THE BABY.....A ROOM FOR PARKER

When we finally decided that we were going to take the plunge and buy a house, the one thing I could not wait to do was decorate. Finally, we could paint the walls and hang wallpaper. Hooray! Unfortunately, I have not done much in the decorating department (I blame this on the basement), but the one room I have put effort into is Parker’s. I couldn’t let him sleep and play in a room with no personality!

Since we didn’t know at the time what we were going to have a have, I wanted to start with a neutral base of black and white and then use accessories and art to add hits of color. I have to admit, it did turn out to be a bit more boyish, but perhaps my subconscious knew something that I didn’t.

This is the concept board I put together to inspire his space. I look forward to showing pictures of how his room has come along! 

THE BASEMENT.....THEN AND NOW

When we first saw this house a little over a year ago, we had a few criteria in mind.  First, and most importantly, we were looking for a place to start our new life as a family of three.  A place we could make our home. Nothing big and fancy, just simple and cozy.  Next, we wanted a bit of a fixer upper.  Okay, I’ll admit it; any house we could afford would require lots of work.  Naively, we thought fixing up a home would be fun and exhilarating. We may have been over enthusiastic, but this house fit the bill, and it came in the form of an unfinished basement.  Yes, that means A LOT of work…and so, six months after Parker was born, we began to get to business. 

This has been quite the task to say the least and maybe not quite as exhilarating as we may have first thought, although there have been plenty of those moments. I suppose things would be different if Parker wasn’t in the picture and we could devote all our spare time to the house...but who wants to tear down walls and grind concrete when you have a little chubba angel to entertain you all day. It is hard to tear yourself away...but back to the basement. What we loved about the house was the size of the basement and fact that is was unfinished. Because it is about the same square footage as the main floor, we are able to accommodate 2 bedrooms (one of which will belong to the brother-in-law), a full bathroom, a laundry room and what we like to call the party room.

So this is where we were at the beginning of the project and this is where we are now. It is quite the change, and it stills amazes me at how far we have come. We are about 80% percent done, maybe. Oh, I don’t really know, but we are getting closer to completion… and that means closer to the day I get the brother-in-law out of living room and into the basement where he belongs (I am sure he would prefer it that way too)! I can hardly wait...