Hey there! Ashley here. I’m sure that by now you’ve taken a gander at
Dawn’s home tour and marveled over all of the progress she has made since moving in. As her friend of 12+ years and co-worker for the past 4, I’ve closely followed her progress and am continuously inspired by her DIY spirit.
For the first 3 years that I worked with Dawn at our day job, I was living in a very small, 650 sq foot apartment. Watching Dawn fix up her place was seriously making me itch for a larger, more permanent home; one that I could make my own. Today, I'm here to tell you the story of how that came to be and show you the progress I've made since moving in last year. Since you don't know me that well, I’ll give you the full story. It’s kind of a long one, so feel free to scroll ahead if you just want the eye candy.
When I first began my search, I dreamt of owning a condo rather than a house. This was for a few reasons: 1. I was single and liked the idea of having neighbors close by (very close by) in case of an emergency. 2. I never wanted to deal with shoveling snow or mowing a lawn. 3. I was living alone and large spaces give me anxiety. My thought process was that if I had a condo, there would only be a handful of rooms for murderers to hide in and, therefore, less doors to check upon returning home. 4. I truly thought that living in a condo would make me feel as though I was truly living in a city. No, they’re not great reasons, but I ran with it.
It was around this time that I met Sara. Just a few months in, our relationship was new and I wasn’t ready to throw all my plans out the window, no matter how easy or right the relationship felt. I ended up purchasing a condo just blocks from my favorite Omaha neighborhood. It was the perfect location and in a beautiful Art Deco building built in the 40s.
Sadly though, my condo purchase turned out to be a huge mistake. My neighbors were older and nosy – really nosy. The man who lived upstairs made my life hell causing my anxiety to spike. Every time I stepped outside I feared being criticized for one thing or another. I never felt that I could truly enjoy my home, and I refused to have friends over for fear we would be “too loud”. On top of all this, Sara and I argued about our living arrangement on a near daily basis. Ultimately we decided it would be best for our overall well-being and the longevity of our relationship to look for a house we could live in together.
I wasn’t willing to give up my neighborhood (Dawn will be the first to tell you that I’m a neighborhood snob), so we focused our search within a couple miles of the condo. After looking at several places, we fell in love with one in particular (a 1926 bungalow) and quickly put in an offer contingent upon the sale of my condo. It was accepted, but after 2 months with no action on the condo, the sellers decided to move on. We were devastated. Months went by before the condo sold, but when it did, the original house was miraculously back on the market – with a new roof too! It truly felt like fate.
We’ve been in our house since October 2015, so about 10 months now, and I love it! Since moving in we’ve tackled random projects here and there (mostly painting each and every room). I have big dreams for this place and am often overwhelmed by the number of projects I want to take on. We've been taking it one step at a time knowing we will slowly get there. Unfortunately I didn’t take my own before shots, despite Dawn’s urging (I was missing the foresight to know she’d want to team up). I did, however manage to track down a few MLS photos from when we bought the place, so you can get an idea of our progress.
Exterior
This is the most overwhelming to me, so we haven’t done much of anything yet. I plan to do an exterior mockup sometime soon, to give me a goal to aim for.
Sunroom
This is one of my favorite rooms of the house. It hasn’t gotten much love yet, but you best believe it will!
Living Room
Dining Room
The ceiling fan has got to go.
Kitchen
We've probably made the most progress in this room, with pain alone, but there is still SO MUCH I want to improve upon.
Guest Room / Office
We got rid of the horrid paint job, however, I am not happy with my color choice and am ready to paint again.
Bathroom
This room needs A LOT of love.
Master Bedroom
Again, I have several projects planned for the bedroom. AKA lots of future blog posts to come.
Basement
This is Sara's area. While I don't necessarily agree with all of her decor decisions ;) (more on that later), the fresh paint down here certainly opens / freshens up the space.
Basement Bar
Well, that's my home. Thank you for virtually visiting! I hope that you'll continue to follow along with us as we continue to make progress towards our forever home.
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