We didn’t do a lot with our house for the first few years that we lived here (click here for pics of what it looked like when we moved in). I got my book deal within 2 months of moving to Vermont, so my mind was singularly focused on writing for a good long while. By the time that was finished, we were unsure if we were really going to stay here. I learned a lot in my first professional librarian position, and one of the things that I learned was that the sort of job I was doing wasn’t really for me. I was good at it and there were elements that I liked about it, but I found myself getting a little bored. I was really interested in doing more teaching and wanted a management position, so I started looking for jobs in that fit my interests. So, since we didn’t feel too committed to the house, we only did the things that absolutely had to get done: replacing the tartan plaid carpet that covered the entire downstairs of the house, completely re-doing the landscaping, painting the exterior of the house, and fixing up what was a sad little guest room (and is now cute and cozy and something we don’t have to be embarrassed of).
When I was offered my promotion at work to Head of Instructional Initiatives, we decided that we were going to stay in this house a while. We’d already talked about having kids and were waiting to start trying until I got a new job. Well, we had no more excuses to wait for any of it (baby or house fix-er-up-ing). I don’t want to be one of those people who moves their whole family every couple of years to rise up the career ladder, and we so love Vermont, so we committed in our heads to staying here — not forever, but for a good long while. And very shortly after that, we found that we were expecting our little munchkin. That was when we finally got the energy and motivation to start fixing up the house.
Here’s what we’ve done so far this Fall:
- Got rid of the ugly green carpet that covered the upstairs and replaced it with nice, normal beige carpet. This alone made us feel like we were living in a new house.
- Got new window treatments for a lot of the rooms to replace the inconvenient and dirty plantation shutters that were there before (before and after)
- Replaced some of the uglier light fixtures (before and after & before and after) with ones I’d been eying for years from Pottery Barn.
- Replaced the scary, swaying ceiling fan in the kitchen (that I was sure would kill one or both of us one day) and had ceiling fans installed in our bedroom and the nursery (which has made it feel much less dry and stuffy in our bedroom so far this winter).
- Painted the baby’s nursery (click here for pics).
- Moved Adam’s office downstairs.
Downstairs living room when we first moved in
Adam’s office is definitely the project I’m most excited about. Ever since we moved in, we’ve been at a loss to figure out what to do with the “living room” downstairs (there’s one upstairs as well that we actually do use). It’s this weird L-shaped room with a fireplace and the shape really makes no sense for entertaining or anything else as far as we can see. There’s no good place to put a couch or a TV, so we’ve just sort of done nothing with the space for the past 3 1/2 years. When we got pregnant, we knew that Adam’s office (right next to our bedroom) was going to have to become the nursery. So we moved Adam down to the L shaped room in the little alcove part (it’s about the same size as our guest room). It actually works really nicely as an office, and we
New wall to separate living room from office - in progress. No more wood paneling!!!
have a contractor who is right now putting in a wall and pocket door to create a real extra room. Now, that downstairs living room is nice and rectangular and finally makes some sense. And Adam is loving his new office, which I must admit is a lot cozier and better laid-out than when it was in the bigger room upstairs. (click here for more pics of the office in progress)
The nursery is really starting to shape up too! Adam did an amazing painting job and the baby’s furniture has started to arrive. The only major piece of furniture that hasn’t arrived yet is the crib, so I’d say that for being about 15 weeks away from D-Day, we’re in very good shape. I didn’t want to be in the position of working on the room and rearranging furniture at 8 or 9 months pregnant, so I’m glad we got a jump on it.
Newly-painted nursery with some furniture.
For the first time, I really feel at home in our house. It feels like it’s “ours.” And while we still have some projects left to do — like buying a new stove and wallpapering the bathrooms — I finally like the house and feel like it reflects our taste a lot more than that of a 70-something-year-old woman. 
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