Coffee Chat & Our Rental House Tour

Happy Saturday! Grab a cuppa Jo and join us for a fun look at the week in review including a room-by-room tour of our rental house!

Today is officially moving day. We are consolidating the storage unit we have rented for the past 3 years and all of our current furniture into the rental house.

A FAQ I get is since we have moved so much (this is the 9th time we have moved since being married) do we have a good system down now?

The answer?

No. It’s sheer chaos every time. So if you see me looking like this . . .

. . . all smiles and energy – don’t be fooled.

Because on the inside I feel more like this . . .

Regardless of the chaos, we are counting our many blessings, not the least of which is this amazing rental home God miraculously blessed us with (our kids are not only in the same school district but even the same school!).

I thought it might be fun to do a before and after rental house tour, so today I am sharing with you the before photos – “before” all of our junk gets moved in that is. 🙂

Tour Our Rental House

Come on in!

We are going to paint this main space “polar bear” by Sherwin Williams. It is on my tentative color palette for our forever home (I will share that palette another day), but I have never seen it in real life so I thought this would be a great time to try it out.

That see-through fireplace looks into the garage space that the landlords converted into a sitting room.

This is a great room, and will be where we put the main sitting area and craft space for the kids.

This room also leads into the kitchen.

Since we will not be living in a tiny fixer upper as we have been for the last 3 years (our French Country Cottage was only 1450sqft before we finished the basement in time to sell), I look forward to hosting large groups of people again!

There are 3 bedrooms in this ranch-style home, so we are converting this one into my office/studio.

Because there is not a lot of natural light, or any overhead light for that matter, I am painting this room simply white by Benjamin Moore to lighten and brighten it up.

As you may have already figured out, that means all our kiddos will be sharing a room. Yes, you heard me correctly. No, I am not medicated. Although I might be after 12 months of my kids sharing one room.

I started removing the rainbows, and Lily was adamant I leave them on. Apparently, unicorns love rainbows, and since Lily loves unicorns it follows that these decals should remain.

This will be the master bedroom. We figured out that we can just fit our king mattress set and the two side tables if we don’t set up the headboard and footboard. The next time wee those pieces of furniture will be in our forever house. Eeeks!

One closet. Yikes. That’s about how much space I need for my shoes alone. Oh well. I love a good challenge.

The yard space is the biggest blessing of this house. Not only does it have a massive upper and lower deck, but there is tons of room for the kids to run and play.

I am so excited to have a grill again!!

Cute little outdoor table. I see a Dixie Belle Paint project in the near future.

The room my kids are most excited about? This basement!

When all parties are ready – the landlords and Zach and I are going to collaborate on finishing this space. We offered to do the work if they supplied the materials. A quick glance – Simply White by Benjamin Moore on the walls and brick, thin drywall over the panels with a few recessed lights, and Khaki Oak grip edge LVP flooring would brighten this space right up!

Will maybe even offer to install the leftover barn beam we have as a fireplace mantel.

We are going to put the square kitchen table we currently have in this corner and elevate it on a block and put all of our barstools around it to create a game corner.

The dining room table we used in our second house will be the table we put upstairs.

I got a message the other day on Instagram asking how I do it all. The best answer is I take one day at a time and triage my priorities for the day.

But in full disclosure – at the very moment, I am overwhelmed and feeling the stress of it all. This is the reality every time we sell a house and buy, or in this case, rent a new one.

It is true that I have a high tolerance for a heavy workload, and due to a hyper-organized personality, I am able to juggle many things at one time with great success. But I also have my limits.

And when I am stressed I do my best to follow my own recommendations – deep breathing, extra sleep, cardio endorphin blasts, limiting desserts, and always, always, always keeping everything in perspective by constantly reminding myself of the many things I have to be grateful for.

If you also feel overwhelmed right now, friend, hang in there. You’re not alone. One day at a time.

This week on the imPERFECTly emPOWERed Podcast I chatted with the amazing celebrity physiotherapist, Tom Swales, who shared his expertise on preventing and improving common chronic ailments like neck pain, back pain, elbow pain, and more!

You do NOT want to miss this episode and take advantage of Tom’s amazing offer for YOU, my readers, and get 50% off his courses to relieve your aches and pains!

Do you ever feel cramped in your space? Wonder if there are design hacks to make it look and feel bigger without actually adding square feet? Good news. There are! Yesterday I shared 13 Design Hacks To Make A Small Room Look bigger. You guys – these tricks WORK.

Be sure to read this post or watch/listen to the podcast episode to get all of these essential design hacks to creating a spacious relaxing home!

I have to pinch myself when I think that the next home we own will be the one I have been designing for the last 5 years. And without a doubt the room I am MOST excited to design is the kitchen.

I shared some of the research that has gone into planning our future kitchen in 45 of the most BEAUTIFUL White Kitchen Cabinet Ideas.

Scroll through this gallery of 45 BEAUTIFUL white cabinet kitchen ideas and start designing your dream kitchen!

At the end of the post, I gave a sneak peek of the closest examples of what our future kitchen will look like including the layout, cabinet design, and colors.

Let’s check out some more inspiration for the home from last week’s Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop!

Learn how to create an aging effect on vases using three different methods – the baking soda method, salt method, and the specialty craft paint already pre-mixed.

If you’re looking to spruce up your small patio, these decorating tips are perfect for enhancing a tiny space.

Caprese Burrata Bruschetta is an easy summer appetizer that comes together in just a few minutes.

If you struggle with a cluttered bathroom, learn how to organize this small space in 11 fast and easy steps.

This orange blueberry infused water is a great alternative to juice, soda, and other sugary beverages – plus, it looks delicious!

Pair it with these open-faced guacamole shrimp melts for a fresh, flavorful meal.

I hope you all have an amazing weekend. If you’re looking for me, I will be over here organizing our house. See you Monday!