Uhhh, moving is a huge deal!!

And a huge headache am I right?? Renovations are an even BIGGER deal! Especially when they involve the kitchen or a bathroom. Well, call us completely crazy, because we are not only moving into a VERY “bitty house”, but said house also needs some serious renovations done to both the kitchen + bath! I have never been more excited and I cannot wait to show you the plans! (See? crazy.)

But first, let me tell you a little about our old space and why we moved!

We just relocated from…

living the country life on a shared property with some friends, to a quaint small town near family, where my husband and I both grew up. The friends I just mentioned, had turned their neighboring 2 story, 4 car garage into a completely livable space, which we occupied for the past 2 years!

The upstairs was 750 sq ft and a completely open floor plan. Think european loft apartment. (At least that’s what I told myself every day!) The bathroom, a small laundry nook, the kitchen, a living room, and our bedrooms, all fit pretty comfortably up there! It was definitely our cozy little nest.

I created rooms in the open space with intentional placement of furniture and used a divider to separate our “bedroom”  from Willow’s. Torah, our youngest, was the only one who had a “room” of her own….in 👏🏽the👏🏽 walk-in👏🏽 closet!!! Now before you call social services on us – SHE SERIOUSLY LOVED IT! It was dark, quiet + she slept long and hard! It was also located right at the head of our bed, so we could hear when she’d wake up, softly singing, “Hi Morning!!” each day.

She was privileged with the most privacy in the house + I honestly wished our bed could fit in there most days!

 Here’s a look at a few corners of the unique “garage house” we lived in:

The downstairs of the garage house:

The downstairs boasted an additional 500 sq ft that we used as our main living room / escape from the kids / entertainment room AND my creative workspace. It was a bit crowded with all my sewing gear and this wasn’t my favorite set up in the whole world, but we made it work for us and were grateful for our time in that “smaller than what we were used to” space.

Here’s a shot of me in the upstairs kitchen of the “garage house”. (probably scrolling on Instagram!!) And yes, you read that right…the kitchen was upstairs!

There were many amazing perks to living in the solitude of the country. So much land to roam + feeling so safe letting the girls play outside alone. The stars at night were so bright and it was peacefully still. It was absolutely gorgeous with each changing season, but boy, was it lonely.

Our families and many friends lived at least 45 mins away. Where we were situated was not centrally located or “on the way” to any place in particular. So no one ever just popped by to say hello! Luring people out to help with the kids was crazy tough, even for a simple date night. It was a serious commitment to come out for a visit for some, and for me, as a stay at home mom with no car at the time…it was honestly really rough.

We’d lost a baby during our time out there, and on top of that, Aron and I experienced some of the most difficult circumstances to date. I slipped into depression for the first time in my life and felt extremely isolated. I thrive when I am consistently spending time with the Lord AND when I am surrounded by deeply connective relationships. GIVE ME ALL THE FRIENDS PLEASE!!! Being on the outskirts of civilization was wearing on me for sure. It wasn’t anyone’s fault, we just needed change…desperately.

A Fresh New Start

Fast forward a bit and here we are! All moved in and settled…..in Aron’s parent’s house!! Sure, it’s not the final destination, but still feels so so good. (in-house sitters, hellooooo!!!) They live in a tiny old town that Aron and I both grew up in (and swore we would NEVER return to!) and are just 8 minutes from my side of the family. We will be living in the house right next to my in-laws but for the time being, we are fully enjoying their beautiful 100 year old home!

There’s an organic vegetable garden with 12 raised beds in the backyard, blueberry bushes, and fig trees! We are also located right across the street from a nationally recognized magnet elementary school. I’m literally dying!!!! We have seen someone from our family every single day and it really has changed everything. It’s so healing being around your support system. Like, whoa.

The Bitty House Project!

THIS is this adorable little house right next door to, and owned by, Aron’s parents!! We couldn’t be more excited about moving in, however, it needs some SERIOUS work and my in-laws are letting me help in the redesign! There was a pretty major leak that needed to be dealt with, and with little to no crawl space…the floors have to come up in both the kitchen and bath. Basically everything is getting ripped apart, soooo might as well redo it all! The kitchen and bathroom are getting completely re-done, making the place totally unlivable at the moment. So while Aron and his dad renovate the space, we are happily hanging with the parents.

Tinier than ever before, we’ll be sitting cozy in about 675 sq ft, but the game changer is the WALLS! We will have actual walls guys!!!! I already feel my marriage leveling up! The girls will have their bedroom and we will have the privacy of ours again. Can I get an AMEN?!?!?!

There is a nice sized living room and the natural light is everything! The kitchen is actually pretty spacious too, but poorly laid out. The bathroom was the worst. It was small as is, but overcrowded with a staked washer and dryer and a toilet that jutted out, basically creating an obstacle course to walk through. I guess the only perk was that you could fold a load of laundry while you “drop the kids off at the pool”?? #thebrightside

Here are some pictures of the house before we started tearing everything out…Completely unedited…for added drama and to up the creepy factor.

The floor is whack. The layout is whack. The paint color, whack. These are the only cabinets in the entire kitchen….WHACK.

Say hello to THE tiniest stove on the planet!!! We could make this work, but we’re not gonna! Oh hey toilet! I didn’t see you there….

You can pretty much wash your hands and #2 simultaneously. I guess thats a perk for some??

You literally have to suck-in so hard to squeeze past the stacked washer + dryer to get into the shower. Like my friend Randy Jackson would say – “That’s gonna be a no from me dog!”.

All in all, the house is VERY outdated, with little to no storage, and the layout doesn’t make sense at all! That bathroom kills me! BUT, the possibilities and potential are endless!!! (I’m a glass half full kind of gal if you haven’t noticed!) I’m also incredibly confident that this bitty house is going to be SO adorable and really functional when we are through with this transformation.

Next post, I’ll be sharing “The Plans” so you can see where we are headed with this project in full detail! AHHH! I can’t wait!

So tell me, 

Have you ever tackled a remodel of any kind?? What challenges did you face? What would you have done differently if you could do it all over again? Let me know in the comments below and help a sister out before we get in too deep! Thanks friends!

Until next time!

xo,