We finally moved into the home that we spent so many years dreaming of and building! On January 26, 2018 we spent the first night under this roof, a mere 733 days after our official groundbreaking for the building and almost 3.5 years to the day from when we bought the property and started dreaming big (I announced the purchase for the first time in this post.).
If you are new to the blog or just tuning in, my husband and I and our 5 young children are building our dream home in beautiful southern Utah. We are doing 99.3% of the work OURSELVES, the ultimate DIY project indeed. It’s been a wonderful but arduous ride and we are so excited to be living in our dream home. If you want to see all of the posts on this crazy project, you can find them here. We are tired, but we are excited. Years of dreaming, working, and planning are coming together into a beautiful home we plan on living in forever.
We moved in a few weeks ago and I’m just now telling you. I’ve had some guilt about this but here’s the reason. I felt like once we moved in it should be done, but we certainly did not move into a finished home. We are still working on it every day! I felt like I needed my magazine-ready glossy photos to show you, but I just am not ready for those. So instead of making you wait while we finished, I thought I’d show you where we are at.
Welcome to our home!
The kitchen is pretty much done, expect for installing my pot filler. So that’s super nice. The space is perfection!!! It’s so much fun to cook, work, entertain, and live in.
Gorgeous, right?!
The copper hood is from Copper Top Metals, and the glass pendants and copper pendants in the dining room are from Bellacor light online. The flooring are engineered vinyl planks (in Farmland Hickory) from Lumber Liquidators, the tile back splash is in-stock tile from Home Depot, the bar stools are from World Market (so sturdy and comfortable!). The white of the trim and cabinets is Snow Bound by Sherwin Williams, the gray is Rock Port Gray by Benjamin Moore, and the dining room paint color is Pacific Palisade by Valspar. Those are my most frequently asked questions, so I thought I’d let you know!
The cookbook shelf at the end of the island is one of my favorite parts of the kitchen! All of the white books (and a few of the colored ones) are my America’s Test Kitchen cookbook collection. 🙂
This is what the living room currently looks like. We still have to build the wood burning fireplace into the wall (you can see the insert sitting in the corner where it will eventually go). So my couches are just in there for the time being. It’s functioning though and we love the view out the windows.
My dining room! The kitchen table is made out of wood from the Shanty (which was built in 1898) and I just love it. It’s HUGE, like 4.5 feet wide and 9 feet long, but I’ve had it packed to the gills with friends and family many times already. I love my huge table. The pretty cow painting is from my friend Ashley’s Etsy shop.
It’s so fun to have a place to put all of my treasures (and the corner shelves in the kitchen are full of things I love, too!). Gifts, antiques, paintings from my Grandpa, and so much more. Did you know this is our first house?! We remodeled a house but that one didn’t count as our house (we knew we weren’t going to keep it and moved out before we even finished fixing it up and Thomas just went back on weekends to work on it). So this is the first house we have owned since we got married 12 years ago. My heart was SO ready to “feather my nest” and it’s such a beautiful nest. Worth the wait and effort!
The entryway. We don’t currently use our front door because the porch isn’t on and it’s a mud pit up to it, but one day we will. For now we just have people go in and out of our garage!
My office/studio off the living room – it’s pretty empty. I’m still not sure how I’m going to use this space so right now it stores my camera equipment, computer, and some photo props.
What mudroom dreams are made of. All of the kids have their own spot and their shoes go in the drawer under it. Shoe drawers are AWESOME just FYI.
In the hall is my chalk board + kid school paper station. This is across from the drinking fountain.
Guest bath on the main level. There’s a vessel sink on the blue vanity already – my pictures are already out of date because Thomas just keeps on moving!
My bedroom. And those beams are styrofoam! How cool is that?
My bathroom. Toilet and tub are to the left and my closet is on the right.
Messy, but it’s awesome!
Laundry room
Now to the upstairs!
Kid/upstairs bathroom. The toilet and shower are in their own little room off of this one.
Guest bedroom
Our library/upstairs family room.
We definitely have room to grow into this house. The little boys room.
Macey’s room
Big boys’ room
And the view out the back windows!
We still need to put on the porches, finish the garage and do garage doors, and put siding on the house plus little things on the inside and major landscaping. But we are in, loving it, and working everyday to finish the biggest project of our lives so far.
It is absolutely incredible!! I can’t get over that you guys did it yourselves! I love your style so much, you might need to come to my house and decorate it. Also? That view from your back window!!
Thank you SO much Lisa, it means a lot that you’d comment and leave me a note. I’m a big fan!
Your mudroom shoe drawers… Did you guys build those or did you buy cabinetry from somewhere? I seem to recall that you used a custom cabinet guy…
We ended up getting custom cabinets which after we did the math, were cheaper than getting cabinets from Home Depot. Isn’t that nuts! The same guy who did my kitchen also did my mud room, laundry room, and all of our bedroom closets. They are WONDERFUL!
The mudroom is my favorite. I have serious mudroom built-in envy :). Where did you get those wheeling laundry carts?
It is a GAME CHANGER for a busy mom with kids. The mud room is a sanity saver. The carts are from Steele Canvas, made to order in the US!
Melissa – Gosh! It looks beautiful. The view is amazing. Kudos! Your hard work paid off. Your house is beautiful and well planned. I am going to bookmark this page. We have a ton of work to do at our place and you have some inspiring ideas here.
Thank you so much friend! It’s amazing what hard work and a little stick-to-it-tiveness will get you isn’t it!?
That kitchen is perfection! Congratulations 🙂
Come cook with me in it friend. Thank you, that means a ton to us. SO MUCH WORK! And now look at us.
Oh my gosh!! Congrats you’ve earned it!!!
Thank you friend. I so appreciate your kindness.
I’m so happy for you Melissa! Your house is super gorgeous and I love all the details in every room!! Congrats!
Thank you friend, from someone who knows how hard this kind of thing is (and how great!)
Wow, this is so great! Congratulations. It is beautiful! I have been following since you began this project, and it has been wonderful to see how it all came together.
Well thank you so much for sticking with us all that time. Stay tuned for the porches, siding, and landscaping!
Absolutely MARVELOUS!! Love ya’ GJ
Thank you Grandpa. When are you coming out to see it 🙂
Your new home is beautiful! I have enjoyed every post along the way and look forward to more!
Thank you! And there is so much more to come! We just ordered siding and garage doors yesterday 🙂
Love love love your house. Great work!
Congrats, it looks amazing! Job well done on the build, major accomplishment. I love so many details, but the gray bathroom cabinets/mirror is a great color!
Thank you friend! That was actually a set that all came together, lol. Easy!
It is SO beautiful! I can’t even begin to imagine how you guys actually did all of this and knew what step was next and what to choose. Amazing!
My husband is a genius/engineer and he made it work. I never could have done it! Thank you!
Melissa,
these pictures of your forever home are just awesome, i love everything about your new home, the design, the colors, strong and simple color and furniture.
the view from your back window i could stare at for hours on end, so thankful for God’s artwork,
please continue to post so that others can enjoy your blessings too.
Thank you so much friend! That view fills up my soul and I’m so grateful to wake up to it every morning!
It looks wonderful and I am so happy for you!
What a joy to finally reach the end (or at least get most of the way there!)
Congratulations!
Thank you Jenny!!! It’s been a wild ride and I’m excited to be nearing the end also!
This is so amazing!!! I’m so happy for you guys that you are realizing your dream. I bet it’s every bit as beautiful as you’d hoped it would be <3
So happy to find your blog! Your home is amazing and beautiful! Can’t wait to try your recipes and share your blog with my daughter. Be blessed!
Thank you so much Connie, it’s always nice to meet new folks here. I hope your daughter loves the recipes too!
Congratulations! Your home is very beautiful and more awesome than I envisioned it when I last visited you well over a year ago. I’m so happy for you, Thomas and the wee ones.
Thank you Mike! Hope you and the wife are well. Let’s do dinner here now that we have a kitchen!
Your house has turned out wonderful. It shows all the hard work you and Thomas have put into it. A job well done! Love Grandpa and Grandma Jane
Thank you Grandpa and Grandma. I hope you come to see it sometime soon!
Your new home is gorgeous ! You have so much room to grow in, and yet it is very warm and inviting. Thank you for sharing. Is the background land Arizona?
Psalm 127:1 Unless the Lord builds the house, They labor in vain who build it; Unless the Lord guards the city, The watchman stays awake in vain.
Southern Utah, but almost to AZ, good eye! And thank you for the Psalm, May God continue to build and bless this home and those who step inside.
I have been following your progress on your home and your home is beautiful. Wow and to think you did most of it yourself. And that view out of this world!
Thank you friend. I know, the whole we did it ourselves is just amazing. I look back at the pictures and realize just how far we’ve come!
Absolutely beautiful! Also, your kitchen & laundry room are incredible, so much space & so well planned. Your view is so pretty. We just spent 2 weeks in the St George area. It was our first time visiting Utah. My husband & I are still talking about what a wonderful time we had & how beautiful the area is. Enjoy your beautiful home❤️
Yes! Southern Utah is a unique little place and we sure love it. Thanks for the kind words, we so appreciate you cheering us on!
It’s stunning! I love it!
Thank you Tara! Bring your RV down and see it sometime!
I LOVE your beautiful home, and I love the location! Your children will have so much fun running through the grass and trees!
That’s the hope! That it’ll be a place that is always home to them, filled with great memories and a fun and active childhood. Thank you for your kind comments Kathy!
Your home is lovely! I can’t wait to see all the feathering you continue to do as you grow into your new place. Congratulations!
Thank you friend! Come and see it!
I’ve been following you since the beginning of this blog and have seen/read every post on this amazing journey.
I am so proud of you, Thomas & the kids for all that you guys have accomplished over these past few years! Congrats!! You’ve been so patient & so positive throughout this process while being an excellent mom & caring for your precious babies, keeping up with your blog & keeping us all in the loop (Thank you!) the list goes on and on… I commend you for hanging in there and maintaining a positive outlook because I’m sure it hasn’t been easy with all that you do.
You’re a remarkable person with many super powers! ?
The house is just beautiful!
You inspire me in so many ways. Thank you!
Enjoy your new home, you all deserve it!
Nicest comment ever. Thank you so much Wendy. It has NOT been an easy road but it’s definitely been worth it. You totally made my day.
Holy cow!!! I’m beyond impressed with your accomplishment. I just found your blog today as I was looking for chicken leg recipes ;). May this beautiful house bring you and your family much joy for many years.
Thank you for your kind words Marianne! We’re so excited to be living here!