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Moving Day

Just checking in to say hi! It’s moving time. Well, moving week actually. Getting everything moved in one day is a miracle. Packing and moving are not fun. If you think it is then please get over here and help. 🙂 It’s all worth it to be in our own house again. I can’t wait to get started on making this our home.

In fact, we haven’t wasted any time. We are well into updating the kitchen. If you follow along on my Instagram you can see some sneak peeks of the progress. I am in the middle of picking out some of the finishes. What do you think about this hardware and backsplash? I have a few more samples coming before I decided. I show how it all comes together.

I will be a little buried in boxes for the next little bit but I will be back soon to share updates and all the projects. Also, be sure to follow and like my new Facebook page. I had to switch over to this new one, White Lane Decor, due to some issues with the old one. I would love to have you go so hi over there.

In the meantime, I will be moving, unpacking, and doing all the things. 🙂

 

Moving On

Have you ever looked around your house and thought, I wish I could sell everything and start over? I mean most of the time that is completely illogical, unpractical, and just not possible. Well, it just so happened that one day that was exactly what Mr. Whitelane and I did. It sounds crazy but that is why I am explaining it all here today. There are a lot of moving pieces to this story that started to fall into place before we even realized what was happening. I think we were really blessed with how all these things worked out. So, let me start from the beginning.

Mr. Whitelane and I always wanted a good size house with a large yard for our kids. When we found the lot for this house we knew it was perfect. The location, the size, and the timing. We took time to build this house and put in the yard. We loved how everything came together just how we imagined. The house and land were perfect. However, we quickly realized that we only used about half of the house. I mean there were rooms we never even touched other than to furnish. There was a lot of space in this house that we just didn’t need or use. After we got the yard finished, we were ecstatic to have so much space to run around with the kids. The funny thing is that we hardly ever used it. I know crazy, right!? We had this big deck, trampoline, grow boxes and almost a 1/2 acre yard that we rarely utilized. Both of our families live in close proximity and a lot of our time is spent with them and other activities our kids have. In fact, we started to realize that we were rarely home enough to even take care of a yard and house that size. The little free time we did have was spent trying to keep up with the care of a yard and house we didn’t use much.  Thank goodness for Mr. Whitelane’s Dad volunteering to come over to mow for us so much. He just loves mowing the yard and does such a good job. We lucked out with him doing a lot of it for us. Mr. Whitelane and I both started to realize that having exactly what we THOUGHT we wanted, was not what we needed for our family. The thought of selling was definitely in our minds at this point.

Well, that is half of the moving piece to this story. The other half started by Mr. Whitelane and I listening to a show on the radio, Dave Ramsey. Have you heard of him? Well, we kept listening to his total money makeover and baby steps. The more we listened, the more we wanted to do it! Now, we had already paid off all of our school loans a few years ago. We really didn’t have much more debt to pay off (getting personal here). So, we sat down and got really serious about our budget and getting everything else paid off as fast as we could. In fact, Mr. Whitelane even took on a second a job on nights and weekends. It wasn’t easy but it was worth it. We were both working in any way we could and that made for long days with three kids (one of those a new baby). We had got to a decent spot in our goals but we realized we couldn’t fully be where we wanted with this house. Part of Dave Ramsey’s plan is putting your house on a 15-year mortgage to pay it off quickly. It just didn’t make sense to try and squeeze this big house into a 15-year payoff (especially when it wasn’t our forever home). We needed to downsize. The crazy part is that it wouldn’t be really downsizing for us. We learned a lot from this big house and yard ( we now call it our learning house) 🙂 . Since we didn’t use a ton of the interior space or yard this house had anyway; It would actually be finding a house that fit our family and needs better. A house that didn’t have rooms we never used. A yard that we didn’t have to try and find time just to take care of (Dad can’t mow our yard forever) 😉 .

We decided that we would sell when the time was right. Well, it just so happened, the right time was a lot sooner than we thought. A few opportunities came into our life right when all these thoughts and goals were taking place. Some may have even seen these things as negative but we knew that it was working out for us. You know, faith and prayer have a way of turning the unexpected into part of the plan all along. Before we knew it, our house was on the market, under contract, and sold. It was definitely part of God’s plan for our family.

Now that we had sold our house (and a lot of the stuff in it), we had a few ideas in mind. Mr. Whitelane and I started looking for a house that fit our family. There were a lot of options. We thought about a fixer-upper, remodeling an RV, and many other houses that were on the market. Ultimately, we decided to build a new house. A much smaller house, that would be just right for our family. We started going through the building process, picking our finishes, and designing. Then, right before we were going to finalize, Mr. Whitelane and I both had the same thought. We kept thinking about this house that we had looked at on the market about a month previous. We both really liked it but for some reason, we had decided to build a new house. However, now we just kept thinking about that same house. So, we decided to go give it another look. Turns out, they had just taken it off the market to have a baby. Long story short, it all worked out and the people agreed to sell us their house. We have big plans to turn the new house into our home. I am excited to share it all with you along the way. In the meantime, we are staying with family/renting until we close in a few weeks and get the keys. Most of all, we are just enjoying this new season of life and the goals that we have accomplished.

Although a lot of people may think we are crazy, we are just where He wants us to be. We needed to simplify and focus on what matters most. God has this path for our life. We just have to listen and let Him guide the way. Mr. Whitelane and I have felt so much happiness and peace from this decision. In life, I have found we can probably live with a lot less and be even happier. So, we have said goodbye to our learning house. Hello to our new adventure. It is all part of a beautiful plan God has for family. I hope you will stick around and follow along as we make this new house our home.

My Wood Flooring

The following post contains affiliate links. Read my full disclosure here.

I get so many questions about what type of flooring we have in our house. I want to answer as many questions as I can in this post. We have had the flooring for almost a year and I am giving the full disclosure on my thoughts about this floor.

We decided to go with a laminate wood for many reasons. Laminate does not scratch as easily as real wood. Think about kids, pets, and all the traffic they give a floor.  It also is much more cost effective than real wood. You do not have to wait for the laminate to acclimate to the environment before installing. Laminate is better at handling wet spills than wood flooring as well.

When we built our house I had a hard time deciding on the color of flooring. The entire main floor is wood flooring and the upstairs is carpet. I needed something that flowed with the carpet color. I also did not want something very dark that would show a lot of dirt. We have kids and I don’t like mopping every day. 🙂 The flooring also could not be too light for the same reason. We ended up choosing Armstrong Reserve Premium X- Grain Heather Gray laminate wood flooring. The perfect medium color. I love the rich gray/brown tones this floor has. It really won me over with the white wash it has over those tones.

After almost a year of having the flooring, I still love it! I know the style has gone to really light wood flooring. I almost regretted not going lighter. Then I quickly don’t when it is cleaning day. I realize that my floors hide so much of the messes our family track onto them. They have held up great to all the traffic from our kids as well. My daughter can roller blade, bang toys, ride her scooter, and so much more without me worrying about scratches and dents. The flooring is easy to clean and keep clean. I really don’t have any complaints about our choice. If I missed any of your questions just leave a comment below!

Moving Day

Kate

Hi there, I’m Kate. Welcome to White Lane Decor. Thanks for stopping by. I love neutral, bright, and airy spaces. I’m always looking for new ways to turn our house into a home. Have a look around and find inspiration for your next project.

Disclosure

Some of my blog posts, ads, and banners contain "affiliate links." This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate compensation. However, I only recommend products or services I use personally and truly feel you will enjoy too! I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” White Lane Decor is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

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Moving Day

Do you know what day it is? IT’S MOVING DAY! EEEKKK!! I feel like Chipper Gaines on demo day :). Really, though, the chaos is in full swing around here. We have a fabulous contractor working on some fun projects. We wanted to knock a few things out of the way at the beginning. Utah people, Diederich Construction is awesome! Remember my townhouse basement? Yup! The one with the slide and swings. Diederich Construction did that! Troy is just great at what he does and really knows how to do finish work like you won’t believe! He really brought our vision for the basement to life. I can not wait to show you what he does in this house!

So, movers don’t actually come until Saturday. We are just moving some small random odd and ends. I am also working on switching out some light fixtures, putting in shelf liner, sealing tile, and random stuff like that. It takes so much time to get all these things done. It is actually nice closing in the middle of the week. It is giving us a chance to get a lot of prep work done before all the big stuff gets moved in. I can hardly believe this day has come. I am just so happy to be closed and making the house our home. If you need me, I’ll be doing said items above. All while stopping to take in this moment every so often, of course. I better get back to work!

Kate

Hi there, I’m Kate. Welcome to White Lane Decor. Thanks for stopping by. I love neutral, bright, and airy spaces. I’m always looking for new ways to turn our house into a home. Have a look around and find inspiration for your next project.

Disclosure

Some of my blog posts, ads, and banners contain "affiliate links." This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate compensation. However, I only recommend products or services I use personally and truly feel you will enjoy too! I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” White Lane Decor is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

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Brushed Brass

Kate

Hi there, I’m Kate. Welcome to White Lane Decor. Thanks for stopping by. I love neutral, bright, and airy spaces. I’m always looking for new ways to turn our house into a home. Have a look around and find inspiration for your next project.

Disclosure

Some of my blog posts, ads, and banners contain "affiliate links." This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate compensation. However, I only recommend products or services I use personally and truly feel you will enjoy too! I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” White Lane Decor is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

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Brushed Brass

Brass is becoming so popular again. I remember having brass in our house as a kid. It was a shiny yellow metal and it was not cute. I was looking for pendant lights to go over the island. I actually found some that I really like a few posts back. Well, I was looking some more and came across these lovely brushed brass pendants (flashback to my childhood). These are not the shiny brass metal that we all remember. It is brushed brass and almost looks like a gold. I really fell in love with them (picture an Edison bulb in them). The only problem was that there is not brushed brass anywhere else in the house. Don’t worry, I quickly came up with a solution.

I do love our cabinet hardware and think it is a classic, timeless look. You can not go wrong with cup pulls and eggs knobs.However, I really thought the best solution for having brushed brass pendants would be to find some brushed brass cabinet hardware. I searched and searched to find the perfect look to blend with our craftsman modern farmhouse.  Everything that was brushed brass just seemed too modern for my house. That is, until, I came across egg knobs and cup pulls in brushed brass (HAPPY DANCE)! I even found this kitchen renovation by Rafter House. It was just what I needed to get me fully on board with my idea. The white subway tile, gray grout, and white cabinets look perfect with the brass cup pulls.  It was a meant to be, right?

Then I started thinking that this will be great for the kitchen but what about the living room?I know the rule for mixing metals is no less than 2 but no more than 4. I will have brushed nickel(stainless steel), brushed brass, and black. Since the living room is open to the dining room and kitchen, I wanted to tie a little bit of the brass in. I thought a brass curtain rod would be the perfect touch to incorporate. I found the cutest brass curtain rod from Bed Bath and Beyond. I am so excited about all this brushed brass (say that fast 5 times). 🙂 I just had to go ahead and share my finds.  I can not wait to show you it all installed! ( 1 more week people)

Brass pendant image via wayfair.com and kitchen image via rafterhouse.com

Kate

Hi there, I’m Kate. Welcome to White Lane Decor. Thanks for stopping by. I love neutral, bright, and airy spaces. I’m always looking for new ways to turn our house into a home. Have a look around and find inspiration for your next project.

Disclosure

Some of my blog posts, ads, and banners contain "affiliate links." This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate compensation. However, I only recommend products or services I use personally and truly feel you will enjoy too! I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” White Lane Decor is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

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House Update III

Kate

Hi there, I’m Kate. Welcome to White Lane Decor. Thanks for stopping by. I love neutral, bright, and airy spaces. I’m always looking for new ways to turn our house into a home. Have a look around and find inspiration for your next project.

Disclosure

Some of my blog posts, ads, and banners contain "affiliate links." This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate compensation. However, I only recommend products or services I use personally and truly feel you will enjoy too! I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” White Lane Decor is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

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House Update III

Just popping in to give a quick house update. We are almost to the finish line. It as been a long time coming and I am ready to get into this house! So much progress has happened and it has really got me excited.

The appliances got delivered and I can not wait to get cooking in this kitchen. We went with GE Cafe series. Here is shot of them sort of installed. They are just sitting in their spots but haven’t been fully installed and pushed back yet. You get the idea, though. Can we talk about this sink? This is what dreams are made of ( at least mine). My favorite part is this low bridge divider. We will be switching out the faucet for a spring pull down one. This faucet will get moved up to the laundry room sink.

screenshot_20160710-125123. screenshot_20160710-125126
The kid’s bathroom is just about done. I love the subway tile cultured marble surround. These wood plank floor tiles get me pretty happy too! Touch up paint and cleaning is about all that is left in here ( and of course some major decorating and wall treatments).

On Instagram, I posted all the half bathroom sink options a long time ago. I ended up choosing this beauty. I am really happy with this look. This bathroom still needs baseboards painted and a few other things. I will switch out this mirror for a super cute one I found at Home Goods.

The master bathroom is about done as well. The rain shower head is another favorite of mine. It will get plenty of use! I am digging all the subway tile. I think the grout turned out perfect too.

The fireplace tile was a splurge. Like I said in my design options post, marble is high maintenance. I wanted it in the master bathroom but it was not going to work for me in a wet area. The upkeep of marble in a shower is daunting to me. So, I got my marble around the fireplace with no upkeep. It still needs grout and a mantel.

The outside is painted and looking good but I will show you that another time. This will probably be the last house update until the final reveal when it is all decorated. We are in the full chaos of packing mode ( 2 more weeks until the big move). Wish me luck!

Kate

Hi there, I’m Kate. Welcome to White Lane Decor. Thanks for stopping by. I love neutral, bright, and airy spaces. I’m always looking for new ways to turn our house into a home. Have a look around and find inspiration for your next project.

Disclosure

Some of my blog posts, ads, and banners contain "affiliate links." This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate compensation. However, I only recommend products or services I use personally and truly feel you will enjoy too! I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” White Lane Decor is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

Shop My Home