Our House: the Before and Afters

I love my house. But I didn't always.

When we found this house, it was NA.STY. Actually it was like, ugly and nasty. It was a foreclosure and all the lovely things that can come along with that. On top of the royal blue carpets in the entire house, the walls were mauve, burgundy, plum, royal blue (yes with royal blue carpets) and dirty painters white. Most of the light fixtures were ripped out along with a few appliances. The carpets were dirty with clumps of hair and spilled bottles of soap and random laundry strewn around. And things in the toilet we shall not speak of. Actually, lets just not talk about it anymore.

I was 8 months pregnant with #6. But instead of feeding my nesting needs, we were temporarily homeless. And instead of a pretty, clean space to prepare, we had to replace carpets, have the whole house painted and cleaned. It was not my dream scenario for bringing our last child into the world.

Married women, can I just chat with you for a minute? A serious chat. Sometimes, you won't be in your right mind. You'll be hormonal or spent or both. And when you are in a place where your brain cannot and should not make decisions, let your husband do it. You made him the head of your house when you married him, so trust him. Even if he gets it wrong, its ok. Sometimes he'll get it right. REALLY right. I was a little bit appalled by this house but I knew in my heart that I was not in a good place to be hearing from the Lord. And I knew my husband was really pressing in for an answer from Him. So when he said he thought we should do it, I submitted. I know that word makes some of you cringe a little. But if you are married to a man who walks with the Lord, trust that God speaks to him. If I had it my way I maybe would have passed on this house because it looked like too much work. I'm so thankful that I trusted the Lord by trusting my husband. Jake heard from God on the matter of this house. And God gives His kids good gifts. So we bought the house.

Some of the things we've done to this house happened right away (before we even moved in) and some happened much later.

Without further adieu, our house of 4 1/2 years, before and after.

BEFORE

That's Me. And Kate. :)

Very pregnant.

AFTER:

Ok so not much change there. But wait...

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Boom.

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There's that lovely royal blue...

AFTER:

Ahh!! Right?!

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We matched the hardwood that ran through the hall and kitchen and had it put in this office,
the formal dining room, and formal living room.

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Its hard to see, but that is Burgundy paint.

AFTER (but from a different direction, its the same hall):

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If we had stayed longer, I wanted to add cabinets in here.
Can't win 'em all. :)

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No more glass doors. Unless you like to break your back while bathing small children.

And one more of the kitchen because I love it so much:

BEFORE:

AFTER!!:

There you have it. That's my home guys. Mostly just new paint, carpet and hardwoods. But the transformation will always be a reminder of the goodness of the Lord if I submit to Him (sometimes via submitting to my husband).

The one we are buying in Knoxville is new construction. Which makes my heart so happy! We've never had a new construction home and it will be so wonderful to move and be able to throw our energy into our growing church without worrying about our home. God is so good to us.

~~~

The "after" pictures are obviously insanely better quality than the before's. If you are in the Middle Tennessee area, I just can't recommend enough- our friends the Winters and their business Homepixmedia. We also have an incredible real estate agent (and beloved friend), Jenny Fann, selling our home. She's amazing to work with and we highly recommend her as well!!