Another Kitchen

Our kitchen in Idaho is the nicest kitchen I've ever had. It's been great having ample storage and plenty of work surfaces!

But it's not very photogenic.  Oh well! Come on in and pull up a chair. I'll probably fix you something fresh, summery and vegetarian.

I don't know if you remember our dining area in our last house, but it was seriously tiny! The table was pushed up against the wall and we were crowded. Here there is plenty of room for all of us and we could easily add another leaf.

My Grandma's Desert Rose dishes haven't been unpacked for over three years--probably four! These built-in displays are nice, but I would prefer a free-standing hutch. There are three of these sections on the wall behind the table.

The kitchen is U-shaped with another wall for the sink, oven and dishwasher. It was custom-built by our landlord and his father-in-law who originally lived in the house.

Another built-in display area near the dining table.

Before we rented this house, I was so excited about all the counter space! I love it! Even when things aren't neat and tidy, there's still room to get a meal ready.

I was also looking forward to having a dishwasher. Sadly, it leaves my dishes pretty awful looking. Not so much food stuck on, but residue. We cleaned the machine so many times, used several different kinds of soap, tried baking soda and and other ideas... Back to hand washing for me.

Beside the sink is the oven, then beside the oven is the back door and this little entry area. It would be a great mudroom, but if you can tell in the photo of the sink above, there's a mudroom out back. It's kind of a weird wrap-around enclosed walkway with lots of storage... So, this is my sewing corner!

My vintage heirloom sewing machine is in need of a tune-up.

Beside the sewing table is a laundry room/bathroom. Not sure if you'll ever see it here on the blog; it's functional and clean but just not that pretty. All homes have places like that, right?

Now we're heading back into the kitchen from the sewing corner. Oh look, there's the fridge!

At the back of the U is the stovetop. It's gas! Yay!

As a little perspective, that black thing sticking up beyond the counter is Gary's chair. That helps you understand the kitchen and living room layout.

And from the chair in the living room looking into the kitchen.

That completes the tour of our Idaho rental kitchen. Thanks for the visit!

Another Living Room

Over the years if you've been following my blog, you've seen several versions of our living room as we've moved quite frequently. Our current home is no different; mostly the same stuff just arranged to fit a new living room. We did get new couches though!

Our current home is a rental and as such, there are things we can't change. So please ignore the brown carpet, awful (and non-functioning) vertical blinds and all of that brown paneling!

We're thrilled with our new couch and loveseat. We have never had new furniture in our home, so this is a big deal to us! The couches are kid friendly, quite comfortable, and compliment Gary's leather recliner. I like how neutral they are without being a light color and think they will hold up well.

Our TV cabinet is now home to our fish tank. I think it's pretty, Gary enjoys the hobby, and the boys like watching the fish. Besides, the tank's pump sounds a lot like a waterfall!

We inherited Gary's dad's piano. I'm looking forward to teaching the boys a thing or two about how to play!

Wouldn't that paneling look so much better in white?

I loved this crib spring display above our dining table in our last house but dressed it up a little for the living room. The banner was from Gary's graduation and you can write on it with chalk, but I like it plain for now. I've displayed the newest pictures of our boys, some favorite snapshots, and of course the ultrasound images of our baby girl!

This is the main entrance to the house. I might switch Gary's chair and the loveseat, but I really like this table in the entrance. Across from it is this dresser and mirror with a small bin for shoes. The door leads to what will be the baby's room. See a glimpse of pink?

Thanks for visiting our home!

Our Idaho Home Tour {Before}

We had the hardest time finding a place to live in Idaho. At first we looked into buying a place but decided to wait a year (or more?) before committing to a certain area or neighborhood. The rental market here in rural, small-town Northern Idaho is very small and you wouldn't believe the YUCK Gary and I saw in some of the houses we toured.

The house we ended up in is one I originally didn't like. It's hard to live in a rental and not be able to change the parts you hate! We didn't seriously consider the offer at first because it's next to a highway, wasn't going to be available until late July (we moved here the second week of June), and we weren't able to see the inside of the house when we were house-hunting in May.

Then we got desperate! We kept in touch with the landlord and were super surprised when he called us in early June to say the house would be available in less than a week! What was supposed to be a 6-week stay in a borrowed trailer turned in to just 5 days!

Needless to say, we were pleased with the house when we saw the inside. Considering some of the filth we had seen in other properties, we were impressed with the cleanliness of this place and knew that the landlord would be a good one. While we don't like brown 70s paneling or brown 80s carpet, we know we are living in a safe place and we're very comfortable here. The highway is loud but not dangerously close, and the yard is very big with apple trees, maples and pines--perfect for little boys.

While it's not a house that we love, we are very content here. The main areas are all unpacked and just need their pictures taken so I can show you! Stay tuned!