The Pre-Baby Home Tour continues today! I’m actually super glad I decided to take these photos of our house before bringing Froggy home, even just for posterity’s sake.
Last week, I showed you our Sunroom, Dining Room and Kitchen.
Today, we turn to the other half of the main floor where we have the foyer, powder room and living room.
I’m gonna start with the BAD… The very, very, BAD.
The Powder Room aka the ‘This is Embarrassingly Tiny and Seriously Hideous’ Space
Ummm. Sorry guys. I have no words for this. I haven’t touched this room. Like not at all. Let’s just consider everything in this room as a BEFORE shot, mmmmk?
It has the same stupid aluminum sink as our upstairs bathroom. A HORRIBLY, too-large for the space, HIDEOUS vanity, an old leaky WOODEN SEAT toilet…
Oh, and let’s talk about the size? It’s 16 square feet. SIXTEEN…Okay, maybe it’s 20? But it’s the smallest ever. I’d LOVE to just rip out ALL THE THINGS and give this teeny space a refresh. Hex tile on the floor, subway tiles on the walls, a bold paint colour, new mirror, new vanity, new toilet, new lighting… Are you sensing the theme here? 😉 Although, I did update the door with this opaque glass one… which I do love. But I installed it and then didn’t even so much as prime it or paint it… so it’s totally unfinished looking.
I don’t know if this is on my list or not. But if that toilet kicks the bucket one more time, it might happen. I’ve already shelled out more in repairs than it would be to buy a new one… so there’s that. 
Borrowed time Ol’ Wooden Seat… Borrowed Time *cackles*
The Front Door and Entryway aka the ‘Just do Whatever Works because None of this Makes Sense’ Space
Another space that drives me up the wall, but we can’t do much about. We have enough room to swing the front door open before the first half flight of stairs to a landing that is unreasonably narrow due to – you got it – the powder room plumbing stack and the code-required railing that the previous owners turned into a shelf.
We closed in part of the shelf and we also painted this space (because it used to be a FULL WALL MURAL) and I’ve tried chairs, benches, tables – nothing seems to really work well here. So for now, it’s plain as plain can be and I’ll see how life progresses with a Baby.
We removed the old bi-fold doors from the front hall closet (they became outdoor shutters!), wall papered it for interest, added a narrow shoe cabinet and some coat hooks.
We also painted the previously black door a bright blue. I’d love to do the OUTSIDE of the door next spring. We shall see 😉
The Living Room aka the ‘Hardest Damn Layout to Nail Down in the History of Forever Amen’ Space
I think of any room in our house, I switch the living room around the most. Preparing for Froggy, I moved the couch back under the window (you can read more about our new couch purchase here) and off-set the chairs. Essentially, I wanted to create a square of open floor space for the playpen, swing or play mat.
I’ve rearranged our gallery wall above our DIY floating credenza and cleared most of the space below it. 
I expect to fill in some of that space with toy baskets – but I want to see how things go first.
In the other corner near our planked wall (and facing the foyer), I have an open-style bookshelf and a storage basket turned side table. I’ll let you in on a little secret though! I’ve already purchased something to replace that bookshelf that will be larger and pack a better storage punch.
I think I’m going to try moving this bookshelf into the dining room in lieu of the current blue buffet. I’m hoping it might be able to handle some kitchen overflow of dried goods and ceramics if I can get my organization game face going. It’s a bit up in the air… but you can probably expect to see a new piece in this corner very soon!
Meantime, I’m still loving our china cabinet and refinished thrifted chairs. They worked really well for overflow guests when we hosted my recent Baby Shower and I love how they just tuck out of the way.
Alright, next we’ll head upstairs! Hoping to have this tour finished up next week for you 🙂
-E
xoxo
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Hi! I’m Erin and I wrote this post!
I’m a former broadcast journalist turned DIY blogger; I love all things paint, and power tools. My husband and I work on DIY Passion to share our commitment to inspire others to see beauty in the every day. I love dogs, cats, Han Solo and pie – probably in that order. If you’d like to chat about working together, please get in touch and sign up for our email updates.
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