter space!! What a blessing!

One day I posted this on Instagram and I still feel this way, totally and completely!! I just have to remind myself of these thoughts often. 🙂

I wanted a not-perfect picture of our new home. I love a clean house. Sometimes i focus too much on that. But when it really comes down to it, I adore that there is paint on the table leftover from a craft my girls did with a friend. I love that there is a half-completed science project on the counter from a girl who was curious. The dirty dishes in the sink mean there is food in my fridge and people here to eat it. May I constantly be reminded that these people are more important to me than a spotless kitchen. May our home be a home filled with friends and family and love. May I be reminded daily that this actual home made of bricks is not my forever home. I’m just passing through. And until I meet Jesus face to face, may I show everyone who enters this home who He is.

And then I began painting the brick wall!

One of the many reasons I wanted more space — ROOM for people to HANG OUT and enjoy our home with us! On this day, we had 5 cousins over to play! They could all eat in the kitchen together!

This is the brick wall painted! Yay! I love how it turned out! I did a white wash technique that I read about on pinterest. Basically I just used regular indoor white paint and mixed it with water. 1 part water to 1 part paint. It’s VERY thin and splashes a bit, but it only took 2 coats with a roller and then using a brush to get the edges. I’m so pleased with it! 

One of my neutral pillows I found at a salvage place in Knoxville. $6. I love the “joy” and pray that I can have the eyes to FIND JOY each and every day!

This is in my entry way. You can see the glimpse of the window in the mirror. 🙂 The dresser was my grandmother’s.

The green & yellow hoop art came from Sparrow Mercantile. LOVE her stuff!

Do y’all watch the show on HGTV Fixer Upper? I adore Chip and Joanna Gaines. I ordered this tray for our table from their shop, Magnolia Market. Isn’t it lovely? The vintage blue ball jar came from my husband’s great grandparents cellar.

 

I hope you enjoyed this little picture tour of our new home! If you’re ever in East TN, just give me a holler, y’all. We can drink sweet tea on the front porch and catch up on life.