In the summer of 2016 we started building an open concept raised bungalow acting as our own general contractors. We pretty much finished everything by the fall and were able to settle into the house before Christmas. The problem as an owner builder, when you also live in your house while you work on it, is projects don’t always get totally completed. So to keep myself on track with what still needs to be done, I’m going to take you on a tour of our home. I’ll give links to everything we’ve done so far, and list what we still have left to do.

 

House Plans

To begin with, I’ll remind you of our house plans. We built a 1650 square foot open concept raised bungalow with three bedrooms and two bathrooms, on 30 acres of land in the country. Our home is located in a small town south of Ottawa, ON.

Mudroom

Between the front hall and the garage is the mudroom. We wanted a large area we could use as a drop zone for all the kids clothes and boots, and hide it all away behind the pocket door. I built some benches out of furniture I had around the house, painted some apple crates for shoes, and hung hooks and baskets on the wall.

Front Hall

Going through a pocket door from the mudroom is the front hall. The front door is mainly used for guests to enter. All that’s left to do in the front hall is paint the trim and doors, and I’d also like to find a way to add a little bit of color.

Living room

Up the stairs from the front hall is the open concept living area.

I can’t show you the entire living room though. It’s a well used room, and I just can’t be bothered enough to clean it to take a picture.

In the living room I made some industrial curtains rods from pvc pipe, and I dyed some IKEA curtains a shade of pale blue. Left to do is to paint the trim, and hang some art.

Kitchen

Behind the living room is our l-shaped kitchen. We opted for dark wood shaker style cabinets, a white quartz counter, and a mixture of black and pewter finishes. There are a few things to finish in the kitchen, including the crown moulding, baseboard around the island, and then tile the backsplash. Throughout the house we did a mix of high and low end light fixtures to keep us on budget.

Dining room

The dining room is at the back of the house and has large windows that look out over the yard. I made the curtain rods and dyed the curtains to match those in the living room. And you guessed it, we still need to paint trim.

Covered deck

We finished installing the handrail on the deck just before it got really cold last fall. I did a pretty fancy diagonal pattern with the deck boards that I think turned out quite well. We have big plans for this back area (who knows when or if it will ever happen, but it never hurts to dream). We’d like to extend the upper deck, build a lower deck, and hopefully put in an above ground pool. 

Main hallway

The main living area is connected to all the bedrooms and bathrooms down the main hall. This is the most finished area in our house. I did this hall makeover as part of the spring one room challenge, where my whole plan was to install and paint all the trim and doors in the house. We did finish installing all the trim in the house, but I ran out of time and didn’t finish painting it.

Main bathroom

We finished off the main bathroom last fall. We tiled the shower ourselves using large white subway tile. That was a big job and nearly broke me. The vanity is a dark grey, and we have a white quartz counter with shiny chrome accents.

Girls bedroom

The girls bedroom is another room that is pretty much finished. I painted three walls the same color as the rest of the house, but added a bright pink accent wall. There’s a fun mix of colorful furniture that I painted, including this toddler bed. I still need to paint the trim, and I would like to paint my daughter’s pink bed to clash less with all the other pinks going on.

 

Boys bedroom

In the spring 2018 One Room Challenge we finished the boys bedroom by building a loft bed with a reclaimed wood desk underneath.  This is now my favorite room in the house.

Master bedroom

We finished up our master bedroom in the fall of 2017. It went from a bland and boring bedroom to one that is colorful and fun.

Here is our bedside table makeover

We also have a large walk-in closet that we customized to maximize the storage space.

Master bathroom

The last thing I showed you from our bathroom was our plans for tiling. The bathroom is pretty much done, but there’s a few more little things we need to do before we can say it’s finished.

Basement

We still need to finish the stairs down to the basement to match the stairs going upstairs. In the basement we will eventually build a wall between the furnace area and the rest of the basement. We would also like to put in a bathroom, two bedrooms, and a living area. This is a long-term plan, and we probably won’t even think about it for five years.

Outside

There is so much landscaping to do when you build a house. There is a lot to do and I’m sure it will take a long time to get a nice looking property. We also did some stamped concrete on our front step, and I planted a wildflower meadow at the front corner of our property. Outside we still need topsoil in some areas, and I’d like to plant flower beds at the front of the house.

That’s it for the house tour, thanks for visiting!

If you liked this and would like to see more from me, please sign up for email to have every post delivered to your inbox!

If you want to find out more about me and my family, check my about page