A Tour of Our Little White House
For those who've never been to our home, please allow me to give you a descriptive tour.
The house is small and white. It is one of the oldest houses on the block, built in 1910.
When you walk up to the front porch, you might think This thing is a little lopsided. Hope it doesn't collapse on me. The wood slats of the porch floor are a little worse for wear. In an attempt to spruce up the porch last year (read: polish a turd), Justin sanded and stained the wooden floor. The stain didn't take as well as we would've liked, but oh well. There's a horse and buggy silhouette on the white storm door. I don't know why. Also, there are lots of sticky hand prints on the storm window. The front wood door is old and white.
When you open the door, and walk in, you will immediately find yourself in the living room. There is no foyer or entryway. It's just boom: living room. Nothing too exciting here. Hardwood floor, green walls, couches, ottoman and end tables. The couches are quite comfy though. Lots of naps have been had on those plush pieces of furniture. Also, spit up and pee. But we just feign ignorance.
To the left of the living room is the den or TV room or sitting room. There are two reddish wingback recliner chairs (given to us from my parents), a fake fireplace, a TV, and a bookshelf. The room is tiny, so the furniture is squeezed in there pretty tightly. It is one of our more versatile rooms. Before it was a den, it was Deuce's bedroom. Before that it was an office. The kids listen to their music and dance in that room too. I'm not sure how manage to get our whole family in there, but we do some evenings.
The kitchen is straight ahead from the living room, separated by a small archway. The outdated and white cabinets span the right wall. The sink is in the middle, and there are two old windows above it that swing open. I love the character of the six paned windows. I do not love the peeling (lead?) paint. On the left side of the room is our kitchen table. It's a solid wood farm style table and only cost $100 at a garage sale. One kitchen wall is red, and the other three are tan-ish. You will probably also notice the stickers stuck on one wall, coloring pages taped on another, peeling paint, blue painters tape on one area of the ceiling (it's only been there for 3 years), and water damage on another. The counter is a luxurious Formica, and the floor is an elegant linoleum. ;0)
All joking aside, I honestly love the kitchen, not for its aesthetics, but for the life and memories there. All four of my children were born in the kitchen, and it's where countless meals have been cooked and shared. That's not to mention the board games played and pictures colored on the table and toys played on the floor.
Continue walking straight and you'll end up in our itty bitty solitary bathroom. I don't really want to talk about it. You can wash your hands in the sink, wash your feet in the bathtub, and go potty in the toilet all at the same time.
The room to the left of the kitchen is currently the school room. It's also been our (very small) bedroom, a guest bedroom, Josie's bedroom, and an "other" room. As long as we live here, it will continue to be the school room. (Just ignore the changing table.) We just got a small school table and chairs that definitely help the room look more schoolish. There's a big bulletin board, posters, and a calendar on the walls. I'm hoping to get a small area rug for read aloud time too. The closet (the only one on this floor) provides ample space for the printer and other school supplies.
If you walk through the kitchen and to the left, you'll be in a small landing. You can either go down the stairs to the outside and basement or up the stairs to the kids' rooms. There's nothing interesting or exciting about that space.
The upstairs consists of two rooms: A medium sized landing that serves as a toy room and a large bedroom. The landing has also been a sitting room and our bedroom. The kids' bedroom was also our bedroom at one point. The carpet is whitish-beigish with pops of stains of who-knows-what throughout. There are usually toys strewn throughout. Walking around upstairs in the dark is not recommended. As I said, the three older kids share that room. Josie and Margo share a full size bed, and Deuce has a single bed. The crib is for Piper when she ends up joining her siblings. It works now for us, but we'll see how long they can all stand sharing one bedroom.
Recently I transformed a large closet upstairs into a small reading room for Josie (and the other kids). I'm really pleased with how it turned out.
Turn around and go all the way downstairs, and you'll end up in the basement (obviously). It's got a small storage room, a couple cubby holes, a laundry space, a work bench and closet for Justin's hobbies, as well as a partially finished room that serves as our bedroom. It's not ideal, but it works for us for now. Plus it's the only room that's air-conditioned right now (the summer was so mild, we never put the A/C units in any other windows of the house).
In writing this somewhat self-deprecating blog, I hope I don't come across as too negative. This house has served us well over the years, and will continue to do so as long as we live here. There are plenty of things that could be better, but I am so thankful that we have a home to call our own with all of the necessary amenities. And of course, the love and laughter shared here is invaluable. I am indeed blessed.
The house is small and white. It is one of the oldest houses on the block, built in 1910.
When you walk up to the front porch, you might think This thing is a little lopsided. Hope it doesn't collapse on me. The wood slats of the porch floor are a little worse for wear. In an attempt to spruce up the porch last year (read: polish a turd), Justin sanded and stained the wooden floor. The stain didn't take as well as we would've liked, but oh well. There's a horse and buggy silhouette on the white storm door. I don't know why. Also, there are lots of sticky hand prints on the storm window. The front wood door is old and white.
When you open the door, and walk in, you will immediately find yourself in the living room. There is no foyer or entryway. It's just boom: living room. Nothing too exciting here. Hardwood floor, green walls, couches, ottoman and end tables. The couches are quite comfy though. Lots of naps have been had on those plush pieces of furniture. Also, spit up and pee. But we just feign ignorance.
To the left of the living room is the den or TV room or sitting room. There are two reddish wingback recliner chairs (given to us from my parents), a fake fireplace, a TV, and a bookshelf. The room is tiny, so the furniture is squeezed in there pretty tightly. It is one of our more versatile rooms. Before it was a den, it was Deuce's bedroom. Before that it was an office. The kids listen to their music and dance in that room too. I'm not sure how manage to get our whole family in there, but we do some evenings.
The kitchen is straight ahead from the living room, separated by a small archway. The outdated and white cabinets span the right wall. The sink is in the middle, and there are two old windows above it that swing open. I love the character of the six paned windows. I do not love the peeling (lead?) paint. On the left side of the room is our kitchen table. It's a solid wood farm style table and only cost $100 at a garage sale. One kitchen wall is red, and the other three are tan-ish. You will probably also notice the stickers stuck on one wall, coloring pages taped on another, peeling paint, blue painters tape on one area of the ceiling (it's only been there for 3 years), and water damage on another. The counter is a luxurious Formica, and the floor is an elegant linoleum. ;0)
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| Yes, those are yesterday's dishes. |
Continue walking straight and you'll end up in our itty bitty solitary bathroom. I don't really want to talk about it. You can wash your hands in the sink, wash your feet in the bathtub, and go potty in the toilet all at the same time.
The room to the left of the kitchen is currently the school room. It's also been our (very small) bedroom, a guest bedroom, Josie's bedroom, and an "other" room. As long as we live here, it will continue to be the school room. (Just ignore the changing table.) We just got a small school table and chairs that definitely help the room look more schoolish. There's a big bulletin board, posters, and a calendar on the walls. I'm hoping to get a small area rug for read aloud time too. The closet (the only one on this floor) provides ample space for the printer and other school supplies.
If you walk through the kitchen and to the left, you'll be in a small landing. You can either go down the stairs to the outside and basement or up the stairs to the kids' rooms. There's nothing interesting or exciting about that space.
The upstairs consists of two rooms: A medium sized landing that serves as a toy room and a large bedroom. The landing has also been a sitting room and our bedroom. The kids' bedroom was also our bedroom at one point. The carpet is whitish-beigish with pops of stains of who-knows-what throughout. There are usually toys strewn throughout. Walking around upstairs in the dark is not recommended. As I said, the three older kids share that room. Josie and Margo share a full size bed, and Deuce has a single bed. The crib is for Piper when she ends up joining her siblings. It works now for us, but we'll see how long they can all stand sharing one bedroom.
Recently I transformed a large closet upstairs into a small reading room for Josie (and the other kids). I'm really pleased with how it turned out.
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| Isn't it cute? |
In writing this somewhat self-deprecating blog, I hope I don't come across as too negative. This house has served us well over the years, and will continue to do so as long as we live here. There are plenty of things that could be better, but I am so thankful that we have a home to call our own with all of the necessary amenities. And of course, the love and laughter shared here is invaluable. I am indeed blessed.
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