Real Estate 101: Pros of Building a House

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Although time will tell if it will ever happen, right now it is a goal of ours to build our own house on our land out at The Brim someday. Just like us, many people dream of owning a brand new, custom-made house that speaks to their personality, tastes, and preferences. However, many people battle with the question of whether to build or purchase their "perfect house" or "forever home". The path towards homeownership can be confusing and often unexpected, and each option requires careful consideration.

Pixabay – CC0 License

Building a house is a momentous decision and fulfilling adventure with substantial financial implications and several benefits. The following are the pros of building a house you should consider before breaking ground and putting your money where your mouth is:

A Clean Slate

Building a house from the ground up means starting with a clean slate! Woot woot. You don't have to worry about the foundation or the durability and esthetics of interior decorations and landscaping. The total control you have means that you get to choose everything that goes into the new house. Every corner, every paint color, and every room is customized to your taste and preference. In the end, you get to live in your dream house with flooring, layout, finishes, and furnishings that resonate with your personality.

Minimal Maintenance

A custom-made home allows you to opt for specific materials that are durable and environmentally friendly. You get the chance to own a house that meets the current energy and ventilation codes and standards. Therefore, you won't have to worry about municipal building standards, including water and sewage, because the authorities approved your plan. Working with professional contractors ensures that your building is properly inspected (although the process isn't always easy or quick)! The functionality of the house is updated. Quality is a guarantee with every layer of bricks or coat of paint. Less time and money will go into maintenance, renovations, and functional upgrades.

Satisfaction

The feeling of satisfaction that comes with building your house is unbeatable. Seeing your unique taste manifest throughout the house and listening to people compliment your work is lovely. Waking every day with the knowledge that you actively participated in every step of the project is heart-warming. You also get to learn new skills- and there is sure a lot to learn. From working with architects on the design and layout to landscaping, every process of building a house is a learning opportunity. While the learning curve may be steep mentally, physically, and financially, the result will be unbearably satisfying. You feel emotionally connected to every inch of the house, and get to enjoy the fruits of your labor! 

Cost-Saving

While the upfront cost of building a house can be off-putting, you will save a great deal in the long run. From maintenance cost to high resale value and energy efficiency, there are countless ways you can recoup your investment. The longer lifespan and customized feel will earn you competitive bids when reselling the house.

Freedom to Choose the Location

Building a house instead of buying gives you the freedom to choose the location (my favorite part because I want some land to BREATHE). If you dream of a house overlooking the beach, find vacant land in the location, make payments, and turn your dream into a reality. Building a house is a profoundly satisfying experience that gives you the freedom to customize every aspect of your living space. Before beginning this journey, share ideas for your dream home with experts to avoid costly mistakes.

Have an amazing time turning your dream home into your real home. I hope we're able to do the same someday! 

Currently,

Kelsie

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Eli's Big Boy Room Reveal

Well, it's been almost a year. But hey, turns out that having a baby, navigating a world-wide pandemic, teaching online, and starting/running a business can give you a run for your money! Anyways, it has been a long time coming, but I'm finally sharing Eli's Big Boy Room today on the blog. Check it out! 

Little man needed to move over to a big boy room before his little sis made her way into the world. Last Thanksgiving, we decided to have Eli vacate the crib and get used to his new room a couple of months before my due date. Turned out to be a good idea, because Addie joined us 10 days early, just like Eli did! 

We started with naps in the big bed (a full), and then transitioned to full time sleeping in there. Eli was nearly three at this point, but he had never really been a crib climber so we rode out the crib as long as we could. We had a full bed in our guest room anyways, with a reversible navy comforter, so I took that and ran with it. I did buy a "bumper" online from Amazon, which I love because it just goes underneath the fitted sheet and is soft and easy to slide in or out and take along with us if needed. Honestly, on trips, we have just put pillows underneath the fitted sheet and it has accomplished a similar effect. Here's the link to our bumper! 

Eli is a HUGE dinosaur fan (cue the THREE REX Bday Party), so I wanted to run with that, and tie in pops of navy with the bedspread. I also wanted to lighten up the walls, and change up the white trim. We redid our own bedroom a couple of years ago, so we went with the same trim color (Bistro White), along with a gray that was on the same paint strip as our master bathroom, but was a shade lighter: Valspar's Seashell Gray. I LOVE it so much and it really makes the room feel light and airy. Plus, I don't want to re-do E's room a million times when he changes his mind on what he likes. So I figured if we did a pale gray then we could change out bed sheets and other decor, but we wouldn't be constantly re-painting the room. And it's great for a guest room or future re-sale if needed! 

I wanted the decor to be simple and affordable, yet all about Eli. So we went with a few different E pieces that I found at Hobby Lobby on sale, along with some of Eli's own decor. There are canvases of bulldozers that both he and Aaron painted (can you guess whose is whose ha?). There is also a framed coloring page he made the summer I was pregnant, which is pretty crazy because he somehow always knew that he was getting a baby sister even though she was a surprise to us! (We didn't find out the gender of our babies before they were born- best surprise ever.)

BEFORE:

AFTER:

From there, I found some curtains I liked from Kohl's that weren't nuts expensive. I ended up loving the simple navy stripes, and I liked how it both a little color into the room. We also had a couple of awesome Royals paintings that we got from a Wine and Design shop one time when we were there for a Valentine's Day Date. Turns out that they often sell their sample paintings they make while teaching classes, and they were really affordable- like five bucks! 

We pulled all of our books off of the old bookshelf we already had in the room from when it was our "guest room" and found new homes for them. Then I purchased a couple of cute, simple bins from Kohl's so I would have a place to dump Eli's toys and have it look organized without spending a bunch. I love them so much and Eli can pull them out and play, then pick up after himself. It's the best. 

We finished up the decor with a few photo frames and family pictures out at The Brim with Eli. They were our fall family photos, as well as our last photos as a family of three, so they are extra special to us and I don't know that I'll replace them anytime soon. I also moved over a few of the hospital photos with E from the nursery. We don't have a door on the closet still, but I honestly don't know that we'll worry about it for a while. I keep it pretty organized, and found a couple of Dollar Store Bins that make it look decent without a door. Who knows.

All in all, E is thrilled with his room and is happy to show it off to anyone who comes to visit or play. We are so grateful that he is such a great sleeper and that he loves his room and had no problems moving over before Baby Sis joined us. He was happy to let the nursery be Addie's room, and we're glad he has his own amazing space! 

Currently,

Kelsie

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How to Pick the Best Flooring for Your Home

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If you're super indecisive, like me, you'll already give a lot of consideration into almost everything in life- especially home projects. There is so much to choose- paint colors (which I may have had lots of personal struggles with), wall decor, curtains and more. If you're doing a bigger home renovation project, one thing you may overlook would be flooring. Flooring makes a big difference in how a room looks and feels, which can make or break the atmosphere of the house at large. That's why it’s important to do some research around the right types of flooring for your home. Here are a few things to think about when choosing floors that you'll love! 

 Floating Timber

In industry terms, floating floors are a system of flooring that can be installed directly over an existing floor. This will lift the height of your floor, but it makes installation super easy and carefree. Don’t go prying up old floorboards or getting the jackhammer into the tiles just yet: consider slapping these down right over the surface of your current floor instead!

Another reason these floors are a great choice is that they look beautiful. They tend to retain heat rather than lose it, which is friendly for your feet, making them great for winter or those places that get a little chilly.

Timbers are relatively easy to keep clean, requiring little more than the occasional sweep and light mopping, but they’ll show dust if you choose a range that has dark tones. If you damage your floor, it's relatively easy to replace the damaged units by prying them up and swapping them for new ones – keep a few handy just in case. 

Tiles

If you enjoy a cool, hard surface underfoot or you live in a fairly hot climate, tiles are a great option for you! They expel heat really quickly, meaning your floor will remain nice and cool to the touch at most times of the year. On the flipside, you may want to steer clear of these bad boys if you live in a chilly climate: they’ll really make your toes curl if you have to get up in the dead of night in the middle of winter to use the bathroom!

Another reason that tiles are a strong fan favorite is that they’re easy to maintain and are highly durable. A quick vacuum and mop and your tiles will shine like new. Just make sure you opt for a more neutral color on the grey-white spectrum with low-key patterns or veins, because flat dark colors generally show up more dust and aren’t all that pleasing to the eye.

Finally, tiles are reasonably priced and won’t lead to a budget blowout should you choose to invest in them. One last piece of advice: it’s better to install tiles in homes where the walls are soft and insulated because tiles and hard walls together may create an echo chamber that will annoy the heck out of you!

Vinyl Planks or Rolls

Vinyl planks are a softer surface than tiles, meaning they’ll be kinder on your feet and back. Due to this feature, they're also warmer than tiles, but not as warm as floorboards. Their cool surface makes them highly suitable for a variety of climates. Thanks to modern flooring technologies, vinyl planks are now available in a huge range of colors, designs, and types, including waterproof planks.

Waterproof planks are amazing because they mean you can extend the floor from living spaces into laundries and kitchens (although I'd advise against venturing into the bathroom!) creating a look of uniformity throughout most of your home.

If vinyl planks are too expensive for you, or you’re operating on a budget, you can always opt for vinyl on a roll. This is the more cost-effective option, and you can install it yourself with a little hard work and a competent DIY approach, meaning you’ll also save money on installation costs. And who doesn't love that? 

Vinyl planks look fantastic in the right indoor environment, but vinyl on a roll is a little uninspiring. It isn’t the most visually pleasing option on the market, so you may want to save it for projects where you’re limited by a budget, like fitting out a rental property. Otherwise, think about relegating it to playrooms and basements where kids can play on it to their heart's’ content.

Carpet

There is nothing better than sinking your feet into a nice, lush carpet on a cold winter’s night. And honestly, our house could probably use an overall on carpet when we can budget for it. Carpet's main attraction is that it's the softest and most comfortable surface to have under your feet, and it’ll keep your toesies nice and toasty throughout the year.

However, you should keep in mind that carpets are notorious for harbouring microscopic bugs and nasties that can cause allergens, they’re vulnerable to stains and marks, and it’s much harder to clean them should you happen to spill something on them or if you have a messy pet or child.

Carpets come in a range of qualities and designs, which can drive up prices depending on the type that you’re after. This means you’ll want to ask yourself if it’s worth investing in upmarket carpets such as Godfrey Hirst, Quest Carpets, Victoria Carpets, and more.

Finally…

At the end of the day, you’ll probably want to pick a combination of floors to suit the variety of rooms in your home. This is because the flooring that suits one space, such as the bedroom, may not necessarily suit another, such as the bathroom. We love tile in the bathroom and carpet in our bedrooms.

As you hunt down the right floors for your home renovation project, keep in mind your budget, the style that you’re after, as well as useability and durability: you don’t want to pick a floor that is impractical and clashes with the overall design of the rest of your home. Good luck in finding the right floors for your renos!

Currently,

Kelsie

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Our 2019 Holiday Home Tour

And here we are again, just fifteen days away from Christmas. I can't believe it! Something about a late Thanksgiving coupled with the fact that I'll be giving birth to a child sometime in the next six weeks has really made this Christmas season (and a good chunk of December) fly by! Between crossing off lists and trying to nest and plan ahead as much as possible, I've found it's so easy to slip into the stress of the season rather than enjoying it. This year, I'm doing my best to soak up the sweetness in the little moments, and see the holidays through the eyes of a child. Here's a little glimpse into our home this year!

I have always loved Christmas, and pretty much everything that comes with it. Being due less than a month after Christmas (Jan 19th), and knowing that I had my son ten days early has made me approach this season with a bit more haste than in previous years. I have found that one of the best ways for me to decorate is in small chunks so that it's fun rather than stressful. I started with our basement mantle, as we spend a lot of time down there with our feet kicked up on the couch.

I love this space and how cozy and bright it is during the day time. And you know I had to sneak in a little baby stocking for the baby that will be here before we know it! I love finding deals on things at the end of the season and then getting them out for the next year for the first time. I did that with this berry piece from Hobby Lobby and I love it! 

Moving this pew downstairs was new this year because we had a new piece up in our front room that had to be moved where the pew normally sits. I was worried it would crowd up our basement, but I actually love having it there! 

I'm always a sucker for simple pops of red, and I love tying these cranberry stems together throughout the house. I use them in my upstairs centerpiece too.

I love the little ornament strand we made years ago, and I still hang my red ribbons up on kitchen cabinets for a festive pop that also holds all of our Christmas cards! 

The front room has a new look this year because of this piece that Aaron built. It's basically an entertainment stand (which we had chilling in our garage for like a year), but we don't have another TV in our front room, so we're using it for storage and more of a bookshelf for now. I loved jazzing it up a bit for Christmas without it being overbearing, especially since our Christmas tree is in the same room and it can easily overpower the small space.

Target Clearance finds for the win! Also, everytime I plug our tree in, Eli's eyes light up and he says, "It's beautiful!" I will plug that tree in a million times for the sweetness of that reaction. He also has a small tree in his big boy room, which he is adamant about plugging in every morning. He is making this year SO fun.

The porch always gets a little simple snowman flair too, and we have a typical wreath on the door to greet those who warm our home and our hearts with their presence.

I hope you enjoyed this little peek into our holiday home. Merry Christmas to your family from ours!

Currently,
Kelsie

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8 Signs You Need A Kitchen Remodel

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Thinking about whether you need a new kitchen? From lack of space to outdated design to wear and tear, here are eight signs you need a kitchen remodel.

1. Lack of Storage in Your Kitchen

Is your kitchen suffering from a lack of storage? Are your cabinets and drawers full to the brim with pots, pans, dishes, plates, and cutlery? Have you resorted to storing your kitchenware in other areas of the house? Are your countertops cramped and cluttered with appliances and utensils?

If this is the case with your kitchen, a remodel can give you much more storage space. By being inventive with hooks, shelves, racks, and cabinets, a kitchen remodel can provide you with ample storage for all your kitchen necessities.

2. Lack of Space in Your Kitchen

Do you often find yourself trying to find enough counter space when cooking? Or maybe your kitchen is cramped and constricted, and just not big enough for all the family to sit in there altogether at once. Perhaps your surfaces are cluttered with appliances and kitchenware, meaning you have little space left for cooking and entertaining.

A kitchen remodel can give you more kitchen space. Whether by redesigning and optimising the layout for more space, or making more space by increasing storage, a carefully designed kitchen will give you more space to do the things you really want to do in your kitchen.

3. Your Kitchen Has a Poor Layout

A poor kitchen layout is impractical for your needs and can make cooking and entertaining difficult and even hazardous. Do you bump into people when cooking and find yourself going back and forth multiple times? Maybe your oven is too far away from the counters, or the stove is too far away from the fridge. Or perhaps you like to dine or entertain in your kitchen, but it is not connected to a dining or entertainment space. (That's our problem!)

If this is the case, you need to rethink your kitchen’s layout to really optimize the space. Think about how you use your kitchen and carefully design the layout for your needs. You want to create a layout that flows and allows you to move freely, where everything is easily accessible. Square footage and size of the kitchen is often not the issue here, and you’ll be surprised at how much better you can use your kitchen space when its layout has been carefully considered and designed with function in mind.

4. Your Kitchen is Difficult to Clean

If you have a high-maintenance kitchen that is difficult to clean and keep clean, no matter how often you clean it, you could benefit from a remodel. If muck, dirt, and grime are building up on your surfaces and, as a result, are getting harder to keep clean and shiny, a new kitchen can make your kitchen easier to clean. Newer cabinets and worktops, modern appliances, and quality flooring are all easier to clean than faded flooring, dilapidated surfaces, and tiles with deep grouting.

5. Your Kitchen Has an Outdated Design

An outdated and old-fashioned kitchen makes your entire home seem older. If it’s been a while since you updated your kitchen’s design, it may be time for a remodel. What’s more, if you’re thinking about selling your home, an outdated kitchen could bring down your home’s value as kitchens are one of the key areas buyers look at in prospective homes.

Give your kitchen a facelift by modernizing it with contemporary styles using quality finishes, new cabinets and worktops, updated flooring, recent appliances, and a fresh backsplash. This will help refresh and rejuvenate your kitchen and bring it back up to date. (Here's some inspiration!)

Source

6. Your Kitchen is Looking Worse For Wear

Is your kitchen looking a bit weathered? Has it seen better days? It’s natural for your kitchen to experience wear and tear over time, but if your kitchen shows serious signs of aging such as broken cabinet doors, cracked tiles, worn flooring, faded and discoloured finishes, outdated appliances, mould, and leaks, you need a remodel and your kitchen is in desperate need for some TLC.

Further, if these defects are ignored, they can turn into more serious issues down the line that will be more expensive to rectify. For example, mold can be dangerous to your health, and leaks are a sign of larger plumbing issues. If these are not resolved, your kitchen risks falling apart.

7. Your Kitchen Doesn’t Suit Your Lifestyle

Circumstances and lifestyles change, and a kitchen should reflect this and adapt to the way you live. Maybe you enjoy cooking but there is not enough room to cook. Maybe you are starting to cook with a friend or roommate, so you need two places to cook instead of one. Or perhaps you enjoy entertaining, and the kitchen is too far away from guests or there is not enough room for guests.

Your needs change - if you are expecting kids then you’ll need more space. In contrast, if your kids are leaving home you can tailor your kitchen space for entertaining instead. You should update your kitchen along with your lifestyle. If your kitchen no longer meets your needs or supports your lifestyle, you need a remodel. 

8. You Don’t Enjoy Being in Your Kitchen

Your kitchen should be an inviting and warming space. It is one of the most important rooms in the house, so you should enjoy spending time in it. If you no longer want to cook in there, tend to keep guests out of it, and generally don’t enjoy being in your kitchen (maybe because of lack of space)-  if it’s falling apart, or it’s unattractive and uninviting, it’s time for a remodel to create an amazing space that you enjoy spending time in, want to show off to all your guests, and can’t keep out of.

This post was written by Optiplan Kitchens, one of the UK’s leading kitchen manufacturers and retailers, selling high-quality, handmade, bespoke kitchens with over 30 years’ experience. Thanks to them for sharing! 

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Our Sixth House-iversary

Six years! There's no way we could have lived in our house for that long already, right?! Crazy to look back and see us grow and change from a couple of newlyweds to an almost family of four! This little house has been so good to us, and it has been such a joy truly making it ours. This year we are in the middle of tackling and planning a few home projects. Check out all that we're up to and all that we've done in the past six years in our sweet home!

The Deck/Patio Remodel

One of the things we've been wanting to tackle for a while now is re-doing our deck. We love that it's multiple levels and that we can enjoy being up on the deck or underneath it, hanging out under our outdoor lights. A couple of wooden support beams on the bottom level have been rotting out for a while now, and we've also had some cracked concrete down there, so we have been planning to fix that. We also previously had a step up off of the concrete onto a raised wooden level, and we were tired of the water sitting there and stripping off the stain on the wooden boards. So what began as an easy fix quickly turned into a pretty large project!

Over the summer, my dad and Aaron stripped all of the wooden boards off of the bottom level, broke up the old concrete, and made it a level area. They poured two separate concrete slabs, making it all one level now. They also built new posts, and are working on finishing the last two beams on the bottom level. Like most projects, one thing led to another new project, so we also had to strip off rotted siding on the house, and then replace all of that as well. Next up is to paint the new siding to match our house, and then move on to replacing new boards up on the top level of our deck (which has been down for the count this summer because it's been resting on temporary support beams). After that, we'll stain the new boards and touch everything up to match our original color. It is definitely still a work in progress, and it has taken longer than we planned because life gets busy, but it already looks so much better and I know that we will love the final result.

Eli's New Big Boy Room

Our other soon to be tackled project is creating a new "big boy" room for Eli. With our gender neutral nursery all done and ready to go, we plan to just move Eli over and then use the nursery again when the new baby comes in January. Eli will just move into the full bed that we have in our third upstairs bedroom, which is currently our "guest room" and the room that we used for Airbnb guests for three years. We plan to remove the wood trim, paint, replace with new white trim (which will match the new white trim in our recently remodeled master bedroom), and then hang up some new decor that is so totally Eli.

BEFORE:

We're hoping to get this done and ready around Thanksgiving Break or so, so that we can get Eli transitioned out of his crib and into his big boy bed. I'm a little nervous about it, but I know that he will probably be really excited and love his new freedom once he gets used to it. I also know we aren't buying another crib, so there's that! I'm thinking of a very pale gray/white color for the walls, and then accenting with navy, white, gold, and browns. We've already got some Royals decor and Aaron also painted a bulldozer for the room, so we've got a good amount of the decor already. We'll need to find a dresser, and I may switch out bookshelves, since the huge one in there isn't something I'd love to have within reach of our little climber. I'm excited to get it all finished and to share it with you all in the coming months!

For all of the other home decor projects we've tackled over the years, and for a little trip down memory lane, here are photos of years one through five in our house. You can also click the links below to take you to the posts from previous years where I shared the changes that we made to make our house a home!

Year One

Year Two

Year Three

Year Four

Year Five 

And here we are in all of our year six glory: complete with a toddler in pjs and rainboots on a Sunday afternoon.

I'm thankful for the over 2,190 days in this sweet home of ours, and I'm excited for all that the future holds. Thanks for stopping by- we hope you can come see us in person someday!

Currently,
Kelsie

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