A big change

I wanted to share inspiration and design on this blog. Of course I want to share what's personally going on as well.
My family and I have lived in the same home for 5 plus years. We've shared a home with Aaron's mom and grandmother. The house we scored several years ago was a diamond in the rough. A 6 bedroom, 4 bath home within walking distance to schools, restaurants and trails. Plus it had a pool. Aaron, the kids and I had the original part of the house. (4 bedrooms and 2 baths) And mom and Grandma's rooms were the additions built off the dining room. When we first saw the house, we thought it was perfect. Grandma's bedroom was already "senior" friendly and we all had our own bathrooms. This sounds like a huge estate but actually, the house is fairly small. One living room and a galley kitchen. We made it work for several years and although space and privacy there were challenging at times, we made great memories in this house. Bringing Bronson home from the hospital and raising him there til he was 3 for one.
A few months ago, we received a 60 day notice from Property Management  that the owner wanted to move back in. Disappointed and surprised by the news at first; I found this to be a blessing in disguise. We weren't quite ready, but we have always talked about eventually moving. This year was going to be the year! We just weren't expecting it so soon. We ended up finding a great home a mile away. Again, lucky find! We aren't in the position to buy yet, so we are renting again. We are renting from the owner this time who will want to sell in a couple years and is open to a lease option to buy. Oh, this would be a dream! The house is still in the same school district. Our daughter is in first grade and we wanted to keep her in the same school. We can ride our bikes to several convenient locations, plus it's on an acre of land! SO much potential!  The house is big enough for mom and law so we invited her to live with us. Grandma just turned 88 and doesn't like to be left alone. She is going to need more assistance and we all work practically 2 jobs. We spoke to her about assisted living and she isn't ready for that. She will be going to live with other family in which she's lived before. She will be very close and still in our lives frequently. It just wouldn't work to continue to live together. Plus, the home has too many stairs.
The home itself is 3,400 Sqft. It's got 5 bedrooms, but the 5th bedroom is in an awkward place. The only way to get to it is through one of two other rooms. Perfect as a playroom for the kids! It's got wood vaulted ceilings and hardwood floors. Tons of light through several windows in the room. It's so perfect! Amara picked out her room. She feels so grown up having a bathroom attached to it. Bronson's room is on the other side of the playroom. Then down the hall is the first Master bedroom. Downstairs is a large kitchen/dining room situation. No more 2 butt kitchen! We lived with a galley kitchen for 5 years. We have a living room, laundry/office room and bonus room. Plus a huge deck for entertaining. Mom in law has her own Master suite downstairs above the garage. The set up for us all couldn't be more perfect. We can't wait to make this house a home. Here are some before pics.

Amara in the playroom

Living room

Front entry

Mom in law's Master Suite

Kitchen/Dining after we moved in

This house needs a ton of work. Every room needs decorating of some kind. We love having the freedom to paint and do things to make it our own.  Our Landlord offered us to deduct bigger projects from the rent. I'll be updating you on progress and fun DIY projects we've been tackling over the months. Stay tuned.