Two years ago, today, we moved into this house–our very first after looking at over 90 homes and putting an offer on two others.  But when we walked into this one–our eyes were big. This was it.  Our hands were eager with paintbrushes…and cleaning supplies. The first year, from 2011 to 2012, was a major learning experience that I wouldn’t trade for anything. It’s good to paint rooms whatever color you want, just because you can. This past year, we have finally settled into a style that we like and honed our decor choices.  It is pretty different from the look we thought we loved our first year.  But that is O. Kay. You live and learn. In our second year in this home, we focused on eight spaces.

This year we upgraded the mirror in our entry and added super slim shoe storage–a game changer. I don’t know how we lived without it.

Our living room also went through a major transformation–a transformation that isn’t complete, but looks dramatically different even still:

Our staircase is a great example of how pushing it a little farther can do wonders:

Of course the kitchen is still a work in progress, but check out how far we’ve come in a year.  In two years!  (Psst. 2013’s photo was taken before we added the third open shelf.)

This time last year, we were knee-deep in our family room renovation.  It was the first room we really transformed into what we really, really liked–on the second try. ;)

The laundry room also got a makeover in our second year.  This room definitely holds the biggest bang for our buck, with our only major purchase being a new sink and cabinet for around $300.

This was also the year we finally opened the door to the second upstairs bedroom and transformed it into my studio:

Most recently, we put the “done” stamp on Greta’s big-girl room that is now warm, playful and classic.

And lastly, because she changes even more than the rooms in our home, here how Greta-the-great has changed over the past two years.