Moving with a three-month-old baby might have been the craziest thing I’ve ever done, but God wrote this story each step of the way.

Mason had accepted a position as an Associate Pastor in a small town in western Kentucky (that had just been destroyed by a tornado). Let’s just say that housing was limited there. We had a contract on the only house on the market in our price range that didn’t reek of drugs or sewage (another story for another day). But even after weeks of praying and negotiating and counter-offering, and an inspection that would have left tens of thousands of dollars of repairs coming out of our pocket, it became clear that we couldn’t move forward with that house

That sent us back to the drawing board.

With only weeks until our move and nothing new on the market, truly all we could do was pray.

The next day, Mason was on the phone with one of his new staff members and explained our housing crisis. The (wonderful) office manager at the church overheard the conversation and explained, “My mother-in-law just passed away, and we haven’t put her house on the market yet. You’re welcome to take a look!”

I had no idea what to expect of this mysterious available house, but we were desperate. That’s why I was shocked when Mason pulled up the Google maps listing to show me the most beautiful house I’d ever seen. It had beautiful porches and perfect dormers and large windows and a yard of my dreams. It literally looked like a house out of the home design book I pined over as a teenager. But my fairytale turned into reality when I realized we probably couldn’t afford such a home.

We decided to go see it anyways.

It was even more beautiful than I had imagined, with tall ceilings and natural light and cream carpet that was in pristine condition even at 27 years old. No other house we saw could compare. Then came the time to put in our best offer. The house hadn’t yet hit the market, which helped us in SO many ways. And to add to the joy, they ACCEPTED our first offer! We had our home!

From beginning to end, God had orchestrated the details and the amazing family who sold us the house had also been seeking His will about it. They were so gracious and generous to us each step of the way and even left several pieces in the houses that we cherish dearly!

But by this point, we were on a tight turnaround to close before our moving date. The only thing we knew we wanted to do was paint. Which also meant wallpaper removal. The home was VERY well taken care of, but it did have quite a bit of wallpaper. We knew we wouldn’t be able to do a job that big by ourselves in our short time frame, so we found an amazing painting crew out of Paducah (highly recommend Hernandez Painting) to do it for us.

They stripped wallpaper (that took the most time), then painted the whole house. I chose Sherwin Williams’ Gracious Greige (HCSW2456) for most of the walls. It was perfect to contrast the light trim and flooring but wasn’t too dark. I did an accent wall in the baby’s room in Storm Cloud (SW6249) and LOVED it! We kept the kitchen white with Alabaster (SW7008). My splurges were getting the kitchen cabinets (Anew Gray, SW7030) and fireplace (Extra White, SW7006) professionally repainted. BEST. DECISION. They turned out amazing and truly transformed the feel of the whole house.

After that was done, we moved in! Of course it was tempting to buy ALL new things and I contemplated buying new flooring, countertops and backsplashes, but I decided it would be best to move in first. (P.S. We still haven’t changed any of those things. I’m a firm believer that it’s BEST to live within your means and be a good steward of your finances, even if things are a “good deal.” You can have a beautiful home without spending a lot, which is what I hope to show you).

We also brought all our old furniture. I bought a few pieces on Black Friday sales to pull it all together, but if you know me, you know I’m super frugal and I don’t think I paid over $250 for any single item in our house (pro tip: move near Black Friday and everything is way cheaper). I also used gift cards for MANY of the things we purchased. Don’t forget to save those up! Now, let’s go room by room to see how all my thrifted, hand-me-down and new pieces fit together to make this house a home!

The Living Room

My dream was to create custom built-ins around the fireplace, but we didn’t have the time or money to do that at the time. A great compromise was adding white bookshelves. It took me a while to find the height and build I was looking for, but these from Kohl’s were just the thing. We also snagged a new TV at Walmart on Black Friday.

Thankfully, we still had our free couch from our campus ministry (we’ve had this since we were married 😊), but I did get 2 new chairs on a crazy deal from Wayfair and pulled it together with this rug I’m in love with. Ready for my room splurge? The mid-century modern wood coffee and side table set. But it was worth every penny! The rest of the décor and two unique, rustic accent tables we already had. Easy win.

Entryway/Dining Room

The family who sold us the house gifted us the dining table, china cabinet, grandfather clock and entryway lamp (woohoo!). I scoured a bunch of sites for the cutest, cheapest console table I could find and found it at Walmart. The entryway rug came from Ross and the dining rug I found on Amazon (extra perk is that it’s washable…I don’t know why there is carpet in the dining room).

I also love the frame wall in this room with artistic shots from our book. The splurge for this room is the dining chair set, but they totally change the feel of the room and I’m so glad I took the leap. We also changed out the light fixtures in both rooms (one was a smaller industrial chandelier and the second was a huge, gorgeous dining fixture).

Kitchen

One of my favorite pieces in the entire house is our kitchen table. I got it for FREE second hand and my mom helped me refinish it. But I had to find just the right chairs to go with it and these black, spindle-back ones are the best. I also found these counter stool gems that look straight from a boutique! The only other things we changed out were the sink faucet, light fixture and the cabinet pulls. Super easy and super cheap ways to upgrade any space.

Nursery

Even though Micah was already a few months old when we moved in, I let my creativity run wild in this new room. All the furniture pieces we already had secondhand, except our crib and swivel recliner which were gifts. I HIGHLY recommend them for any nursery. Also, these blackout curtains are a no brainer! My favorite ones by far to facilitate even more sleep for baby and parents.

The wall art was custom-made for us by my wonderful sister-in-law. I wanted Micah’s life verse displayed somewhere we would see and remember it often. The only thing I bought after the move was his alphabet rug which is the softest thing ever and we are so glad he has it to play on. Oh, but I did switch out the drawer knobs on the dresser which made it look like a million bucks for less than $10.

Master Bedroom

All of the furniture in this room was second-hand from family, DIY projects, or left in the house when we moved in (are you sensing a theme?). But I did find the find gold shelves on a crazy Amazon deal and LOVE how they tie the room together. I’d also always wanted a gold, arched mirror and found one at Walmart that fit the space perfectly beside gold lamps from Target.

By far my favorite décor item in the house is above our bed: the framed original blueprint of our house. I framed it myself and I just adore how it turned out.

And can we take a moment to talk about this rug? It’s by far the item I get the most compliments on in the house and it was soooo affordable. I work from home in this room every day, so I craved the serenity and natural light this room gives. There were so many whites/creams in the room, which made me choose a darker linen material for the drapes—a gorgeous addition.

Guest Room

There’s not much to report here because everything in this room we got second-hand from family members and friends. But these pieces are all special to me: from the mid-century modern dresser sets to the trio of floral prints that came with the house to a rocking chair passed down from Mason’s family.

A Few of My Favorite Things

Even beyond what you can see, I want to share a few of the home purchases we made that have tremendously helped us and/or increased the value of our home. We swapped out the faucets to these beautiful, modern ones and replaced drawer pulls in all three of the bathrooms. They look totally new and modern because of it. We also added overhead lights to two of the bedrooms, which makes a huge difference. Our back porch is HUGE and gorgeous, so of course we had to fill it with a porch swing and rocking chairs. We also had to buy a mower (boo), but Mason convinced me to buy a Gorilla lawn cart to go with it and it has been a life saver with our outdoor projects.

We went through several different wi-fi routers to find one that would work overtime to keep my remote work afloat. By far NETGEAR Nighthawk was our favorite. We also use these wireless outlet remote controls and they are so nice if you have a lot of lamps.

Last but not least, I’m not usually one to care about techy things like this, but Mason installed Eufy security cameras (no monthly fee!!) around our house that also link with our front door lock. We can always see a live feed of what’s happening and can lock our door from our phones when we (often) forget to. I didn’t think this would be worth the money, but with kids, it’s worth it 1000%.

This is just the beginning of making our house into a home. I still have big dreams of refinishing the bonus room above the garage and installing new flooring and shopping more Prime Day sales for home items, but the main purpose of our home is hospitality, conversations, character-building, and memory making with our family. Beyond all the details, I want people to feel welcome in our home. We have people over constantly, and if God has blessed me with a house and space to host, I want to return it to Him for His glory. And that’s just what I’m planning to do.