Bowdenisms: One Year At Home

We are big time celebrators over here...and now we're big time homebodies. So celebrating our one-year hous-iversary is a no brainer!

Teeeeeechnically we hit the one year mark on March 4 (the date we officially closed on our new house) but we took our sweet time moving in (literally walking things over by the beach wagon load) and didn't close on our old house until April 2. So it makes choosing a milestone date a little tough, but gives me lots of wiggle room in finally getting the post together, so it's all good.

I've got all kinds of thoughts and feelings swirling about the last year (yet...are are there really any words that could do it justice?) But I don't quite have the energy (mental/physical/emotional) to dive into all that, so I'm gonna just give the people* what they want and finally just post some good old fashioned Before/After shots, ok?

*"the people" are me. I have a zillion pics but they're all in a smattering of spots (mostly Insta story highlights, IGTV tours, and #houseofbowden) I really just want a little hub I can reference with some OG pics and our progress so far...so here comes the photo dump!

**Oh, and while we're covering ourselves in caveats: I did not "style" these after photos, they're not in the best light, but they ARE from cleaning service day, so we're rocking slightly less clutter than normal, with 100% more fresh vacuum lines. Also- there are a few rooms "missing" from this tour- notably the playroom (I had to sequester the kids somewhere while I snapped these!), the laundry room and the bathrooms. Those all still need a bit of love...I'll share those maybe next March. :)

Outside:
Haven't done a thing. (Unless you count killing some bushes, and breaking a light fixture...) We desperately need new garage doors, so if that's the kind of thing that you find yourself getting excited about these days (when did I get so old?!) stop back soon!

Changes throughout:

We had all new floors installed (hardwood on the main floor, carpet in the playroom and bedrooms), painted all of the walls (from cream to grey) and all of the trim (from wood to white) and installed all new doors and hardware (from flat wood + brass to 3 panel white oil-rubbed bronze). This was all done before we moved in (minus the doors- which were a hilarious saga involving my parents basically turning their garage into a mini-factory for weeks on end) so we were able to step into a (mostly) refreshed house. Those big changes made a huge difference in updating the space and creating a blank canvas of sorts for me to start having some fun with the details.

*If I were a really good blogger, I would list all my sources (gotta make that affiliate $$$!) but...I am not. And honestly I'm not sure ya'll care about the specifics of the door hinges I bought/returned three times at Home Depot because measuring is hard. And honestly- I blocked some of it out because everything was a zillion dollars and involved too many agonizing decisions and annoying mistakes so by the time things got done I just washed my hands of it all. If you have questions about the details- hit me up!

Entryway:

There isn't a ton to say about this space, except that the change to one type of floor (vs. 3) on this level was a game-changer. Makes it all so much more cohesive and flow better.

"Craft Room"
I don't want to live in a world where I have to choose between art and food...Thankfully our kitchen has a big enough space to serve as our dining room so we could transform this space off the entryway into a craft room. It houses our beloved lockers (so it acts as an extension of the entryway) and keeps alllllllll of the glitter/glue/markers/MESS at least somewhat corralled. The table is almost never visible under all the master-pieces-in-progress but theoretically we could use it for additional dining space if we ever hosted a big fancy shin-dig (or if we have any more kids! joke!)

Living Room
The total '90s era "great room" reminds me a bit of the house I grew up in (which was actually a '70s era house, with similar vibes). I definitely underestimated how sound carries in an open concept house (especially when ALL the people are home ALL the time) so that might be a bit of a negative, but all in all I actually love having this big open "heart" to the home. I've never had a working fireplace, so being able to turn on the gas with a flick of a switch is the BIGGEST treat (we used it every single night for months!) My fav is how open this is to the kitchen; as an highly-extroverted FOMO-prone person who also loves to cook, I'm so happy to be able to whip stuff up without being isolated from any of the fun. Plus- all the windows (and light!) are so fun...I can see all the neighborhood action (turns out I LOVE a corner lot!) The furniture arrangement in here was a bit of a challenge...and I'm still not sure that we did it "right" but we made our existing sectional work which is a huge win. If we had fewer kids (or fewer movie nights) we might experiment with an alternate set up, but right now it's all about ample couch space, and good viewing angles.

Dining Room:
I don't know if this counts as a "room"...but it's a "space" at least! We've done just about nothing in here...but really didn't need to! New light fixture, big ol' seen better days table, a bunch of plants I haven't killed yet, and done!

Kitchen:
As I speak (/type), we're undergoing a kitchen remodel, so these "afters" are really more of a "between". (And if we're being honest, the Befores actually look better here without the wood floors clashing with the oak cabinets, and all of our plastic junk strewn about). We didn't exactly intend to tackle the kitchen right away (maybe one year in isn't "right away"...?) but it's such a focal part of the home (which also needs to be super functional) that it made sense to update it to work better (ok...and look better) for our family. Right now we're in the "has to get worse to get better stage"- so stay tuned!!

Master Bedroom
And....the Weirdest Room Award goes to.... THIS ONE.

It's two levels of wonder. Like..."I wonder why it's two levels?" This room really stumped us when we first toured the place. We actually crossed this house off our list because it just felt like too many outdated weird things to deal with. What would we do with all that (weird) space? Which level is supposed to be the bedroom?

But thankfully we came around to the potential of this space. (Duh...we bought it). And while we had some big dreams for how we could rework this to create a separate 5th bedroom (maybe someday) for now we're working with it mostly as is (including the hideous, barely working ceiling fan, and even more hideous oak railing). It's still not what we would design if we were in charge, but in the end, having a too giant master bedroom is not an actual problem.

Office
While we're giving out awards- this room easily earns Surprise Hit of the Year. What would we do with the space? We said. Why would we need a giant office? We said.

Haaaaaaaa.

There is nothing more 2020 than a Home Office/Remote Learning space, and OH MAN am I thankful for it.

Miller's Bedroom

We pretty just migrated Miller's bedroom from the old house and dropped it right in the new house. And he is so sweet to share with us nearly daily as we use it as a makeshift office (I spy a folding desk + chair not really hiding in the corner). The girls are a little jealous he gets a room all to himself, but they play in there together constantly, and often beg us to squeeze another mattress in there to have sibling sleepovers.

Girls' Bedroom

Oh the irony of putting my two biggest kids (with the largest wardrobe) in the smallest bedroom (with the smallest closet). You'll just have to trust me that this was the right choice (I say this after assembling the bunk beds in each and every room JUST to make sure). And honestly? The lack of floor space in here really just serves to limit how many tiny sparkly doo-dads they can fling about.

Little Lady's Bedroom

Last but not least...a little space for little bit. She's a bit young to have big opinions...but give her some blackout shades, her "calm down kitty cat" weighted blanket and a bunch of bird themed decor- she's happy as a lark (or sleepy as a...sleepy bird?)