Saying Goodbye to Our Walkout Ranch

Has anyone else had a hard time focusing the past several weeks? I have had this blog post, plus a few other focused, computer-oriented tasks on my list for weeks and I just cannot make myself sit down long enough to get them done. Here I am, though, trying to string some words together into something meaningful before any more time gets away.

We closed on the sale of our updated walkout ranch on May 1. We purchased and moved into that home in early summer, 2013. At the time, I was not a fan of the house. I grew up in a ranch house and found them boring (sorry, ranch lovers!) and this one was extra dated and unattractive on the inside. However, it had an amazing backyard, with a three-level deck and in-ground pool. It had wonderful closets, and three bedrooms with on-suite bathrooms, plus a guest room. And it had the one thing every house Matt and I have ever purchased had – lots and lots of potential.

We slowly painted and updated rooms, starting with bedrooms, then moving into some of the living spaces. Then we redid a couple of bathrooms. Then we did a first remodel on the kitchen, opening up a doorway, installing granite countertops, and making other incredible upgrades.

The kitchen when we bought the house. I don’t even have words. The island was so tall, our 6 year old could walk under the countertop.

So much peachy-pink. And those oven burners were not made for cooking for a family of seven.

Please don’t miss how perfectly the linoleum countertops matched the vinyl wallpaper.

This is stage one of the kitchen remodel. Matt thought we were done enough to paint….

Then I convinced him to widen the doorway. lol

New granite! But we kept the white cabinets and old fridge for the time-being.

Then we did a major renovation on our bathroom and bedroom. We tore out a horribly dated shower and vanity, installed a rainfall shower head, metal and glass panel shower door, shiplap accent wall, and new windows. We also replaced carpet in the bedroom and traded out a picture window for an 8 foot, floor-to-ceiling sliding glass door, giving us access from the master to the deck and pool.

The master bedroom when we bought the house.

And the master bath.

Sadly, I don’t have any photos of our room after our update, except for the window. Which was really the prettiest part of the bedroom anyway.

And that master bath… {all the heart eyes!}

Then a year later we started a major first floor renovation – tearing out walls, replacing flooring, painting, replacing doors and windows, raising ceilings, modifying kitchen cabinets – a six month project that made our house perfect for us. This was a whole thing that we all kind of thought might kill us and may have made our girls a little gun-shy at the idea of moving and starting another (BIG) project.

The living room when we bought the house.

From the other side of the room.

The living room following our simple makeover of paint and furniture shortly after we moved in.

The same room after our major first floor remodel - all new windows, hardwood floors, new furnishings. This room was just dreamy.

This is when I fell in love with Iron Ore. Also, notice the custom wood accent wall and floating shelves that Matt designed and installed.

Our main hallway for most the time we lived in the house.

The same hall after our remodel - new floors, painted doors, and a custom “drop zone” for bags, back packs, and coats.

The entryway - always a hot mess.

Until Matt did this. We raised the ceiling and added custom detailing, traded out dated railings for a code-compliant custom wire cable railing. Oh yeah, and the light fixture and the door (that was there before, but really pops now). {swoon}

This wall is between the “eat in” and the “formal dining room”, which we converted after the first kitchen remodel to a sitting/tv area.

Matt thought he was done when he widened this doorway. I was just getting started. ;-)

We tore out the walls above, making the three disjointed spaces one large, fluid living area. This was the hub of our home for a little over a year. Everything happened here.

We painted the existing cabinets Iron Ore, after Matt took the time to pop all of the moulding off of the fronts of the doors to give them a more contemporary feel without breaking the bank. He also designed and installed the custom wood accent wall and floating shelves. We had already replaced the standard white fridge from above with a 48” Viking Matt found on eBay a few years ago. And then more of the new gorgeous hardwoods.

And then one year later, we moved. We had plans and ideas for the basement and for the pool deck. We would have started those this fall. But God had other plans for us, I guess.

We will miss that house so much. We lived so much life there – holidays and ordinary days, parties and graduations, tears and fights, making up and redemption. It’s still bittersweet to know it’s gone, considering how perfect we had made it for our family. But, I’ve seen what we can do and I’m excited to do it again on this house and to see how much it becomes “us” in the coming months and years.

Thanks for being part of our journey! Have a wonderful week!