Hi!

Zach and I have been discussing the idea of buying a home. While it’s not going to happen for a while (probably 6-12 months), it’s one of those things that is within enough reach for us to become anxious…but still far enough away that falling in love with a house is a bad idea. Even though I’ve already kind of done it. Stupid. (On that note, have any of you ever been to Salem, Ohio?)

So in order to placate myself, I’ve been thinking about remodels, updates, and decor-related things that I would love to consider doing to pretty much any home I buy…assuming I had the space.

There is something you’ll notice when you see these pictures…many of them have the same color scheme. Writing this post, I noticed something about myself that I had suspected for a while but never confirmed: I love neutrals. Colors are nice, but neutrals last. They’re classy and sophisticated and comforting all at the same time. I’ve tried to love colors as much as I love neutrals and, while I do love colors, I will never love them as much as I love my browns, greys, and whites. (People who can combine neutrals and colors in a way that still looks classy are my heroes, though. That’s something I struggle with a lot.)

That said…enjoy my dream home.  😛

Living Room

I am completely in love with this living room. I love the bookcase that looks built-in and the matching cabinet on the other side. The way they decorated it with that cozy, rustic-ish, farmhouse-y stuff is just so pretty. All the white and brown. It’s such a comforting room–which is how living rooms should be, in my opinion. And I love the color of the fireplace. It’s not something I would have immediately thought, “Hey, this will be pretty,” but it really is!

{ SOURCE }

I have also always loved this for some reason:

{ SOURCE }

This would be perfect for a small living room that can’t hold a lot of furniture. And isn’t it gorgeous? I also love that, unlike other mounted TVs that I see, it’s not so far up that you have to tilt your head back to sit and watch it. I believe this is the first post I ever fell in love with on Pinterest…and my feelings for it haven’t changed.

Kitchen

I am in love with the look of white, windowed cabinetry with stained 2×4 counter tops. But you know what makes it even prettier? Porcelain enameled cast iron sinks.

{ SOURCE }

If we have kids (or even if we don’t), I also appreciate the idea of having a special knife drawer. Right now I have a knife block on my counter, which I hate, and knives in the silverware drawer. Keeping them in a drawer with other things always makes me worried that I’ll grab the sharp end one day and slice off half of my hand. A special drawer (up high where kiddies can’t reach) would alleviate a lot of that worry.

{ SOURCE }

As a bonus, I’m loving this baker’s rack from Restoration Hardware.

{ SOURCE }

I love that website, but everything is so expensive. I keep looking at things and thinking, “I wonder if I could make that myself.” …Probably not. -_-

Dining Room

I actually don’t think about dining rooms much, since I’ve never really had one. My parents had a dining room, but it was mostly used for storage. It was where I dumped my book bag when I came home from school, or where my dad dumped his luggage when he came home from a week on the road. Now it’s a “sitting room,” but I have heard of plans to put a pull-out sofa in there, install some French doors, and make it a guest room.

I think in my entire lifetime, we used it twice for dining–once for Thanksgiving and once for Easter, and it was only because Mom was particularly excited about an antique farm table she found that year (it’s been moved into the kitchen since then). The rest of our meals were eaten at the kitchen table. Considering my grandparents’ houses, this doesn’t surprise me. At both houses, life happened in the kitchen, and still does. We ate at the “bar” (which is what they called the kitchen island), had coffee at the kitchen table…my grandparents on Mom’s side even had a TV in their kitchen. The kitchen, in my family, has always been the heart of the house. The only exceptions are major holidays. Of course, if we could fit all of the aunts, uncles, and cousins around a kitchen table, most of us would prefer it.

So when I think about dining rooms…I really don’t think about the room. I think, “Oh, that’s a pretty table.” And that’s as far as a dining room gets for me. So here’s my favorite table:

{ SOURCE }

White chairs would be gorgeous with that.

Bathroom

I love the idea of using an old French door in place of a regular shower door. Like this:

{ SOURCE }

However, I also really like door-less showers.

If someone could tell me the original source of that photo, I would appreciate it. I’ve been looking everywhere. -_-

Guest Bathroom

In many houses, “guest bath” means “half bath.” This is especially true in our city, where many of the homes are townhouses. What’s popular in townhouses? Half baths. And they’re the same in every townhouse I have ever been in…even down to the floor tile.

At one point, Zach and I were considering a townhouse here in Morgantown (it’s not out of the question still, but it is becoming less likely), so when I found this half bath redo, I was thrilled and also very excited to possibly one day own a half bath. Isn’t it gorgeous?

{ SOURCE }

Bedroom

When I think about bedrooms, all I really want is a relaxing places to chill before I go to sleep…with a well-organized closet. You know what would be perfect?

{ SOURCE }

How about a closet with a washer and dryer right there?

But then I would have to put one in each bedroom, because there is no way everyone else’s clothes are making their way into my closet. -_-

Children’s Bedroom

I’m not talking nursery here, I’m talking the bedroom a child will spend the majority of his or her youth in (nursery’s don’t last for very long, in the grand scheme of things, so I’d like to use furniture that would be easily converted into furniture a teenager could use). I saw this a few days ago and thought it was just so cool:

{ SOURCE }

It was actually listed as dorm room inspiration (what schools let students alter their rooms this much?). It obviously wouldn’t work so well until after kids grow beyond the stage of falling out of the bed. But I know if I were still a kid, I would want this room.

Actually, I still want this room.

Home Office

I think something like this would be perfect for Zach:

{ SOURCE }

I don’t see the need to have my own office. I prefer to be able to move around the house and work wherever I want. Zach, on the other hand, needs a routine and safe place to go to work if people are home. Soundproof walls and a bolted door would be preferable. For me, a desk in the living room would be fine. Something like this, maybe:

{ SOURCE }

Under the stairs, maybe? (I had a picture of exactly what I wanted, but now I suddenly can’t find it. This is awfully cute, though!)

Laundry Room

There are so many great laundry room ideas out there! I had a hard time choosing, but I think in the end, this one wins:

{ SOURCE }

A place to hang up clothes? Watching TV while doing laundry without cluttering the living room? Yes, please!

Mudroom/Entryway

There are so many mudrooms that I love, but this one wins because of the built-in space for a cat box. There is never a good place to store those.

{ SOURCE }

Workshop

One of the many perks of owning your own home, for someone who loves to DIY, is to also have a work space–a garage, shed, yard, basement anything. I suppose renting a house would also achieve this, but I rent an apartment, so…I don’t really know. Since one day I want to be able to just build my own furniture, a work bench would be great. I especially love this one:

{ SOURCE }

It may not be pretty, but it keeps things so organized. I love it!

Obviously, there are so many other things I would want to do with each room…and so many things to do outside (that’s a post for another day), but this would have been far too long. 😛

It’s not a guarantee that any of these will be doable…but I can dream! Plus it was nice to get these out into the world. I’ve been letting things like this build up without being able to get any of it out. It was becoming extremely frustrating.

I feel much better now, though. 😛