Welcome to our home! And for those who are visiting from Blogelina, welcome to Gluesticks!I am a BIG “lookie-loo” and love being inspired by other homes. If we are out on a walk in the evening and a home down the road has their windows open and lights on, I can’t help but glance over as we walk by! My FAVORITE homes to see are the ones that are older. The ones that grandparents have lived in for years and raised their kids in. Like my grandparents. I loved their home. So many photos, period furniture and memories in one space.Big or small, new or old, I am just fascinated with how people live and how they make it their own. So if you are like me you may enjoy the following photos.Our home was built in 2012. At the time it was easier (and not any more expensive) to build than to buy. We found that odd because there were many foreclosures sitting empty, but the market was frozen and wasn’t moving for those.I am going to first start off with a disclaimer.
My house looks like this every single night before we do a quick clean up. We have a presentable, but lived in home, and I like utilizing the ability to close certain doors when company comes over.
So now that I’ve shown you a realistic picture, here are the rest that showcase the actual house and not our clutter. I took these the morning after my husband had a meeting at our house. My family had been asking for pics of our new place. Perfect timing.
I have also included links to any projects that you might see in the photos, so feel free to click through for the tutorials on those!
Our Living Room
We have games, lots of games. This is just the over-flow from our game closet. The ones that the kids like to get out frequently. My rocker is seeing better days, but it still works. When I came from the hospital after our first daughter was born, it was sitting in the living room. My husband and boys put it together for me and it was such a sweet surprise.
Here is the tutorial for my Brown Paper Bag Wreath that I made several years ago.
 Our Great Room
I love this room. It is open and right next to our dining area. This is where everything happens. We’ve had this furniture for 10 years (the tables and sofas) and it has held up amazingly with four kids. My trick? SPRAY PAINT. Every now and then I take out the coffee table and end tables and give them a quick coat of spray paint. They’re good for at least another year after that! The wicker storage totes are from IKEA and hold the baby’s toys. It’s easy to do a quick pick up at night and keep them there instead of hauling them upstairs.
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Recently IÂ found these great woven totes from Walmart in the garden section! It was a pleasant surprise. They are bigger than the IKEA baskets and are only $4.97 each. They are thick plastic/rubber. I picked up several for the flowers in my front yard, but went back to get a couple more today for inside the house. These are nice and big and will work for toys, blankets, small laundry hampers, etc.
Here is a link for A Year of Home Decor Printables. I have one of them hanging on the wall next to our family photos.
The sitting chair you see here was my grandmother’s chair. I gave it a new life last year and shared exactly how I tackled my first upholstered project here. Have you reupholstered anything? If so, my hat is off to you. I’m not sure I’d ever want to do it again!
This is the Father’s Day “D A D” Frame that we made last year. It was so much fun and the kids had fun adding the finishing touches.
The “Lead Me, Guide Me” Canvas was one of the first projects I ever shared on Gluesticks. Now that our last baby was born, it is missing a set of handprints. I may need to make another one!
Our Kitchen
Do you have a favorite room in your home? Mine, without a doubt, is my kitchen and dining area. I spend a lot of time in here. Cooking, cleaning, helping with homework, visiting with the kids after school, and eating meals as a family together.
See that movie theater popcorn popper? That was a present for my husband’s birthday last year. He is a huge popcorn lover and so are the kids. They eat it every night. I was so excited to surprise him with this machine, but accidently had it shipped to our OLD address in Ohio! Our nice renters mailed it out to us, but I was still out a lot of cash for shipping it. Oh well, it is a story we’ll remember and a lesson LEARNED. Double check your shipping and billing addresses every time!We’ve had these bar stools for 5 years and I decided to do away with the tan micro suede and give them a quick face lift. New fabric, and several coats of Scotch Guard later, they look brand new again and are super easy to keep clean.
Our Dining Room
 My grandparents purchased this dining set it in the 1950s. My mother inherited the set after they passed away and is letting us have it in our home. My kids still call it “Grandma’s Table”.
The rug is actually from Walmart! I found it online for around $60. Recently I noticed that they have some pretty fun rugs in their stores too for around the same price.
I shared a quick description of how I DIY Horizontal Striped Curtains last fall. I needed something extra tall and didn’t want to pay for custom curtains. These worked.
My Girl’s Room
The flowers were a stencil. My daughters both love picking flowers and are always bringing me dandelions so I thought I would add some flowers to their bedroom.
My husband made the girls this dress up box and it has worked wonders for organization in their room. It is short enough that they can get their clothes down and hang them back up. He did a fantastic job and you can read all about it here.
Our Thrifted Hair Bow Frame is almost in need of an upgrade. With two girls, we are accumulating a lot of bows and clips!
Our Boy’s Room
We stopped by a Williams, AZ. near the Grand Canyon on Route 66 last summer. It was a fun little town and we picked up some souvenirs for the boy’s room. I also hung up their pinewood derby cars on the wall. They are so proud of those. Photo bomb by little sister.
Our Home Office
I’ve shared our home office before and you can view the entire post here.
It only looks like this if I am not in the middle of a project or if the kids haven’t been crafting that day. Otherwise it looks like this…
Haha, you can get the scoop on that photo in my “If You Give a Child a Crayon” post!
Now back to the cleaner pictures…
I recently learned How To Paint Laminate Furniture and it was life changing. Seriously, what a money saver! These were on their way out to the curb, but will now be hanging around a bit longer.
So there you have it. If you are wondering about our bathrooms…they look like bathrooms. And our master bedroom? Well, like always it is the last to ever receive attention. PLEASE tell me I am not the only one whose bedroom is neglected!If you have a post linking to a project you have done in your home, I’d LOVE to visit it! Leave me a link! And as always, if you have any questions about any room or project I listed above, I am happy to help! Thanks for stopping by…and one last question for you:Â
Are you a “lookie loo” too?
Are you a “lookie loo” too?
Welcome! I'm Brandy, mother to 5 darling kiddos and a cute black lab named Toby. My husband is in the Coast Guard so we've lived all over the place, turning each house into a home. I love baking, sewing, making cute things with my kids, and sharing what I've learned with all of you!
Like you I love looking into homes when I am walking or riding in the evenings. I loved this look into your home and can relate to everything you have said. lol I have/had 6 boys. 5 are out on their own now and my baby is a senior in college. Yes, he came along much later in life!! lol 14 years between him and his oldest brother and 8 years between him and his younger brother. I wish these blogs had been out here when my kids were at home. Of course if it had been I wouldn’t have had the time to even look at them. lol Thanks for such a wonderful blog, I don’t always comment but I am always looking!
Thanks Brenda! I always appreciate your sweet comments!
thankyou for sharing your home with us… i really like your office… where did you get the neat cupboard? i am looking for something like that for myself as i currently don’t have a space of my own… i also love the dress-up box… i have a new grand-daughter (2 mo.) who will enjoy something like this when she is older…God bless you and yours and your lovely home…
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{The link in the first comment wasn’t the right one. Here is the right one!}
Hi Carol! My craft storage box came from “The Original Scrapbox”. They have several styles. The one I have is called a Craft Box. I’ve had it almost a year now and it has been such a great space saver! Here is the link {the right one} http://www.theoriginalscrapbox.com
And congratulations on your new grandbaby! She is lucky to have a grandma like you who is already planning such fun things for her! Our girls love their dress up box!
I love your idea of tucking a basket under your living room side table! Hauling clutter to another room each night just to find it back in the same room the next day is exhausting- great solution!
Thanks flightsofdelight! It really works great. Nicely tucked away to avoid stepping on toys after they go to bed, but still available during the day!
I am always curious about people’s homes! I will even look it up on Zillow, or definitely check it out online if there’s a for sale sign out front.
I do have a cool checkerboard wall in our bedroom that I painted. It wasn’t difficult, it just needed planning and a grid on the wall. Not sure how to get you a pic of it… but it was done 9 years ago and I still love it.
I check out Zillow too! Oh, I’d love to add some design to our bedroom. I’ve thought of stripes, but a checkerboard would look amazing!
You have a beautiful home! I love upcycling old furniture or change the color! Fun, isn’t it? I love how organized your office is with your craft supplies… that is still on my to do list since we’ve moved into our new home.
I love the idea of this virtual tour. I need to do this for my friends who are still asking to see the new house! Thanks for inviting me in!
Yes you need too so that I can come check it out 🙂 As I’ve mentioned before, I have a weakness for this! I just love getting ideas from others!
I’m laughing right now, because I thought I was surely the only one who looks in windows, lol! Nice to know I’m not the only one. Anyway, I’m loving your house. We just bought our dream home in Nashville, and I can’t wait to get my hands on decorating it. I’m totally digging your dark cabinets in the kitchen. I’ve been tossing the idea around of painting my white ones dark because I’ve had white cabinets for a million years now, and I’m so over seeing them look dirty all the time. I’m showing my husband your cabinets 🙂 Thanks for sharing, I’m stopping by from Blogelina, but I’m following you now so I’ll be back to browse even more!
-Molly from Just a Little Creativity
Hi Molly! I’m glad to know that I’m not the only one with peeping tendencies 🙂 It’s just nice to get ideas from others, no matter what the size of the house is or how new it is. It’s just fun to see how others live. I’m off to check out your site right now!
Oh, and this is the 2nd home we’ve had darker cabinets in. I really love them. They hide finger prints, but dust seems to show up more. The best color seems to be a light oak color to hide fingerprints, dust, and dirt, but that was in our house we had in 2003. I’ve moved on to liking darker colors or white. Such a shame because both have their drawbacks! But it’s worth it to me 🙂
I’m a lookie loo too! I think it embarasses my husband. LOL! I’m just curious as to how others tuck away their “stuff.” I am a basket person by nature. I have them all over my house. So much easier (and prettier) to drop stuff in.
We’ll be moving next year when my husband finishes his last year of clinical’s. I can’t wait. I plan to do my own virtual tour then. I never did one for this house because this house isn’t “mine.” I moved into it and haven’t really been able to do much to it because I just finished grad school this past June. So that was my focus.
I’ll be spending this last year in it focusing on my business and just counting down the days until we have a home of our own that we picked out together.
Congrats on finishing grad school and to your husband for almost being done too! My sister and brother in law recently bought their first place after he graduated dental school. She always had a cute place, but it was always a rental. It was fun to see how they transformed their first house into THEIR home! I can’t wait to see your virtual tour. Much less stalker-ish than looking into your window 🙂
I love the tour of your house! I love looking at other peoples homes and seeing what they have done. We recently moved and should be in our new home the middle of next month. I can’t wait to decorate it and make it our own! We had fun fixing up our last home. Our master bedroom was my favorite http://lovepastatoolbelt.com/?p=1118 No kids yet so we focused the most on our master.
Emily @ http://lovepastatoolbelt.com
Hi Emily! How exciting to be moving into a new space! I remember that feeling last year as we were living with family and a condo we rented for 3 months waiting for our place to be done and to get keys! The anticipation of finally being settled again! I’m going to check out your link right now. Thanks for sharing!
Your home is beautiful! LOve, love, love that kitchen and dining room rug! Gorgeous! This has got me all excited now! I’m closing on my first house this friday! Can’t wait to move in and decorate it!! Thank you so much for sharing your lovely home with us!
Cindy! How exciting! Thank you for your sweet comment and stopping by. I thought I’d let you know that my rug is from Walmart of all places! I found it online for $60, but then saw a bunch of fun prints at the store too. Chevron, quatrafoile prints, etc. For about the same price. I wouldn’t have thought to look there, but what a deal! It washes great too, which is good since I have 4 kids. I just spot clean it every now and then and it looks as good as new! Take care!
Your home is BEAUTIFUL!!!! I love the idea of spray painting your furniture. Genius!!! Thank you for also putting up the links of your projects! I will be following you from now on!
Thank you Carli, and welcome!
Your home is beautiful, Brandy! I love how open it is between the great room, kitchen, and dining area. I bet that’s super helpful when you’re preparing meals, and trying to watch the kids at the same time. I love seeing what other people have done in their homes. I’m always looking to make our home a ‘haven’ on a budget, and your creativity has inspired me! I already pinned your striped curtains tutorial, and am looking forward to giving it a shot! Thanks so much for sharing your space with us!
Thanks for stopping by, April! I totally understand striving for a “haven” on a budget. Most of our stuff (like the furniture, lamps, etc.) are over 8 years old! It’s cheaper to make them last than replace them when we have little kids! 🙂
Two things…no, three: 1) Your home is absolutely charming! Love the kitchen and dining room the best, although it’s all wonderful, 2) I totally had to check out the post on how to paint laminate furniture, and 3) nope, it’s not just you who neglects their master bedroom. I do the same thing…why is that? We always give so much effort and attention to every other room, but never the room we spend most of our time in (even if most of it is sleeping!). How odd!
Awesome! So glad you neglect your bedroom too, ha! I think it’s easier for me to splurge on others than myself. I need to make our room a priority one of these days!
Gorgeous home. I can’t wait to have a nice home like yours. Houses are a weakness for me, but I especially love the older ones and the big Victorian styles.
Thanks Jenn! Houses are a weakness for me too!
Your home is beautiful! Every single room is gorgeous. I especially love the kid’s rooms… and that home office! My goodness! It is literally like my DREAM OFFICE!
– April
mylifeasapril.com
Thank you, April! My CraftBox really made the whole office. Such a nice use of space. I’m not sure what I would do without it! Thanks so much for stopping by!
Your house looks amazing, Brandy! And all with four kiddos, too! Want to come over and redo mine??
You have a very nice home. Thanks for sharing it with us. I am awed at your creativity and all the projects you do to save recycle older pieces.
I think I’m totally in love with your home! The living room, kitchen, the girls’ room, THAT OFFICE! Your office is so organized and cutesy, and I love it!
You have a beautiful home and it’s so well organized. I loved the dress up wardrobe. I need one for my kids dress up clothes. I really like all your organization. I need to start being more organized as well. I try but it always seems to end up messy again. Thanks for sharing your lovely home with us. Oh and love that kitchen. I would do wonders in a kitchen that size.
Thank you Nickida! I still have a long way to go to being organized, but I’ve lucked out and have a few things to help me! Like lots of baskets and my craft box 🙂 Lifesavers!
Such a cute house! I love looking at other people’s homes, too…mainly to figure out how other people corral their stuff to see if I can steal any ideas. 🙂
Oh my-i thought I was the only one that liked to look into lit, open windows!!!
🙂
Lovely home you have – I enjoyed the non sneaking peak throu 🙂
I love to see other people’s homes. I think that’s why I watch House Hunters so much! 🙂
Your kitchen is gorgeous. The whole home truly is gorgeous. Thanks for giving us a peek inside.
Adorable! You have given me some great inspiration! I love the handprint canvas! Great gift idea for grandparents! I also love the office/craft area! I would love to do something similar to this.
The canvas was so easy to make! It would definitely be a great gift for a grandparent! Thanks for stopping by!
I like watching people more than homes but enjoyed seeing your lovely home. i live in an old home so it does have much character but also is in need of many projects, all of which take money.
I am in love with the bright colored furniture in the office area and that desk, oh my.
I feel you on the shipping snafu’s. I have managed to send two items to our old address in the pasts 7 months from two different Amazon accounts. Thankfully our old landlord realizes I am a total ditz and helped us retrieve both.
Definitely coming back for more from your blog.
Glad I’m not the only one with the shipping snafus! Thanks for stopping by Felicia!
So beautiful! i love your craft area-I need one of those!
You have a beautiful home – thanks so much for sharing it with us! My favorite rooms are the kitchen, home office and your daughter’s room. Thanks also for providing the links to the other posts and the design items. I see tons of things you’ve done that I’d like to try!
I love your home! I hope one day that I am able to decorate my home just as wonderful as yours! I feel like your home should be on one of those hgtv shows 🙂
Wow! You have ab beautiful house. Everything looks nice and neat. And so organized. Grear job, mom.
We’ve lived in our house for 15 years now and I STILL haven’t done our master. We’re still using hand-me-down furniture as a matter of fact because it’s an antique set. However, I hate the set lol Why do we Mom’s put our stuff last? I’ve done daughters room twice (shakes head)
It’s so true! We always put our children’s “needs” above our own! I’m not sure my kids need a decorated room, but it was still fun doing it! Thanks for stopping by Val!
You have a very beautiful home! I wish we could have one like yours but we’re only living in an apartment. gah. -_- you’re home is like the one i always see on american tv. 🙂
Thank you Charlotte! We started out in a duplex too, it takes time! Thanks for stopping by!
Hello, you are very blessed to have a husband who has provided such a lovely place for your family. You have done a great job of decorating it and being creative with what you have. You must wake up with such gratefulness every day!
I am very blessed and grateful for my little family. Thank you for your sweet comment!
I feel like I have just watched a show on HGTV. How fun to peek into your house. Love the realistic photo. great way to start. And you have created such great organizational touches too. really really enjoyed this!
Thank you, Jean!
Thank for you for the “before” picture 🙂 That was awesome. We often try to present the perfect place but that’s not how we live.
And I’m like you… if I’m walking at night and someone has their lights on, I can’t help but look in!
Jennifer @ The Jenny Evolution
http://www.thejennyevolution.com
Nope. It sure isn’t how we always live. I have a tidy home most of the time, but I don’t want to stress my kids out constantly to keep it spotless. It just isn’t worth it! If I am trying to showcase areas of a room I move stuff so that it doesn’t distract in photos, but I hope everyone knows that nobody lives with perfectly lined up throw pillows, fruit on tables, and table settings all of the time. Well, we don’t at least! 🙂
You have a lovely home!
I love those wicker baskets from Ikea! We also have a couple hiding some of the baby’s toys. Only some….the rest are all over the family room floor 😉
I love the girls’ room! My favorite room in the house right now is the baby’s room. I took so much time decorating it, and it turned out perfect!
Thank you for letting us peek into your lovely home! I love my kitchen too. It’s small, but cozy and I always feel like I’ve landed at home base when I get there.
Yes, I def. love looking at other people’s homes, and old homes are my favorite, too. I dream of a New England farmhouse like my grandmother has, and my own furniture is mostly an ecletic mix of old pieces. My favorite rooms in your house are the kitchen and girl’s room–so cute–although the home office is pretty dandy, too. I write about my home and my angst about it quite a bit on my blog [yes, our bedroom is always a total disaster, because stuff gets thrown in there all day and then I throw myself in, exhausted, lol.]
I LOVE your kitchen! The curtains, rug, and bar stools are all so pretty! I had to laugh when you said that you always tend to turn and look when you see lights on and the curtains open in another house, because I catch myself doing that a lot too! haha Thanks for the “peek” into your beautiful and well-organized home. 🙂
I love your house and your decorating sense. I also peek in windows on our nightly walks. Such great ideas.
I like your disclosure picture. Too funny! Thanks for letting us take a peek in your home. I love checking out living room windows too.
I love how organized your home is and clutter free! I’m in the middle of purging and it feels so nice lol. It’s amazing what we can accumulate over the years. Thank you for the tour. I love looking at other people’s homes.
You have a lovely home! I am in the decorating process in my home. You are giving me ideas that I can apply now and some that will have to come later. I can tell that everything was done with love and care in your home.
Your house is very beautiful and the way you organized is truly motivating. You have incorporated all the décor details very nicely ,it gives refreshing and warm look. Thanks for lovely house tour!!
Thank you for sharing your beautiful house! I also love looking at houses. I am a happy renter, and usually never a house, but I just love seeing what others do with their spaces. I turned into an HGTV addict and thought I was in Heaven until I realized I needed to accomplish more than TV watching. You have such talent for creating things and re-using furniture. Very impressive!
Okay, so you are definitely inspiring! I love the pictures they really tell all. Yes, my room is always last and gets the least attention. Just like you said you can always close those doors. Thanks for sharing, I did enjoy the look!!
My hubby..I know……I know…is big about homes…we sometimes will purposely drive through an area just to view the homes…or watch TV shows about homes (flip that house, real – estates, and so forth). Love your home – it is beautiful!
Your space is just gorgeous and truly inspirational! I already needed to re-organize my office and kitchen.
Your blog and your home are AMAZING! WOW! I am going to need some time to process all of this amazing-ness. Definitely going to do some serious pinning. Off to like you on FB so I don’t miss a thing! XO, ellie
Oh thank you Ellie! Your comment made my day!
Brandy,
Can you tell me the brand name of the plastic woven basket from Walmart? I’m trying to see if I can find them on online but not having any luck. Are they the Sterlite brand?
Thanks for any info!!
Hi Gretchen, I don’t see a name brand on it any where. Here is what the barcode label says. “Woven Style 7.1 Gallon Flexi TUB Woodland Brown” Barcode: 7 31131 03272 1
I hope this helps!
Love the kitchen table and chairs! Seriously, adorable! Also, the dress-up rack is awesome. Coming over from the linky at TT&J.
your home is amazing… a-ma-zing. and so spacious !! what a dream !
Thank you, Lyn!