Walking Backwards

I know I have already said this, but I'm too lazy to search the archives and it won't hurt to repeat it again. Joe and I have decided that our plan to sell this house and move after we had been here for five years is not feasible. Our house has increased in value to the point where we would not be able to afford it, and to buy a house we could afford would be decreasing our quality of housing. We would either have to move further out from the city or move into a smaller house on the outskirts (where we live now). Admittedly, our house is not ideal, but it's okay and comfortable and a good enough location. It's a little more than we want to spend, mortgage wise, though, and doesn't have the appeal of a funky older house inside the city (ideal for me). So . . . we're here to stay, for a while it seems.

Now, because we have decided to stay here long term, I can finally do some things to make this place mine. Some things like built in bookshelves. I am running into a problem, however. First, we're broke, these things cost money and we just don't have a lot to go around. Second, after years of apartment and house-hopping, our stuff is just not cohesive at all. Very little of it matches and there is no unifying characteristics. None of it seems to fit together. Several friends have recommended we just throw scarves over all of it and call it eclectic, but that just doesn't seem like a good idea or a long term solution. Knowing that we are going to be here long term has opened up a whole new set of possibilities. Like furniture. Third, with a toddler I have restrictions on my time and the amount of effort I can put out. My little boy just can't handle the idea of letting me paint.

So those are my problems. I need motivation and I need inspiration. As someone who hasn't put roots down into a place in a long time, I'm having a hard time figuring out what I'd like to do to make this place home. Really, I want it to reflect my life and Joe's life and Nicholas' life and be a place where we can accomplish what we want to accomplish and be comfortable. I figure that isn't too tall of an order, right? If I can only figure out what that means.

In the mean time, I have started a photo home to to get an idea of what we are beginning with. I've only done the front room so far, because I have to clean as I go and with two boys today, very few areas stay clean for long. Posting coming from Flickr in a few minutes.

This is the most finished room in our house. That way you know I do make an effort sometimes. We are still looking for a side board to go against the wall in this picture, but other than that, not too bad. The rest of the house, though, yikes! The holes in the wall of my bathroom are the worst.