3 Year Michigan New Home Anniversary

Sharing is caring!

When I was thinking of what I wanted to share with you this morning– I couldn’t help but look at the date. It’s August tomorrow. Our little girl turned 4 yesterday. Whoa. Time. 🙁 We also celebrated 3 years of home ownership in our Michigan home too this weekend (even if we technically weren’t in the state). This means that this month marks 3 years of living in our new home build. Between A’s birthday & feeling sentimental, I think we will take a quick stroll through the past 3 years of DIY and what we’ve done so far here in our home in Michigan! 

I’m holding a kleenex typing this post out. Don’t judge.

We moved into our Ann Arbor, Michigan home in August 2014. It was our second new home build– but first in the Midwest and it came with a few surprises.

• No yard. Our HOA required a full sod installation within 6-8 weeks of moving in simply due to the season we moved into the home. We wanted to be good neighbors to the empty lots on either side of us ( 😉 ) and we obliged.
• No painting the walls for one year! This was a shock to us. Due to home settling, we were strongly advised to wait until the one year mark before painting rooms. In Alabama this wasn’t a concern, but we found out soon enough that yep, the house moves. But don’t worry, once we hit the one year mark (or 11ish months) we painted as much as we could. Owen was 2 weeks old and this Mama needed the house painted. 🙂

What We’ve Accomplished the Past 3 Years

I don’t have great ‘before’ pictures of where we started, but you’ll quickly get an idea. At closing our home was flat bright commercial white paint and ready for us to leave our mark on it. I’ll share what we have done so far, 3 years in, and wish list projects we’d love to tackle.

Since I was pregnant for the first year we lived there, not much was done. I didn’t have the energy to do much more than work and care for 1 year old Aubrey. Once we hit the 1 year mark, Owen was already born, I was back to work, and we finally had more energy to tackle home projects. A few months later, I started blogging.

Timing is funny like that. 🙂

Our biggest barriers are like every other young family— when we have the time, we can’t justify the cost and when we finally save up enough– well, we cannot find the time.

One of our biggest cost savers making our new house a home was doing it ourselves. Jordan really. If we need something around the house, he simply learns how to do it. And I am forever grateful for him managing my grand requests with realistic projects that always turn out so nice.

Since I never considered blogging when we closed on the house, I don’t have any true ‘Before’ pictures! Sigh. But what I do have are photos from 3 weeks before closing. Imagine an extra coat of flat white paint and flooring installed when we moved into the home.

The Front Yard

Yard Before

Yard 3 Years Later

 

What We’ve Done So Far

• Professionally Installed Sod & Landscaping
• Installed Sprinkler System
• Installed French Drains
• Refreshed the Flower Beds this year (Summer Flowerbeds Update)

Wish List Projects 

• Add 2′ concrete apron on either side of driveway
• Create a stamped concrete area in large empty area in front of home for setting out a chair and table
• Remove existing sidewalk
• Install Window Boxes

The Entry Way

Entry Way Before

Entry Way 3 Years Later

 

What We’ve Done So Far

• Painted the Walls and Pop-Outs
• Installed Recessed Lighting in Entryways & Upstairs Hallways (See the Recessed Lighting Tutorial Here)
• Installed a Pendant Above Front Door (Foyer Lighting Project)
• Hung Some Decor

Wish List Projects 

• Paint the Black Table to Something More Our Style
• Change Out the Upstairs Hallway Lights to Something More Our Style
• Add Shelving / Picture Ledge in Upstairs Hallway
• Add more furniture in upstairs hallway

The Dining Room

Dining Room Before

Here we had just painted the gray part of the all white walls.

Dining Room 3 Years Later

What We’ve Done So Far

• Painted the Room Gray
• Installed Faux Wainscoting
• Installed Curtains
• Added some decor

Wish List Projects 

• Install a New Light Fixture
• Build a Farmhouse Style Table
• Build More Shelving on Bump Out Sides
• Build a Buffet for the Room

The Front Flex Room

We still aren’t sure how we want to use this room. I think we both agree that we’d like a place for the kids to do homework and somewhere for me to setup shop for an office. Right now I blog from the Kitchen Island or the couch and have to pull out my binders & printer as needed.

Flex Room Before

Flex Room 3 Years Later

What We’ve Done So Far

• Painted

Wish List Projects 

• Install a Ceiling Light (No power running to ceiling right now)
• Install Ceiling Moulding (Jordan’s idea)
• Install Built-Ins
• Make it a Pretty, But Functional Office

The Powder Room

Powder Room Before

We entered our first ever One Room Challenge with the Powder Room. We had 6 weeks to take it from ‘before’ to something beautiful. In here we had the same flat white painted walls.

Powder Room 3 Years Later

What We’ve Done So Far

It was so much room renovation. You can see the full list here at the Powder Room Reveal!

Wish List Projects 

Not a thing! If we could have every room as finished as the powder room, I’d consider the Michigan home a success. But then I’d be bored. 🙂

 

The Living Room

Living Room Before

Living Room 3 Years Later

What We’ve Done So Far

• Painted the Walls & Fireplace
• Installed Curtain Rods
• DIY 2 Story Curtains
• Installed Wall Art
• Purchased a New Entertainment Stand

Wish List Projects 

• BUILD A WOOD MANTLE (can you tell it’s HOT on my list?)
• Jordan wants to drywall out the upper part of the fireplace so he can install stack-stone all the way to the ceiling. #loftygoals
• I’m considering making white curtains in place of the colored ones.
• I’d love to add a rug and more decor.
• I really want a mantle. 😉

The Kitchen

Kitchen Before

We haven’t done much with the kitchen other than paint it (twice) and add some decor.

 

Kitchen 3 Years Later

What We’ve Done So Far

• Installed 3 hanging pendants above the island and sink
• Painted Twice (See How We Finally Decided On a Whole House Color Scheme here)
• DIY Wine Racks

Wish List Projects 

• We’d love to have lighter cabinets. Perhaps paint them white or light gray?
• Jordan has always wanted to install a backsplash. Since he tiled in the powder room, he probably feels more comfortable doing it himself on a much larger scale.
• I would like to reorganize the pantry shelving.

The Hearth Room

Hearth Room Before

Our home builder planned for this space to be a dining space. Jordan & I agreed to actually eat in the dining room and not let it get dusty. Since we had that dining space, this area is used every single day for morning adventures and hanging out while we’re cooking dinner.

 

Hearth Room 3 Years Later

 

What We’ve Done So Far

• Painted it twice
• Changed out the pendant for a new fixture (You can see the project here)
• DIY Painted a buffet for the space
• Purchased 2 leather chairs
• DIY Burlap Curtains
• Installed TV above fire place
• DIY Growth Chart

Wish List Projects 

• I’d like to add a small mantle under the TV to make it look less modern and more our style. I’m not sure how we will do that
• Add more shelving

Mud Room

Mud Room Before

We haven’t done anything to the mudroom in the first 2.95 years. But that is about to change. I can’t wait to share our weekend DIY project! In the meantime, this is how it’s looked to us every single morning since we’ve moved in.

Mud Room 3 Years Later >>> It’s a Surprise!

What We’ve Done So Far

• Installed Motion Sensor Light
• Hung a Small Hook for Keys

Wish List Projects 

• A whole revamp of the room to make it more functional.
• Paint the room

The Master Bedroom

Master Bedroom Before

This room is too large for my small-decor mind to process. It’s been difficult to style without having a large budget. And it hasn’t been a focus since we’ve been trying to update rooms that people actually see. Unless you are Aubrey in the middle of the night, not many people ever come to see the latest decor in our room. 🙂

I created an entire post dedicated to updating our master bedroom. Unfortunately, the timing hasn’t worked out (for reasons above). It’s always seemed like a better project to do something that other people could appreciate, rather than just ourselves.

Master Bedroom  3 Years Later

What We’ve Done So Far

• Painted the Room
• Installed Window Treatments

Wish List Projects 

• Master Bedroom Plans
• Closet Shelving Makeover
• Give the Walls Character

Kid’s & Guest Bedrooms

The Other Bedrooms Before

They are basic bedrooms 🙂 Nothing too fancy over here.

The Other Bedrooms Years Later

See more about Owen’s Nursery here

 

What We’ve Done So Far

• Painted the Kids’ Rooms
• Decorated Both Kids’ Rooms
• Changed Out Aubrey’s Light for a Fan
• Installed a dimmable light for nursery

Wish List Projects 

• Possibly Move Aubrey into the Spare (consequence of 2nd floor laundry)
• Decorate Spare Bedroom
• Install Ceiling Fan in Owen’s Room

 

Master & Spare Bathrooms

Bathrooms Before

Master Bathroom Above — Spare Bathroom Below

Bathrooms 3 Years Later Still look the same!

What We’ve Done So Far

• Nothing to either one!
• Installed Towel Rungs, Toilet Paper Holders, etc…

Wish List Projects 

• I’d love to paint the Master Bath (we have the paint, need more time)
• Install Shelving and Finally Decorate the Master
• Plan a Decor Theme for the Spare Bathroom
• Paint Bathroom Cabinets (eek!)

The Laundry Room

Laundry Room Before

Laundry Room 3 Years Later

You can see more about our laundry room makeover here

What We’ve Done So Far

• Painted
• Installed Cabinets
• New Washer & Dryer (on our second round in the house. Grrrr.)
• Installed Shelving

Wish List Projects 

• Add more decor
• Maybe Paint it a lighter color with leftover paint? (Shhhh…Don’t tell Jordan)

The Basement

Basement Before

Don’t worry that’s not a water problem. I think someone was working downstairs on a project. The basement is more than 1750 square feet of playground for Aubrey & Owen. Jordan has built a small tool empire with several cabinets, work spaces, and tools. It’s a very functional area for him to work and the kids have fun everywhere else.

We opted for 9′ ceilings when we built the house, so it gives us plenty of options– for the future.

Basement 3 Years Later

What We’ve Done So Far

• Built Wood Shelving for Totes
• Bought a Large Carpet Remnant for the Kids to Play On
• Created a Workshop for DIY projects all the time!
• Installed Motion Sensor Lights for Coming Down the Stairs
• Hung Lots of Hooks to Keep Wreaths and Ladders Organized
• Created shelving for my sewing supplies

Wish List Projects 

• More Wood Shelving?
• While the basement is plumbed for a full bathroom and there is a legal bedroom space, we don’t have any plans to add anything right now. I can only assume that what I’d use the basement for as a toddler mom will be very different than the needs of our family in 10 years.

 

Whew. That’s it! We’ve been really lucky to enjoy working around the house in the few years we’ve been here. This place went from some very stark white walls and is slowly turning into a home for our little family. We’ve made so many memories (and brought Owen home) that it’s more than just color and wall decor for us.

Jordan & I were just talking about how we’ve been in Michigan for more than 3.5 years. it’s the longest we’ve lived anywhere in our adult lives. When it comes to DIY projects, we like to balance making our home pretty, functional, and appropriate for resale. We know that there will always be another place for us to live– but in the meantime we’ll be working on a new project.

Thank you for walking down memory lane with me!

Sharing is caring!