First things first, I LOVE owning a house! It’s been a looooong process getting there, but now that we’re here, I couldn’t be happier! And I’m sure Nick would say the same thing, too!

As most of you know, we packed up our 1000 sq. ft. apartment in Olmsted Twp. and moved into a 1900 sq. ft. split-level in Brunswick. We had been looking for a house pretty much nonstop since we got married, and this one couldn’t have been more perfect! Well, perfect in the sense that it has loads of potential, but let’s just say it was definitely an eye sore. Let me draw you a mental picture (mostly because I was terrible at taking pictures of the house before we started making improvements!).

Our first impression? Bright orange shutters. Don’t worry, those were QUICKLY painted.

It was the middle of winter, so the house was 26 degrees. It was freezing cold and we got out of there quick, but you couldn’t forget what it looked like. The den? Polka dotted wallpaper. The bathroom? Striped wallpaper. The family room? Pink wallpaper. The kitchen? Strawberry wallpaper. The living and dining rooms? Again, striped wallpaper. Oh, and did I mention orange carpet throughout? And I haven’t even gotten upstairs!

Fortunately for us, we were looking for a house we could put some sweat equity into, and this house was definitely one of those!

The house was built in 1988 – actually, it’s the newest house on the cul-de-sac. The couple that had lived here previously were growing older, and the husband was losing his sight. But they were the kind of couple where the wife would guide him from behind as he mowed the lawn because he still wanted to do it (seriously, how sweet is that?)!

So now y’all understand why there’s wallpaper everywhere!

Fortunately, one room upstairs and the hallway didn’t have wallpaper (hallelujah!), and in the other rooms, the wallpaper was literally falling off the walls.

We had our work cut out for sure!

The day our house officially closed, we set off to work on the upstairs! We worked 4 days straight, and moved in the day before Easter. It was tiring, but totally worth it! Here’s what we did:

Peeled all the wallpaper (one room had to be scraped)
Sanded the walls
Washed the walls
Sanded the ceilings (they’re textured, so we made it a little less bumpy)
Installed can lights
Installed a new smoke detector
Primed the walls
Painted the walls
Removed carpet and pads
Removed tack strips
Put new screws in the squeaky floors
Installed underlayment and laminate flooring

I have to be honest, though. We definitely couldn’t have done it on our own! We hired my sister’s boyfriend’s brother for a day, and our parents helped out quite a bit. We’re so blessed!

But we most definitely weren’t finished! Nick and I finally got the chance to completely finish our bedroom this past weekend. We…

Installed trim
Installed brand new frames and doors
Built custom closets

Aaaaand ta-da!

I still have to finish painting the door and trim, but I absolutely LOVE how the rooms looks! It’s a far cry from the room with old, white carpet and wallpapered walls with plastic veneered trim.

But we still have plenty more to do! We’ll likely tackle finishing the office with some custom built desks next. We’re getting there, slowly but surely, and I can’t wait to continue showing all of you our progress!

With Love,

Leah

“But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”