House Haven Tour: Caught in Grace

Hi everyone! My name is Jaime and I blog over at Caught in Grace. I’m honored to be a part of A Woman’s Haven Home Tour Series.

We moved into our mid-century ranch a little over a year ago and we’ve worked hard to turn it into a place we love and can call home. We’ve ripped up carpet, torn down wallpaper, painted, updated, and renovated in almost every room of our house. I desire for our home to be a safe, comfortable place for our family to rest and relax in; a peaceful haven away from the world.  I also want our home to feel warm and inviting to whoever comes through our doors.

My favorite motto for creating a home you love is , “Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.” (-William Morris)  It has taken me years to find my style and know what I love. I’ve made many mistakes along the way and many poor choices in the beginning of creating a home for our family. I ended up with a lot of things I didn’t love and didn’t need. And I ended up with a home that I didn’t love and wasn’t really an expression of me. So then I went through a process of selling those things I didn’t like and replacing them with things I loved. And through that experience, I’ve learned to be much more intentional about what I bring into our home and also what I allow to stay in our home.  With that being said, I also think it’s important to remember that “It doesn’t have to be perfect to be beautiful.” (-the Nester)  No home (especially those with kids living in them) is perfect and my home certainly doesn’t usually look like it does in these pictures.  So remember, a home is a haven when it is full of life and love and laughter, not when it is picture perfect.

So if you’re ready, come on in!

We recently turned the entryway closet into a mudroom.  This is a much more efficient use of space for us.  The hooks make it easy to hang up our coats, bags, and scarves and the baskets are convenient for storing all the mittens and hats that come with three kiddos and these extra long Northern Virginia winters.

The living room is the first thing you see after walking in the front door.  I get a lot of questions about my couch.  It’s from the Martha Stewart collection at Macy’s.  Here’s the link.  We special ordered it in the color Vintage.  My husband made our coffee table a few years back.  And I used an old window that I found at an antique store to display some of my favorite pictures. Those side tables were originally black when we bought them, but later when I realized that I really didn’t like black furniture, I took a chance and painted them white. And now I love them.

This is the view to the other side of the room.  We found the spool on the side of the road and I painted it white and we use it as a side table.  The chairs are from Joss and Main.

  Every main piece of furniture in this picture was found on Craigslist… the fireplace mantel, lockers, and hanging chair are all great Craigslist finds.

This is my favorite seat in the house.  Every afternoon during my kids rest time, you will find me here sipping coffee and reading blogs. The little furry stool is from Target and my feet love it.

I removed a few rows of the top doors on the lockers to make open shelves and then spray painted the outside a glossy white.

When we moved into this house, the kitchen was the original 1960’s kitchen, complete with linoleum floors, water-damaged cabinets, and floral wallpaper. It was in desperate need of a floor to ceiling renovation, so within the first few months of moving in, we had the kitchen completely gutted and re-done.  For years, I had been dreaming of a white kitchen with open shelves, subway tile backsplash, butcher block countertops, and a farmhouse sink, so it was fun seeing my dreams finally take shape and come to life in this house.

We spend a lot of time in this part of the kitchen sharing meals, homeschooling, coloring, and painting. When we moved in, the the bricks were red, so I gave them a few coats of white wash to lighten things up. I love the added character and texture of the brick walls.

My coffee bar is one of my favorite things in our house.  Part of my vision behind this area was creating a happy, inviting space that encouraged people to stop by, grab a cup of coffee (or tea or hot chocolate) and sit and chat for a while. I found the buffet on Craigslist and decided to go bold and paint it a deep turquoise.

Although we weren’t quite been ready to tackle a full bathroom renovation, we wanted to give the kid’s bathroom an affordable update. We ripped down the out-dated brown wallpaper, gave the walls a fresh coat of paint, updated the vanity, mirror, and lighting, and added in some fun pops of color with towels and accessories.

My sweet little girl’s bedroom.  I found her bed at an antique store and her dressers on Craigslist and then I painted them.

My two boys share a bedroom.  (Although, since taking this picture, we’ve taken the bunk beds apart and done a little rearranging).

The stairs down to the basement were originally covered with carpet and I was thrilled when I peeked under the carpet one day and discovered the hardwoods underneath.  After ripping up the carpet and cleaning the stairs up a bit, I painted the risers white and added the numbers on them for a little fun.

Our basement room…

I found this piano for free on Craigslist and painted it with Annie Sloan chalk paint.  The little cubbies hold my kids nature collection.

And finally, our guest bedroom. My husband made the shutter headboard for me and I painted and distressed them.

Thank you so much for stopping by! I hope you enjoyed our house haven tour!

Sharing here:

Tuesday-
The Winthrop Chronicles
Elizabeth & Co.

Thursday-
Liz Marie
The Golden Sycamore

Friday-
My Romantic Home
The 36th Avenue
TatorTots & Jello
The Shabby Nest
Jennifer Rizzo

Saturday-
Six Sisters Stuff

Sunday-
Finding Silver Pennies
Nifty Thrifty Things
It’s Overflowing