I'm Back! 6 People in a 3 bedroom house

I'm back and I'm continuing house tour week(s)!  It's just been busy busy around here, so I had to put my house tour on hold for a few days.  Mondays are always a catch up day for us.  I'm amazed how my house can be basically picked up on Friday afternoon, but by Monday morning it looks like a herd of elephants came through!  And, then on Tuesday I had the pleasure of watching my dear 8 month old nephew, Evan.


So, before I jump into the next part of my tour, I have to share a neat story with you.  On Saturday there were yard sales up the road from us.  We decided to talk a walk up the road to go check them out.  My neighbor Marla was having one too & I had a chance to talk to her for a bit.  Marla is married to Wes and he is the son of Dan & Dora, the couple that built our house.  Wes and his 8 other siblings grew up in what is now our house. 


 Marla told me that she was enjoying my house tour.  At first I was surprised because I didn't realize she looked at my blog.  But, I was just tickled that she had stopped by the blog and was able to see more of what had been her in-law's house.  And, while Marla has been to our house since we've been living here, she hadn't seen the upstairs or the bathroom that we put in.  So, that was new for her.


Also, Marla & Wes' niece (if I'm remembering this correctly?), one of Dan & Dora's grandchildren was also at the yard sale.  She was interested in seeing what the house looked like after all these years.  And, I believe she also stopped by my blog when she learned about it.  Here is a comment I received...

"Wonderful improvements! I spent many hours as a child visiting my grandparents in this house, so I have many memories, and you've kept so much of the original look that all those memories pleasantly come back!"


It is so neat to realize that our home has history and holds wonderful memories for another family.  It really helps me to appreciate our home and work even harder to create good memories here for our own family.


Ok - on to the bedrooms.  Whenever I feel like we are in tight quarters in our home, I remind myself that Dan and Dora raised 9 children in this house!  Of course we took one of the upstairs bedrooms and turned it into a bathroom, but still...if they could make it work, so can we!


(Disclaimer:  I realized I was never going to get my rooms 'perfect' for this tour.  While they are more picked up than usual, what you see is what you get at our house.)

The Little Boy's Room

This is Charlie & Joseph's room.  This was one room upstairs where we laid down carpet over the hard wood.  It's just nice for a nursery I think.

The crib has been in constant use since our first son was born almost 8 years ago!

I mentioned that we had to add the closets upstairs.  There were none.  There used to be hooks on the walls for any clothes that needed to be hung.  And, I guess they kept everything else in wardrobes.

Even though this closet it in a boy's room, it is filled with my clothes.  Also, here's my attempt at organizing/rotating the toys.

The Big Boy's Room

Wyatt and Edison's room.  Notice the air hockey table.  I bought this at a yard sale last year for $5.  It was a great deal but it takes up so much space (and we're short on space).  I moved it up to their room recently.  It had been in residence in our computer room/office for the longest time.  Oh, and the shoe rack under the table is my attempt at space saving.

Bunk beds are great for boys!

The other side of the room.  There are hardwood floors in this room, but I found a large area rug at a yard sale for about $3 many years ago and the softer surface makes it a bit easier for the boys to play on the floor.

The unfinished closet in their room.  Why is is unfinished?  If you notice the metal shaft there, that is some material that is supposed to be part of the (unfinished) forced hot air heating system.  The upstairs was unheated.  The downstairs has radiators heated by our coal/wood furnace.  

One of my frustrations is figuring out where to go with everything until  the closet is finished.  There are 2 tall dressers in this room and both are stuffed with clothes.  I'd love to be able to eliminate one of the dressers.

The Master Bedroom

Folks on HouseHunters would be appalled.  The 'master' isn't really much larger than the other bedrooms & doesn't have it's own bathroom. (Gasp!  Horrors!)  But it's our room & we like it!

Our bedframe I bought probably 15 years ago when I was still a single woman.  It was a floor model on clearance for $90!  Our bedroom suit is the same one my parents bought for me when I was a teenager.  And, they bought it used!  It's sturdy, well-built, and has classic styling.  The only thing I might do is someday refinish everything with fresh stain or paint & get some new hardware.

My chair is covered in bags full of clothes for Goodwill and some other clothes thrown on top that I need to hang up.  Sorry.  The small (unfinished) closet space behind the chair was supposed to be a built in bookcase for me.  But, it's another part that is on hold until the upstairs heating is finished.  Right now my husband hangs his uniforms, motorcyle racing leathers, etc. in there.

The finished closet in our room is only large enough for my husband's stuff (which is why my clothes are hanging in the nursery closet).

The other side of our room.  The doorway goes to the attic.  Who knows?  Maybe someday we could turn the attic into a 'master suite'.  Just dreamin....

Original hardwood floors.  Yay!

This cedar chest sits at the foot of our bed.  And, it's very special to me because it was the cedar chest my grandfather gave to my grandmother as an engagement gift almost 70 years ago.

Thanks for stopping by.  Tomorrow I'll share my computer (junk) room. :)