spring cleaning projects...

our house, thankfully, was pretty move-in ready when we bought it. we loved its character and charm and big windows. of course, there were a few things we wanted to change. not super expensive projects, but that required money :) as soon as we had keys to the house, lane and his parents spent the next 3 days around the clock painting EVERYTHING. before, every wall and ceiling were the same make-up colored taupe. it was a really gross brown! along the way, we've changed out ceiling fans and light fixtures and outlets, put plush carpet in, got wood blinds for every window, and paid for a bazillion medical bills, too!!

our next couple projects will involve the kitchen (new countertops, backspleash, and floors) and then we want to change out all the doors inside. i feel like then it will be how we want it and we can start furnishing it...there's always something.

when we moved in, i wanted an apple green kitchen. we went ahead and painted it green thinking we would be changing the horrendous hunter green countertops and floor out within a few months. every time someone new would come over, we felt the need to say, "we know the greens don't match, but hopefully, that will be changing soon!" welp, life happens and plans change.

here's a "before we bought it picture" and an "after we moved in" pic...

i got the itch to re-paint the kitchen about a month ago...you know $30 vs $1,000! we went with the lighter shade of our living room color since it is neutral and coordinated. my MIL helped me while lane was in chicago. he was home for about an hour knowing something was different, but couldn't decide what. it finally dawned on him! last week, i decided to paint all the trim and cabinets in the kitchen. lane had done the cabinets in the fall, but the cabinet frame was a different white. the wainscoting also needed a coat of the new white. talk about time consuming, but i love how fresh it feels now, and am glad i did it!

things we've changed so far in the kitchen: new light fixtures, new cabinet hinges, knobs and pulls (from brass to satin nickel), knocked out the little wavy wood thing above the sink (man, that dates a kitchen), knocked out the cabinet above the fridge (so it could fit), and added blinds. we also, inherited a new table and chairs from the in-laws. someone had given us our first table and chairs and 2 weeks before we got married we spent a whole weekend painting it black. it was ugly and wobbly, but served it's purpose! we were very grateful to get a nicer, larger table!

which brings me to the other project i worked on this past week. with the table, we inherited 8 chairs...4 of which were upholstered. we changed out the cream fabric for some funky leopard! ok, i'll be honest. lane did it all. there were a million staples to take out and he went ahead and stapled the new fabric in. he rocks!

while trying to take pics of the above chairs, ledger kept getting in front of the camera cheesing! he's so flipping cute i can't stand it!! look at that ornery face on the end :)

we LOVE our little home and our so thankful for it! when we lived in our apartment, i kept saying how much i wanted my own backyard for our boys to play in. today, we took full advantage of the sun and our own piece of land to have fun!