Our House - Year 2

December 6, 2017 Courtney Foster Shearer

It's hard to believe we are in the last month of 2017 already! This year has truly flown by, but before it's gone I want to take a minute and look back at all we've accomplished here on the home front. Back in October we celebrated our two year anniversary in this house and I'm happy to say we feel 100% more accomplished this year than we did after year one.

Our house is feeling more and more like a home and more excitedly our home with each project we complete. Some rooms are finished and some still have a ways to go, but a lot of them underwent some type of improvement this year.

Let's get the party started with The Living Room:

Earlier this year we added a chandelier, curtains and a coffee table to this space and man does it feel good in here. We definitely spend a lot of time in this room, so it's nice that it's one of the more completed areas in our house.

Up next... The Dining Room:

This room definitely saw a lot of action this year. We wrapped up our antique mantle restoration, figured out our chair situation around the dining table and added curtains. We also incorporated antique brackets to separate the dining room from the foyer which really elevated the whole space.

The last area we dug into this year was our mudroom.

We touched every inch of this space and after adding planks , replacing our entry door , updating our laundry door and building out mudroom storage over the antique bench we reupholstered I would say we can officially consider this room D O N E.

And lastly, the never-ending project - The Outdoor Kitchen:

This is the most updated shot we have. It's from April and we haven't made much project since then. Next year is our year to finish this beast, I can feel it.

The process of updating, furnishing and decorating a house can feel overwhelming, exhausting and expensive. If you all are anything like me you know it can be hard to work through spaces, one at a time when what you really want to do is blink and it all be done. But in all honesty, I'm a sucker for the process too. Even if I had an unlimited budget and all the time in the world, I know I would still take forever because often times the best rooms are those that are collected and perfected over time. As we wrap up year two I'm feeling excited and proud that more rooms, especially on our first floor, feel like "us" as compared to the empty caves they were this time last year. So, cheers to progress and embracing the sloppy, tiring, expensive and rewarding journey!

All photos are my own.