House Tour!!

I am finally getting a house tour up on the blog! Though it's still a work in progress, I'm grateful that the Lord has given us this beautiful home. I still have lots of decorating ideas swirling around in my head but I'm not going to let a lack of decorations or missing furniture hinder my joy at His wonderful provision for us!! Living overseas for much of my life and seeing how much of the world lives, I never want to take for granted the house we have. Our home is a constant reminder to daily praise the Lord for what He has given us and to be good stewards of it.

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

James 1:17

It's not easy to furnish an entire house quickly and cheaply. We moved to Florida with just a few pieces of furniture and have had to buy the rest. Thus, we are finishing up the house little by little, but each month it feels a more like home!!

Today I'm just showing you our main living areas and not the bedrooms. So.... here it goes!

I'll start with the outside of our house. This first picture was taken shortly after we closed on the house and before we had even moved in. Despite the brown, dead grass we were just so happy to finally be home owners! We live in a quiet little neighborhood and have great neighbors!

We had went to a party that day and the kids had some face painting done which is why they look a bit freaky. =) 

The front door.

This is the view you see when you first enter the house. Our entry way is still pretty much a blank slate. I have plans for an entryway table and large fun mirror on one side and a bench and hooks on the other side. I'll be excited one we get some stuff in this space!

This is our living room. We use half as a spot for our desks and half as a cozy sitting area. I ordered a large mirror for above the fireplace a few weeks ago but it arrived shattered and I had to return it. I also found out that the mirror is out of stock so I'm on the lookout for another mirror to go there! I am also contemplating painting the stone fireplace an off white to update it.

The Africa was handmade by this sweet woman I found on Etsy. She lives locally in Jacksonville and so I didn't even have to wait for it to be shipped to me, I was able to pick it up from her house. She can make any state/country/continent and put the heart over whatever state/country/continent you'd like. She can also do whatever color wood, string, and paint you want! Our heart is over Uganda, of course. Such a special country in our hearts! 

Just off of our living room sits our playroom. Probably my favorite room in the house because it keeps the kids happy and contained!! =) One thing I love about this room is the huge closet that we use for puzzles, games, and movies. I also love that this room has a door to the backyard which allows the kids to either play in the play room or play outside and go in and out as they please.

Next up is our dining room. Probably my second favorite room in the house. =) Mostly because of the pictures that are hanging on the wall. Not only were they a PAIN IN THE BUTT to hang (because, I mean.... 6 pictures all straight and evenly spaced with each other? It's harder than it looks!) but because each of those picture frames contains fabric from Uganda and I love having those pieces from Eloise's home country in our home!

We had our farm table custom made. We knew we wanted a big table so we could have lots of room for guests!!! The white shelf in there is an heirloom from Drew's Aunt Mae. I haven't decided yet if I'm going to paint it or leave it in it's current "naturally shabby chic" condition. I also haven't yet decided on what I'm going to decorate it with and right now it just has a bunch of knick knacks on it. Probably one more thing will go on a wall in this room- a wine rack- but I haven't yet decided what style I want or exactly where I want to put it.

Next to the dining room is the kitchen. I love having a little breakfast nook in there! It's so handy for feeding the kids at!! And those little white chairs that match our dining room chairs but are sized perfectly for kids with a higher/smaller seat? They kinda make me smile whenever I look at them! =) And they are so perfect for the kids to sit on! Two things I love about this kitchen - the pot drawers to the left of the stove (like seriously, I never knew how much I could love pot drawers!) and I love that all the drawers and doors are soft-close (no slamming doors or drawers that don't get shut!).

We have two bathrooms, a master bathroom and a guest bathroom. The guest bathroom has a shower curtain that I really need to iron. Who really ever likes to iron anyways....? Especially a shower curtain!? =)

 

 

And finally, here is the backyard. Drew's dad found the playset for free on the side of the road and fixed it up for us! The kids love it and swing out there most every day! The backyard is big and has plenty of room for the kids to run and play. We've cornered off a section of the yard where the kids are allowed to dig and they (especially Isaiah) love trying to dig the deepest holes they can! After living in an apartment for several months with three kids I must say that I LOVE having a backyard!!

Well, that is our house! Hope you've enjoyed the little tour! We are so grateful that the Lord provided the perfect house for us. Buying a home was a stressful process and then there's always the risk that when you finally move in, the house won't fit your family like you thought it would. We have felt nothing but at home here since we moved in and feel like this house is a great fit for our family right now. I hope we never leave! But, let's be honest, we're the Hutchesons..... we never stay any place for too long! =)