The windows are way too small for window treatments. However, using them as a means to frame items made them useful and beautiful... and definitely not boring. 

There's no place like home, and the challenges of the last eleven days has taught me that home really is about love and family. Those who have been following for a while know we made a big move from Montana to Wyoming. Unfortunately our first rental did not work for us and we found ourselves looking for another home. We get to move in on August 1st.

 While this presents some logistics challenges for us considering Seth is now laid up from his injuries, I have faith we will have everything we need when the time comes as several people have already offered trucks and hands to move! I could not be anymore thankful than I am right this moment. 

Today was a treat as when we stopped by to take a look around the new rental, the landlord was there and we got another peek indoors. Pictures, of course, were at the fore front of my thoughts, so planning the decorating can begin!

Moving is a challenge under our current circumstance, but I cannot wait to feel settled and in place after all the stress and chaos we have been under. 

The kitchen is beautiful. Natural cabinets, bamboo floor, new appliances and granite counter tops. I will enjoy cooking and creating happiness in this room. It sports a large pantry though I only got a picture of about a third of it. I am also thrilled it has a dish washer... our current rental does not and having one has been missed! There is room to place my commercial stainless steel counter top as well, which will add more counter space!

The living room is actual long and narrow. My only concern is how to get everything in here where it is functional; my son said "I'm sure we move things around two or three times until you figure something out Mom." Which brought tears of laughter to my cowboy's face! I love the neutral colors and bamboo flooring. While there is only electric heat in this house, I already have plans to have a vent-less propane fireplace installed should we ever lose power. I will be posting pics of that project at a future date. 

The boys will feel like they have died and gone to "Man Cave Heaven"! They get the entire upper floor to themselves which sports a den, bedroom, and bath. I envy their closet but really felt giving them a comfortable guy space was important. It has the added bonus of us ladies not having to share a bathroom with them as well.
 

Ms. E's room is quite large and she of course is thrilled to pieces. She got the larger of the girl's room because she will get to share with her older sister, Lili, when she comes home from college. We love the fact there is so much more space, and though there is no picture of it, she will have a very large closet!

The cowboy and my bedroom is considered to be the second master bedroom. Somehow the large walk in closet and bathroom photos did not end up saving on the phone, but I am thrilled to have my own bathroom. It has the only bathtub in the house. I was a bit concerned about having a basement room, but like Ms E, I have allergies and carpet doesn't work for me either. The concrete floor will be covered with throw rugs, and I think my bedroom furniture and decorations will complement this room nicely! 

The laundry room is the largest laundry room I have EVER seen. It has a nice folding counter and plenty of storage room. We plan to set up an office/crafting area for me complete with my espresso machine. It sports enough room for canning over flow as well. 

Moving into a new space always presents challenges but I'm one of those gals who likes a good challenge and the feeling which comes with over coming it. We have moved into a much smaller space, albeit finished (the house in Montana was always under construction). We had a few options to consider when choosing a home here in Wyoming. In the end it ended up being more space/ less convenience or vice versus. We chose convenience. All the houses with extra bedrooms and baths meant a long driving time to the kid's school. It is healthier for the budget, environment, and my sanity to reduce commutes, particularly since the kids in my home are very active and involved. We are still in the process of moving in but I wanted to give a sneak peek of it :) 

Did you read that right? ONE bathroom with 6 people?? We have always had one bathroom, and as tempting as it was to rent one of the homes with three... cleaning extra toilets lost out to short commute! Years ago my kids worked out a system to eliminate fighting and arguing. Each kid has their own time in which to shower and they are pretty good at sorting things out for themselves. As much as I would love a bathroom of my own, I just remind myself there are places in the world where people still use an outhouse and my cheery attitude returns.

Again, a little smaller than I am used to, but it has a lot of cub-bard space and light. I'll be bringing my fridge down from Montana, so that old one will be saying bye bye soon! :) The one bonus to a smaller kitchen? Less floor to mop! I think I see a pattern here... I don't like to clean! 

I am only half way done with my bedroom. Ill be posting complete and better quality pictures when the entire room is finished. My sweet cowboy doesn't mind the girly aspect and I have to say he looks pretty cute when he is snuggled under that ruffly blanket! My goal was a romantic and functional space. I think we are on our way :) 

As I finish sewing curtains and bringing the remainder of our belongings from Montana, I will post new pictures and how I over came the challenges of working with colors and rooms. Step by step I am making this House a Home, and we are settling in nicely. What says home to you when you move into a new space? My favorite thing to do is put up the pictures and drag at all my special little knickknacks I have carted around for years. All those things help me feel at home, but it is the laughter and noise of my family filling the walls which makes me feel we have arrived home, no matter where we are in the world. 

I've been asked many many times why I didn't pursue my music... I have talent enough. Time and again I have thought on this and I have come to realize I had a bigger dream, one which I have managed through hell (excuse my french) and high water to achieve, and that was the dream of a home of my own, full of children, laughter, friends, and memories. Music fills the four walls we call home from morning until the time everyone is tucked into their beds.This home and this family is my heart music I share with the world.  Right here, right now, I have everything I need. 

It's been a very...very long time since I've lived in a rented home space. I'm used to being able to slap a coat of paint up, and change things around to suit my current whims and whimsies. As many of you have read, our sweet family is making a big move. We are not going to buy a place until we are absolutely sure we want to permanently settle in the area and until (quite honestly) we get out from under some debt we have accumulated since the economy we south. So, a house hunting we went. I forgot how daunting and nerve racking that can be, and I've discovered I am very picky. I had forgotten how much things being centered, even, and done well are important to me. Sometimes hard to find in a rental. 

The space I really really really wanted to rent was a beautiful old place just outside of the town in which we desired to reside. I fell in love with the view, the old buildings, the barn,  and the character of it. I also love love loved conversing with the owners. I wanted to make the place work for us, but alas it was too small and would have required just a little too much fixing to make it work for us. I know Ill drive by it on a regular basis and wish it had worked out...it is just that cute! I think I would have given it a go, but I'm just one half of a team and my other half had different needs on his "list."

It's for sale so if you are looking for a "new" home and have the time and money to fix-er-up...I can send you the contact info! :) It really is a lovely lovely space! 

The area in which we are moving to has 12 small communities stretched out over about 50 miles. It is just lovely. The county boasts of one high school for the whole area and kids are bused in. We looked at many many houses ranging from 25-30 miles away. We chose a smaller house which has been newly remodeled on acreage just a few miles from the school, which will allow the bunnies, horse and chicken coop! We decided convenience over large space was more important, with limited fixing up required. Most of the bus rides from the outlying communities are about an hour, and just couldn't see putting the kids through that for an extra bathroom or bedroom or more space. 

The landlords are friendly, engaging, and just as excited as we are to have us in the space. They have completely redone the entire interior of the house, and are going to be painting the outside as well soon and adding a garage (which is a must have for me). The biggest challenges I am going to face are 1.) Not being able to bring our cat. 2.) Working with a different color scheme I have not chosen myself. 3.) Carpet...we haven't had carpet in years. I am hopeful I'll find an amazing vacuum as well as a carpet steamer to reduce Ms. Em's biggest allergen...the dreaded dust mites!!

One of my very favorite aspects of the house is we get to continue having wood heat. The landlords have taken great care in building a lovely rock area for it, and I fell in love with this aspect of the place right away. In the south, where I am from, this type of feature was not common, so I love the western feel of it! :)

The kitchen is a lot smaller than my current space, but it has a lot more light. I love yellow, so I was super pleased with the color. My farm animal theme will work just fine in here. We took a few boxes down with us over the weekend, and I took a few moments to get a few things out. My only concern is I may not have enough room to display the rest lol! 

The living room is also a tad smaller than our current space, but not by much. I think I can make it work with a little organization and patience. I am glad it had a nice big window to let in all that natural light. It makes a place so cheery. The baseboard heat I find challenging to work around with furniture but we will get it figured out once we have made the big move. We had quite the laugh over what we call "boob lights" which adorn every room of the house. 

You can see at the very front of the house, through the living room,  is a nice open sun room with windows. This house does not have a dining space, so I am going to create on in there. It will be a challenge but we have to have homework and eating space. 

Some people might gasp at the thought of one bathroom and see it is as the ultimate challenge of  the house, but honestly we have been in a home with one bath for twelve years. We had framed in another bath here  but never finished it. Maybe I didn't push for it as I despise cleaning them! There are tons of places in the world where people are still using out houses, so one bathroom has never really felt like a challenge. My kids worked out their own schedule for bathing ages ago, so there is not a mad fight everyday unless someone dares go out of turn! However, the color and layout presents a challenge for me to conquer. It's a pretty color, just not one I have worked with before. I am thinking creams, tans, and pinks will get along just fine with it and Ill be able to stick with my beach theme :)

The laundry area is just off the bathroom and I may put up a curtain between the two, not sure as of yet. I'm looking forward to having such nice storage space for all the laundry stuff. Look at the lovely cabinets they put in!

I'm one of those parents who really really really want my kids to be comfortable in the space they live in. On our first trip to Wyoming I took both of my girl who are still living at home. The youngest we call Lil' Bit and she had definite opinions on which room she would find inhabitable! She chose the room I would have looked at for the boys due to color, but she just couldn't live with the other two rooms! Her sister could really care less and just sweetly smiled and agreed. Ms. Em is all about just having a quiet place to read and everything else is just not that important. 

I didn't realize I got a terrible picture of their future space, but it gives one an idea of the colors I have to work with. Im going very shabby chic in their room, and I think it will end up being a lovely space. The walls are a creamy color and the floor is grey, so it is very neutral. It is actually a very long room, so it will fit three twin beds in it easily. The most challenging thing about this room is the placement of that heater. We wont be using it, so I may be able to place something in front of it to hide it. Looking forward to any idea you readers may have!

When I was a teenager I had a pink room. I loved it. It was so soft and inviting. Wouldn't you know it... the new house has a pink room... and it is the bedroom I get by default, thinking it would have been quite rude of me to place my teen boys in there. ;) I'm not sure how my current decor is going to work and I may find myself painting my furniture once again after the move, but I'm going to give it a whirl and see how it goes. 

In my mind the largest challenge for me to conquer is the boys room. I felt the colors were very feminine, and again not colors I have EVER worked with. I hope I am up for the challenge. I will be purchasing a large carpet to break up the floor space, adding nautical inspired color scheme to the window treatments and bedding. However, the decor will not be nautical.  

I am really asking for ideas from any of you about how to make a rental space feel like home, and decor options. I'm looking forward to sewing curtains for each space and filling it with laughter and love. Love and family is what really makes a house home, wouldn't you agree? I look forward to posting the reveals after the move! I hope you have enjoyed the sneak peek of the new place!