Archive for the 'Home in Bozeman' Category

We’ve been living in our “house without wheels” for exactly 2 months…and we’re finally settled! We have a few more boxes to go through, but for the most part, we’re done. Everyday, we look at each other and say “Don’t you love our house?!”. It fits us perfectly and we love every nook and cranny. It took Matt about 2 weeks to do the complete remodel (paid for in full by the owners, including labor…yay!). We replaced all of the flooring and painted every surface in the house with zero-voc paint…it truly feels like “our home” now.

This transition found us without ANY furniture…because we sold it all before the tour. We did have our bed, which we took out of the RV, but that was it. So, the 6 weeks before we moved into town were filled with lots and lots of Craigslist searches and “going to see” trips. We were able to furnish the entire house with used items…with the exception of a few handmade goodies and things like curtain rods, etc. We had so much fun piecing it all together…one amazing “find” at a time. Here are some of the cool things we found:

Couch: The previous tenant left the couch in the house, and it’s exactly what we were looking for. Yay! A total blessing.
Futon: We got our organic/non-toxic futon from a lovely couple, whom we are now friends with because of that transaction. It’s made a really comfy guest bed for our family. Love it.
Table/Chairs: This was something that I was really struggling with because I was so missing having a family dinner and being able to serve my family on a “real” table. The Christmas tree stood where the table is now, and we had just been using the bar as our eating area. However, this always left one person out in the cold On the couch, floor, etc. The catch was that there isn’t a clear “dining area”. We had a VERY small space to work with and the table needed to fit perfectly, have compact chairs, etc. We finally found our gem on Craigslist and I knew the moment I saw it that God sent it for me The chairs matched the berry color in the rug and curtains perfectly, and were exactly what we wanted! The table fit the space like a glove as well. The best part, we got it all (plus a 5th chair) for $80.00. Patience pays off!
Desk: I needed a place to set up my printer, hard drives, etc. but there really was no place to put a “real” office space. We brainstormed and decided that behind the door in the bedroom would work perfectly. We found an old, tiny desk at the thrift store and it works great.  It just goes to show that when you live in a small space, you can utilize every corner!
Glider Rocker & Changing Table: As you know, we’re getting ready for the arrival a new baby, so we were on the look out for a rocker and other baby goodies. We found both the rocker and changing table on Craigslist for a steal.

A few of our other “treasured items” (aka: things we didn’t sell) were brought to Montana from Iowa by my lovely parents when they came for Christmas…Bella’s wooden kitchen, wooden doll bed, etc.

There are so many things we love about this house…the location, the great parking, the layout, the laundry, the woodburning stove, the shower head…we love it all. I can’t wait for summer to come so I can find more things to love about it. Flowers, trees, proximity to the park. Oooooh so good.

So without further ado…I invite you to come on in for a cup of tea, and have a look around!

Note: Each Flickr photo has little notes and more information on it, so be sure to click on the individual images and run your mouse across it to see them. Don’t miss The Happy Wall and the “Rejoice” banner…two of my favorites

Edited to add:
The paint is No-VOC paint from Columbia Pure Coat:

Yellow: Tropical Dream
Green: Motherland
Blue: Stillwater
Brown: Blonde Shell

Here is a little sneak peak of the work we’ve done on the house…Matt just built this awesome barn wood bookshelf for me from some scrap wood we received for free. Yay! I LOVE this little cozy corner of our new home…so warm and wonderful. And now that my books are right there, it’s perfect for a quick read with a cup of tea. The renovations in this room include the floor (it used to be a 15 year old dirty white linoleum) and the paint. The paint color is Tropical Dream (Purecoat Zero VOC).

It’s taken a little over 2 weeks to get the house pretty much done. There still isn’t anything up on the walls yet…but it will take a little longer this time because before we left on tour, I got rid of a lot of stuff! My mom and dad (and entire family) are driving out here for Christmas and are bringing the remainder of our home decor items that were stored at their house. I’m so excited! I’ll try to post a few photos as we go along, but it might be awhile before it “feels finished”.

Thanks so much to all of you who have been blessing me with your holiday cards and photos…it’s so wonderful to open up the box to such love! Keep ‘em coming!

It’s been brutally cold here…but we’re staying nice and toasty inside around the fire. The nice thing is…we haven’t had to turn on the heat even one time, despite the negative temps. Hope you’re all staying warm too!

Have a wonderful week before Christmas