House tour - some little projects

I know, I know, it's taken me five months to post any pictures of the new house.  We've been busy, ya know, with a baby and all. =)  Anyway, I am just starting to get some things done around here to make it prettier, homier, and more us.  We have a long list of little things we'd like to do.  This house was in GREAT shape compared to most of the foreclosures that we saw in our super long house search, but cosmetically, kinda blah-meets-ugh.  The carpets are nearly white (WHY????) and grossly stained everywhere, and the paint through the entire house is cheap, flat, and white, white, white ... except where it is dirty.  And the drywall is a little banged up and full of old tv mounting hardware.  Like I said - GREAT for a foreclosure, and really, even a house that was well cared for but not our style would need most of the same work.  (Except for the banged up front door, the splintering deck,  and the yard full of weeds, but ...)   So, to sum up - we are super thankful for this house, and how little needed to be done to make it livable, and enjoying making some little changes to make it prettier. 

Here are some things I've been working on - pictures of the rooms to come later.

My "mudroom" area - which is basically just a tiny wall in the kitchen between the dining room doorway and the main hallway through the house.  I wanted the kids to be able to be in charge of putting away their own things as we come in and go out every day, but there was no room by the garage or back door to do that.  I decided that even if it was not so pretty to have it right in the middle of everything, it would be convenient, which might help it to really work!  So, here it is, so far:

empty, but pretty

Lots of hooks that everyone can reach,  and every day shoes in the chest underneath.  (The chest was made for Patrick by his uncle Jimmy - each of the kids in his family got one.  It's perfect!)

and in use

I still would like to add a shelf above the hooks for baskets to hold hats and mittens and all that jazz.  It is working pretty well so far, though the kids are not quite automatically putting their things away just yet, I'm sure we'll get there.

Just on the other side of that dining room doorway, I put up some more organization help - my little version of what is known around the blogs and pintrest as a command center.  Nothing fancy, just some wall pockets (for mail and school papers) a chalkboard (for the weekly menu plan and lists) and a clock.  I don't have a chalk pen yet, but it's gonna be fun!

I am still looking for something pretty to put on that counter to the left to hold phones, sunglasses and keys, and a small book shelf to put at the end of the cabinet for cookbooks and such (instead of that cute but way too tiny cabinet thing).

In the playroom, I put up an art cable (inspired by this one, and others on pintrest) to hang up the kids' art work.

We also hung these initial fingerpaints that I had the kids do this summer.  (Finn's was done by Elijah.)

More to come!