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You’ve probably heard the sayings, “love grows best in little houses” and “small houses build tight families” and I think those are both true! Our home has two bedrooms, one bathroom, a living space, dining room, kitchen, pantry/office and laundry room all in 996 square feet. That may not seem like a much, but the layout is fantastic and just the right size for a small family. My husband and I bought this 1920’s home about a year and half ago. All it lacked was storage, but I saw the potential.

The home was fully renovated in the 1990’s which meant we didn’t have to deal with plumbing or electric. We painted all of the walls and ceiling and updated the light fixtures. When we removed the carpet we were pleased as punch to find hardwood underneath! We didn’t have the money to fully restore and patch everything so we painted them with a white floor enamel instead. We love the look and it’s durable!

Unfortunately our living space lacks a coat closet. However, a coat rack does the trick. Eventually we are going to add built in cupboards and open shelving all around the piano and TV.

Welcome to my work in progress! This has been our latest project. We raised all the cabinets and painted them (still awaiting crown moulding and base trim). We added the open shelving below for everyday items which is both functional and aesthetically pleasing. Things like new appliances, countertops and backsplashes are not in our budget right now, but that’s okay! Don’t go in debt to renovate your home and don’t be afraid to DIY!

When we first looked at this home, this space used to be a mystery. It was empty and had no clear purpose. We decided to turn it into a shared floor to ceiling pantry and office space. We bought cabinets and made the countertops and open shelving ourselves. The lower cabinets hold all our extra appliances while the drawers hold spices and paper goods. It is by far my favorite room in the house right now. 🙂

A family command center is key in any home! My husband built this one by the back door.

Our next project is to build a banquette in this dining space. It will maximize the square footage and provide additional storage for things like games and linens underneath! For now though, this dining set we found on Craigslist and painted with Chalk Paint works nicely!

Our master bedroom is a cozy retreat. A wardrobe and small walk in closet hold all of our clothes.

My DIY jewelry holder made from an old drawer.

Thank you all for touring my home! I would love your feedback and I’m happy to answer any questions!

Welcome to our home!  A newly constructed one-bedroom apartment with floor to ceiling windows, urban design and contemporary finishes.  My husband and I are in our second year of marriage, and adjusting to a new life together has been a wonderful adventure that has brought us closer.  Decorating our apartment has been part of the fun of melding our lives together as a new family; finding creative yet inexpensive solutions to create a home we enjoy together and entertain in.

At 780 square feet, our storage spaces are very limited, so we’ve taken that as an opportunity, and to be honest sometimes a steep challenge, to keep life simple and eliminate clutter.  We’ve had to be creative and thoughtful in decorating and organizing our space, to make it into the space we want.

You’ve heard the saying, “One person’s trash is another person’s treasure”? I’ll share with you just a few fun finds as well as a few treasures that were a steal of a deal!

I love our bookshelf.  We use it  to display our travel memorabilia and it also serves to help define our dining room area.  It was scratched and covered in spider webs, but for $25, I couldn’t pass it up!  I actually bought it to hang as a giant headboard, but when my husband put it against the wall in our dining room to keep it out of the way, we realized how perfect it was for the space.

We used an old twin bed headboard  as a TV stand ($20).  We needed something narrow that would hug the wall in our cozy living room.  It’s also a perfect home for our favorite movies and shows.

Not everything was upcycled or previously used.  We also undertook a few projects or found deals to add fresh design to our space.

We created handmade pendant lamps for our bedside for under $20 each (a fun Valentine’s Day project we did together) and added simple white, sheer curtains to bring in a little privacy while making the most of our wonderful 9 foot ceilings and expansive windows along with a DIY pallet board painting (gathered wood from a friend and leftover paint).

As you see, little by little, we’re introducing fun, creative pieces to make our space a lovely home.  Thanks for stopping by!

Greetings OAL Followers,

We’re excited to announce a new blog series starting next week called OAL Team Home Tours. Each week one team member’s home will be featured. We realized some time ago that we have the perfect variety of homes amongst us ranging from a 700sq. ft. apt. to a multi-level home of more than 3,500 sq. ft. We will take you inside our homes and give you a glimpse of how each of us lives and loves our space. We hope this series will inspire you to learn to love the home your in…big or small, new or old!

My current team of organizers bring a wealth of design, decor and delight to any space!

If you want to learn more about how to live a simpler and more organized life then don’t miss out on Julie’s next Simply Organized Home class on April 18th. There are currently only 5 spots left. Please join me!

“A man travels the world over in search of what he needs and returns home to find it.” ~George Augustus Moore