Making A More Beautiful Home

When they are done, we will have stained the steps a dark brown finish (slightly darker than the stain showing on the face of the steps), painted the face of the steps white, and put in a carpet runner.

I have the habit of not posting projects until they are finished, but the reality is our life isn't one beautifully finished project after another. It's a handful of finished projects and a dozens of on going ones.

Before we tore up the carpet, our plan was to restore the steps and add a carpet runner - partly so little feet running up and down in socks had some traction and partly to reduce the wear that wood steps can show. Surprisingly it appears as though the previous family had a runner at one point! Being a believer in restoring houses to their original design - this made me smile :)

Sometimes I feel like our house is a construction zone and people who visit are probably wondering why we would ever live in this state and that we should just finish it already...

Although there are definitely days I just want it all to "be done", I honestly like that we always have more projects to complete and more areas to improve. I enjoy renovating. It's a hobby; it brings me joy. I appreciate the end result more by experiencing the process (ehem... most of the time!)

Once you reach the landing, you turn and find these steps. Just like in the main living and dining area, under the carpet was black, tar-like glue that Tommy is mainly scraping by hand. I'll have to re-paint the trim next to the stairs since about an inch was hidden by the carpet and pad.

I'm not motivated to renovate and decorate our house to feel fulfilled or impressive. I don't need a completed home to enjoy life. Completing my home brings me joy in life.  In today's world, there is a cultural standard to have a beautiful, presentable, Pin-worthy home. I do want my home to be inspiring and loved. But I don't want it to be envied or lusted for.

Finding Contentment in an Unfinished Home

I love my home in it's unfinished state like I love my two children. By that I mean, even though I have tons of ideas and projects and improvements I'd like to make - I wouldn't have any less of a life if we never did finish our entire list. Even though I hope to be blessed with several more children - I wouldn't have any less of a life if God decided two was our number.

Whenever I'm planning my next project, I constantly try to remind myself why I want to make a more beautiful home. I love crafting, decorating, organizing, and DIYing - making my home beautiful is a way I can express my passions and creativity.

Making my home more beautiful is also making it possible to better serve my family and intentionally fulfill God's way of living.

I want our home to be a place where our children create memories, where we can have fellowship with friends, and where we continue to grow our family. 

I also still need to paint the trim (white) and door (maybe a bright color) at the top of the stairs, strip the hardware, and eventually take up the last of the green carpet that is in the upstairs hallway.

Much of my generation is blinded in thinking that what their parents have now - they had at our point in life and that they should be driving the same (or newer) cars, living on the same block, and having the same (or nicer) furniture.

I remember my mom renovating our house growing up. I remember every summer, during her break from school she would pick ONE room in the house to paint, maybe add a few pieces of furniture, and put up more pictures and decor. They couldn't afford to do the entire house at once. They did it a little at a time, as they could, just for fun and to make it a home for them.

I had friends with nicer houses that were "finished" and it seemed like they had more new furniture, decor, and renovations every few months... It's pretty obvious to me now, why.

My mom wasn't trying to keep up with anyone, she just wanted her house to be beautiful for her family. And she still does. 

Looking down from the top stair. A good visual of the last few steps that need to be cleaned off compared to the one on the bottom that is done! Tons of scraping!

And I'm happy to have every corner filled with a partial finished project.

The landing is partially scraped/sanded. The wood isn't in great shape and has some cracks, most of it will be covered by the runner though, so we'll fill them in with stainable wood glue to add some strength and reduce creaking. 

I especially like walking down these stairs in the morning and envision how they looked before and how they will look when they're finished.

When I painted the new banister, the carpet was covering the bottom of the spindles. I was waiting to do the second coat anyways so I'll finish what was tucked in the carpet then!

This is looking up from the landing. Once we find the right ladder (or save to buy one) we can cut along the edges of the wall and ceiling (when we bought the house they were painted that same tan color - along with all the trim and doors)

We have tons more to do, but our stairway has come a long way since November. And a project that seems like it's taking "forever" really is looking pretty good compared to the 30 year old green carpet, lace-y window treatments, and a metal outdoor banister we started with three months ago...

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