Preview of our new house!

We weren't looking for her. We just found her and fell in love with her.

Shortly after having our 5th child, our precious baby girl Anaely, our current home that we love quickly became too small for our family. It felt tight. And we didn't necessarily want to buy another house or build one (my husband is a contractor). Mostly what passed through my head were thoughts of how we needed to make do because spending money was not something that appealed to me. I was very comfortable with things as they were financially, even if the house itself did not feel very comfortable anymore because of the size of our family.

One day, shortly after getting into a car crash (we're fine) I went to borrow a van from my friend Ronelle so that we could use while our van was being fixed. While there we started talking about how she was moving back east and how a mutual friend of ours, Lisa, is moving to another house in town (a 5-bedroom mind you) I started to think, "man it would be nice to have a 5 bedroom house." Without speaking out my thoughts she then said that there was another house on the market like the one our Lisa was moving into. I asked her for a website link which I checked out that same night and that was it. Without even looking at the house in person, I fell in love with the house and I knew it was going to be home to our family. The entire weekend it seems like all I did was dream about the house and what we could do to make it our dream home.

Some days later we actually went to see the house which only confirmed my thoughts and wishes of wanting to own it. To be honest, I'm not even going to try to sugar coat this house. It is a real fixer upper as far as updating it goes, but it is in great structural condition, was built very well, has almost 1,000 square feet more than our current home, and has one more bedroom and one more bathroom. Plus it is already landscaped which seals deals since we live in the Mohave Desert. Oh, and the neighborhood is great, I love it. The house is really close to my husband's work, close to restaurants and shopping, close to my son's (Cameron) speech therapy, and close to my in-laws.

Anyway, here's our little early 1970s 2-story golden treasure we have found in the desert. These are the photos from the realtor.

The Exterior:
Our plans: We want to eventually add gabled dormers to the second floor, right over the main floor bedroom windows that you see on the picture of the interior. The dormers will be part of the (huge) bedroom upstairs which will be the boys' bedroom. We also want to add a gable over the garage. In addition, we will paint the stucco, the fascia, the trim around the windows, the front door, the side lights, and the garage door. We will also add pretty exterior lights and make the entrance of the home be the feature of the exterior by adding a gabled entrance with tapered columns. I know it's hard to imagine it but I totally see it in my head.

It is xeriscaped! Yay! And that tree, I LOVE that tree! Plus the driveway has bricks in it for a cool and beautiful pattern. I couldn't ask for more.

I LOVE the circular driveway! It also has an area for RVs if we ever decide we want to buy one. I've actually wanted one for a while but if it does happen it will not happen for a long time. And realistically speaking, we're probably never going to get one. Which is fine. But if we do, we have the space for it! :)

I also love that the kids will have a direct brick pathway to the shed where they will store their bikes. Just awesome! Oh and yes, what you see here is a chain link fence which WILL be replaced.

The Living Room:
Our plans: What doesn't need to be updated here? For starters we are going to do all the flooring throughout the house. We want hardwood floors in the main living areas and carpet in the bedrooms. We will paint the brick fireplace (which by the way it is double-sided, yay!), add a mantle to it, paint, add ceiling light fixtures, get rid of the popcorn ceilings throughout the house, and just make it look pretty.

One of my favorite things we found out about the house is that the steps on the stairs are actually wood which means we don't have to cover it with carpet, another yay!

The Hallway:
Our plan: Throughout the house we are also going to update the baseboards and casings. Here in the hallway the plan is to add ceiling lights, get rid of the popcorn ceiling, paint it, and just pretty it up (not all in this order).

The Hallway:
Our plan: The kitchen needs to be opened up. Our plan before we move in is to push the cabinets that have the bar and put them against the wall, and then install a big kitchen island with seating. The countertops will be new, the cabinets, which are still in good condition surprisingly, will be painted white and new hardware will be added. The ceiling fixtures will be changed, the ceiling fan will be removed, appliances will be updated, we'll install a subway tile backsplash and then call it good. Oh, the walls will be painted too. Phew! That's a lot of work!

The Master Bedroom:
Our plan: Make it pretty by painting, enclosing the entrance to the master bathroom with a cased door.

This master bedroom actually has two closets. One is a walk-in (the area below the stairs) and the other one has bi-fold doors). Eventually we want to use the area of the walk-in and make the master bathroom bigger since both areas are adjacent to each other.

This is how the entrance to the master bathroom currently is. See the problem? Yep, exactly. We are not fans of this open entry whatever thing.

The Downstairs Bathroom:
Our plan: Paint the cabinets and the frame of the mirrors, paint the walls and the tiles, add hardware to the cabinets, and just make it pretty.

Downstairs Bedroom 1:
Our plan: Paint the walls, update the closet doors, and of course the flooring.

The Triangular Shaped Utility Room:
Our plan: Yes people, this utility room is in the shape of a triangle. Weird but I'm super glad it's there because it will serve as my laundry room, food storage room, and butler's pantry. This needs to be cleaned up, painted, and just made pretty.

The Side Yard:
Our plan: Put a basketball hoop there for me to play with the kids. Just perfect. :)

The Backyard:
Our plan: Install a patio cover and eventually make a family room addition that the dining room will lead into. We love that the kids get this nice green area. And we even have a garden area too!

This is the shed with the garden area next to it.

All of that chain link fence needs to go.

And that's it! Escrow doesn't actually close until the end of January and we probably won't move in until the beginning of March, but we will start working on it as soon as Escrow closes. And I can't wait. Be still my heart. :)