Our Illinois home:

My husband and I moved into our house in June of 2013 and spent almost 3 years trying to make it our own. I’m so happy to share the results of what we were able to accomplish.

First some quick facts about our Illinois home…it’s a brick ranch house built in 1956. We have almost 1200 square feet of living space with 3 bedrooms and 1 bathroom, a full basement and a detached garage.

We’ve lived in 10 homes since we got married almost 30 years ago and this is probably one of the smallest.

It’s been a challenge learning to live in a small space, but I’ve had so much fun decorating and redoing our rooms to fit our lifestyle and taste.

A large lawn in front of a house

Since it’s the most used room in our house, we’ll start with the entryway, living room, dining area.

forsythia wreath on turquoise front door

The front door was one of the first things to get painted when we moved in and I still love the color.

TV gallery wall using nature prints and Potterybarn frames

I’ve also painted the media cabinet and completed my first (and probably last) upholstery job on a favorite chair.

TV gallery wall, in the living room, using nature prints and Potterybarn frames

In the master bedroom we painted the ceiling, walls and trim and added crown molding.

master bedroom with king size poster bed

The first room to get done after we moved in was our small (and only) bathroom, with nearly every surface getting touched by my well used paint brush.

Home tour bathroom

The hallway is another project that has been crossed off of our to-do list. It’s too small for furniture but my most treasured family pictures are on display.

Home tour hallway

 The last rooms we’ve completed are our 2 guest bedrooms.

Home tour turquoise guest bedroom

The first one we redid was the blue room with built in bookcases.

Home Tour guest bedroom bookcase

The rustic nightstand makeover was my favorite project to do in this room and I spent no money on it. 

You’ll never guess what I used to makeover this piece.

Home tour turquoise guest bedroom nightstand

The second guest bedroom is our latest redo.

This room was the toughest to date, with the building of a new DIY platform bed and a plank wall, but we love how it turned out.

home tour guest bedroom with platform bed

The last room to get a makeover was our kitchen. We did a major remodel right before we put it on the market to move to North Carolina.

white kitchen cabinets with granite countertops and subway tile backsplash

We had planned to remodel it and enjoy the space for years to come but, of course, things don’t always work that way.

remodeled galley kitchen view of side of refrigerator and door to bedroom

If you haven’t checked out our current house, our 1946 little stone cottage, you can take the tour here.

Thanks so much for visiting.