summer tour of homes : the handmade home
Hello lovely friends + happy Monday!
If you’ve just dropped by from Home Stories of A to Z, welcome!
We’re honored to participate in the Summer Tour of Homes hosted by The Shabby Creek Cottage, so thanks for dropping by! All week long, some super fun bloggers will be sharing their homes. So be sure to check in all week and read all about their tours!
Today, I wanted to give you a tour of our little place. So we hope you’re comfy with a cup of whatever-makes-you-happy… we’re glad to have you!
First off, if you aren’t here often… let’s just clear the air shall we? I’m a mom of three littles. That means that the house more than likely looks like this {see photo below} at the moment. Okay. It definitely looks like this. The dog vomits. The kids poop. The laundry piles. If you’re a real person who lives life… You know the drill. It’s life.
This whole parenting gig can be a wild ride, and my inner perfectionist and recovering people pleaser are both learning to embrace it for what it is and enjoy.
When it comes to our home, we believe in the power of paint, a little bravery, and a lot of fun to change our home into what we truly love. When we first purchased our little builder’s grade home, it felt like a last minute decision in a taupe/brown lover’s paradise. Not ‘us’ at all. Our first home sold super fast and we were left searching… with limited options for our price bracket at the time. We moved in to the home we live in now, settled down, and left it as it was, for a while. I was already planning out my next house. And then the market plummeted, and I decided to stop pining away for that beautiful farmhouse kitchen I wanted so badly.
We decided to just go for it, and make it what we wanted it to be.
Not the future supposed homeowners of said home. Not something my sister in law’s second cousin would approve of… just us. We decided to do what we wanted. So we broke a few conventional “rules” to live life in our home like it was our last one. And it was liberating. The best decision we ever made.
It all started with a little paint… and…
Down with the brown, and florescent lights. Hello eclectic farmhouse love.
We’ve never been happier with a space.
You can read more about that transformation, here + here.Â
{And more about this cork board project here.}
Also, we painted our tired old fridge in chalkboard paint. One of our favorite projects, ever.
We added a simple Ikea sink {for fractions of the typical cost} and tada! Our kitchen was finito and totally changed for the cost of paint, fabric and a new sink. We still love it.
Our dining room before :
It was dark and that window was a bit of a challenge… and we went from closed in and limited to this…
We had a welder friend of ours put together a design, and he also helped us score some amazing barn wood from an old peanut barn that was being torn down… which we turned into shelving. It was one of those serendipitous moments in decorating that make you really really happy. {More on that here and here.}
It’s the perfect room for entertaining!
Our living room was in the same condition when we moved in. Wonderful… {with apparent ghost specs-see ‘mysterious’ floating dust orb below} but not our style.
 
A little paint and some sofa drama… brings us to the heart of our home and a room we adore.
Being brave with our home doesn’t mean we don’t make mistakes. It means we pull ourselves back up off our faces and learn from them. Because of this, we love the stories each space tells… even more. We’ve left our own personal stamp on it.
Our laundry room, which is right off the kitchen, drove me crazy once we had our kitchen where we wanted it. The dark cabinets and blinds had to go.
With a little paint, and some board and batten… the change was totally worth it.
Read more about the space, here + our ‘sexy’ sign, here.Â
I have room to work in this space, and the kids can hang their school bags. It’s a mud/laundry multifunctional space, if you will.
We’ve stayed in this home for longer than we thought we would ever stay… and it’s been the best thing for us. It’s forced us to think through our spaces, and grow with our home. A great exercise in the process of creating.
This room is currently in transition… as is this one.Â
But it’s fun to see the changes that take place as our family grows.
We’re in the process of simplifying, organizing, and redesigning a few things… to make our home work for us.
Our boys share a space, and you can read more about that, here.
Our own master bedroom space is our retreat. There’s no place like your own bed.
Which brings me to… one of my favorite pieces in our home. The envelope my great grandparent’s marriage certificate was mailed in. Blown up in a handmade frame… a nod to simpler times.Â
In the grand scheme of all things redo, the veranda was something we took on, even before our kitchen. It once looked like this:
We had a contractor build a small wall to enclose the space, and add square footage to our home. We took it from UPS brown…
To this.
Right now, it looks like this.Â
And sometimes this. See: my future office. Stay tuned.
Outside, the UPS brown continued. UPS brown is fabulous… if you’re a UPS truck. Our yard was very sad.
So we decided to do something about it last fall. It’s our very favorite, and if anything makes our home feel larger… surprisingly enough, it’s this.
You can read all about our own little oasis, here.Â
Over time, with a little patience and work… our home has truly become our haven. And we love it. Thanks for stopping by!
Here’s a few more of our favorite spaces:
Read more about Scarlett’s nursery, here. 
And this big gal room redo, here.Â
We’re off for some more tropics of south Alabama fun! ;}
Have an inspired day, y’all + let us know if you have any questions… we’ll do our best to help!
NEXT STOP in the tour: Be sure to hop on over to my sweet friend Kristin’s blog…The Hunted Interior.
Be sure to check out all the fun homes… We can’t wait to see, either! ;} Here’s a list!
DAY 1 (June 3rd)
House 1 – Gina @ The Shabby Creek Cottage
House 2 – The Nester @ Nesting PlaceÂ
House 3 – Mandi @ Vintage Revivals
House 4 – Beth @ Home Stories of A to Z
House 5 – Ashley @ The Handmade Home (That’s us, y’all!)
House 6 – Kristin @ The Hunted Interior
DAY 2 (June 4th)
House 1 – Beckie @ Infarrantly Creative
House 2 – Jen @ Tatertots and Jello
House 3 – Chris @ Just a Girl
House 4 – Brooke @ All Things Thrifty
House 5 – Karen @ The Graphics Fairy
House 6 – Emily @ Decor Chick
House 7 – Roeshel @ DIY Show Off
DAY 3 (June 5th)
House 8 –Â Melissa @ The Inspired Room
House 9 –Â Wendy @ The Shabby Nest
House 10 –Â Donna @ Funky Junk Interior
House 11 –Â Marianne @ Songbird
House 12 –Â Lisa @ The Pennington Point
House 13 –Â Angie @ The Country Chic Cottage
House 14 – Brittany @ PrettyHandyGirl
DAY 4 (June 6th)
House 15 –Â Rhoda @ Southern Hospitality
House 16 –Traci @ Beneath My Heart
House 17 –Â Stacy @ Not Just a Housewife
House 18 –Â Jen @ Jennifer Rizzo
House 19 –Â Lindsay @ Makely Home
House 20 –Â Sandra @ Sawdust Girl
DAY 5 (June 7th) – Link Party at The Shabby Creek Cottage!
Your home is so gorgeous. I love it all. I am always wowed by your style and your realistic approach to home design!
i just love your home and seeing it all together makes me love it so much more! you are amazing!
Your house is off the shizzle. I’ve always loved it but it’s so much fun to see it all in one place. I somehow missed the pergola and exterior makeover! I LOVE it. Gorgeous. You are a genius. Enough said.
Thanks sweet gal. You are too kind! ;}
I love UPS brown because I am married to the handsomest, most wonderful UPS driver in the world. But as a whole house color? It has no appeal! How is Eileen, your sofa? Is she still on the injured reserve list? Thanks to your inspiration, our Handmade Hideaway is coming along nicely. The kids are very excited!
yay for UPS! Are you the one who wrote me about the curtains? I am behind on all my emails. Getting to it if you are! ;} {insert sheepish I’m-perpetually-behind-grin, here}
No, but you can tell me about them if you would like! Or we can talk about young boys who don’t care if they poop in the potty. (Youngest is 6. Doody goes in the toilet for the past 2 years. Mommy does happy dance!) Or we can discuss kids who sleep in our room. (Same kid. Sleeping in the kids’ room for over a week now!)
Found you via the link-up at Vintage Revivals. The transformation of your home from dark and blah to light and lively is incredible! I can feel the electric energy through your photographs! Thank you for sharing!
OH, I enjoyed every single pic of your home tour! So fun to see it all in one place. Girl, the vision ya’ll have created is just amazing with that house. I love, love it all. You are SO talented with the afters.
Your home is GORGEOUS! Thanks for all the inspiration to tackle my own home!
I love your house. It’s so nice and pulled together without being fussy.
Please please please tell me what color your siding is painted! It’s such a nice color, and we’re planing on painting out siding soon (it’s blue, ugh) and I’m having the hardest time finding the right color.
From one DIY girl to another I know how much work went into the house and I am amazed! You have completely transformed it. Do your neighbors stop by just to look around? I’d be peeking in the windows to see what you’re up to next. Just beautiful! Lisa~
Thanks so much, Lisa! You are too sweet. I adore your house as well! ;} Can’t wait to see your tour! ;}
Wow! What a fabulous makeover! You’ve done a great job making the house your home. I can’t decide which area is my favorite. I love it ALL!
:o) Cecilia
Girl you have outdone yourself! I am so in love with your home (as with everything you do.) The art? I die.
Thank you so much for joining the tour!
This makes me feel so inadequate! I’m in love and struggling with the complete sin of coveting! LOL What a fantastic job. I am in complete AWE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Awe don’t feel inadequate. at ALL. Just remember our home really looks like the piled laundry pic, I’ve made a career out of this so I make time for it as a priority… and if it makes you feel better my three year old still craps his pants. YEEHAW! ;}
OH MY GOSH! At first I was freaked out that you shared that, but now I cannot stop laughing! With seven kids, that’s a comment that hilariously I can relate to! Please come work on my home! Please….pretty please. I’ll potty train your three year old while you do. 😉
This change is THE MOST AMAZING and beautiful I think I’ve ever seen. If I were you, I’d never leave this home. Congrats on all your creativity.
wow your house is so beautiful! love that you turned a builder grade house into something so unique and personal. my fave part is your outdoor makeover – what a beautiful change! fantastic work!!
— jackie @ jade and oak
— $50 shabby apple giveaway
I love your house! It is totally my style. This is the first time I have seen your site and I am so excited I found you! Thanks for the tour!
Your home is an amazing transformation. I loved it. Thank you for sharing.
I’m so glad I found your blog today! Your decorating style and colors are very similar to my own and we just moved into a builder’s beige home ourselves. So this post give me hope. It’s amazing what a little paint and personal touches will do for a bland house. I enjoyed your house tour so much! Thanks for sharing.
I am new to your blog…..this post has been a wee party for my eyes. So full of fun and colour and happy. I’ll be sure to visit you regularly! Ps I also have 3 littles. It’s 11:35 am. I’m in jammies. Laundry is piled, fridge is empty, toys are strewn, yet here I sit, glued to your post. Thanks for the Mom break-just what I needed 🙂
Everything you guys touch turns to fun! I love your style almost as much as I love you!
xo-Kristin
XOXOXOXOXOX! ;}
You’re home is absolutely gorgeous! I love the changes you made!
Oh my goodness… KABOOM is what comes to mind. I just got a dose of OH MY GOSH LOOK AT THAT. 🙂 Aside from your gorgeous pops of colour everywhere, your kids must be in absolute Heaven! I adore so so much! The colour itself makes your stylin’ home so warm and friendly and a pretty cool place to visit!
Oh my goodness, Donna. You are too sweet. You had me laughing… Can’t wait to see your awesome tour!!! ;}
Oh my goodness… I am sooo in love with your house!!! You totally transformed that house!!! So wonderful!! Totally inspired!!
I am in LOVE with your home and so excited that I found your blog through the summer home tours! I will definitely be pinning several of these photos. Your home looks so inspiring and creative and awesome! Thank you so much for sharing and showing that a builder’s grade home can be given character and personality with some work and imagination 🙂
~Katie
I am an interior designer and I am awed! Kudos! Simply brilliant! Want to live in it!
Your house is sooo amazing! I would trade you in a second! I absolutely love you blog design also!
Thank you so much Shanna. We had fun doing it all! ;}
Wow your home is amazing!! So warm and comfy!! Where did you get that awesome tepee?? Love everything!!!
Hey Elma! You can read all about it here. https://www.thehandmadehome.net/2013/02/a-no-sew-teepee/ It’s a no sew diy teepee. ;}
Your house is amazing! hands down my favorite of the summer tour series that I’ve seen. So inspiring!
Oh my goodness – I am in love with your home. I love bright and happy and your home just blows me away. And what a difference from the before pictures! Amazing.
xoxox
Awe thanks so much Jen. Hugs to you. ;}
I just love oozing over your site. Your home is absolutely gorgeous. I wanted to let you know though, that I can never look at it for very long. As the page loads, the pictures all become broken. They have no picture, with the sad little torn picture in the middle. I don’t know if this is a problem on your end of mine. I have checked everything I know of on my end. Does this happen to anyone else? and if so, did you fix it? and if so, how?
Nicole
your end *or mine.
Hey Nicole! No one else has said anything to me – you’re the first person with that problem. but I will keep my ears + eyes open, and we’ve sent it over to our friend who manages this for us. Thanks so much for stopping by!
I have experienced a similar thing in the past but not for a while. Sometimes your page takes forever and a day to load and the icons and pics aren’t where they’re supposed to be. I’ll try to scroll down and it bungs the whole thing up or creates an error. I think the problem is on my end but I’ve wondered if there was something about your page because I don’t have that problem with any other blog. worth looking into I suppose.
I agree, this is such a great site. What a fantastic home too.
Wow! I haven’t been over for a while (so happy to see your participation in the summer tour of homes). What a transformation! Every photo and before/after is more jaw dropping than the previous. Awesome work, gorgeous home!
Ashley~What a transformation from the brown to WOW!! What a little paint and elbow grease can do. Your house is beautiful and bright and cheerful. Love it!! Also, love your sense of humor. I enjoyed the whole post. I’m a new follower. Thanks for sharing you! ~Linda
Your home is beautiful (coming to you via The Nester) there is so many things to love about your house but your laundry room has me swooning!
Absolutely a wonderful home for your children!
Just pinned the snot out of your outdoor patio/space. You’ve given our postage stamp yard some serious inspiration and hope!
Hey – remember when we had tacos together at Blissdom like 800 years ago? For some reason I just remembered that and had a laugh. Wish I could nosh with you again now that I actually “know” you! 😉
Beautiful home, Lady. Be. You. Tee. Full.
Awe thanks sweet friend. Let’s go back in time! ;} Or to the future and set that one up.
I love it and wish I had your touch. It’s gorgeous and fun at once. I love the master bedroom especially. The veranda both ways is nice. Glad I stumbled across this.
I am on the house tour and have to tell you that I adore your space and your philosophy. I have always been of the mindset that your house is YOURS, not the next buyer’s or an HGTV clone. I am adding you to my blog list!
Sue
Oh wow I love everything about your home. And I love seeing the before and afters! Your home truly looks like it came out of a magazine! love it!!!
SO FUN, I just love touring your home and seeing all the ways you’ve made it your own! I love all the personality and color you bring into your home, it looks like SUCH a cheerful place to be! I wish I could come over to look at it in person :-).
This transformation is INCREDIBLE, and so super inspiring! Even though our tastes are somewhat different, these photos give me hope that our new house can someday be the home I dream of! Thank you so much for sharing.
thank you! ;}
I love all of the awesome things you’ve done to your home. That backyard space is amazing.
Oh my, such a beautiful home! Love the boys room – the bed idea is fab. I’m jealous of your laundry room and your backyard oasis is stunning. Thank you so much for the tour!
I love, love, love you home 🙂 After meting you in real life I see you are just as fun, and cheery as your home. Love it!!!
Can I move in? Absolutely beautiful! I need to start painting rooms in my house!!
What a wonderful transformation. It looks like a real home…not a model home. I love the way you included all your family pictures too.
My kids – and I would love to move right in! Love your use of color and I could live in that cute little treehouse!
Kelly
Want to trade? I could seriously live in your house. Beautiful, fun, colorful and comfy–all the things a home should be.
I am completely in love with your home!!!
Your house is so fun and vibrant. I love that it has so much personality. It truly is so inviting! I want to come hang out!!! 🙂 kudos to you for an awesome job! Thanks for your inspiration. I too hate the brown box house. After reading your post (your so funny) I feel excited to get to work on my own home! Thanks for sharing!
I love everything about this home. The colors are great and I wish I was braver to add more bold colors in. You have made your house such a personal home with all of your photos. LOVE!!
I love your home. I home a fan of a home that celebrates that a family lives there.
Your home was a pleasure to visit. I love how you made this home yours not just the banks. It is so very hard to take that leap from mortgage to all about our family home. Your home has a wonderful aura. Lucky children also love how they have not been left out of the fun from play to sleep. Hugs:-)))
I love how you started it with a “keeping it real” photo. It made me want to read more and check out more of your posts. Bloggers who share the personal side of life feel more real and genuine to me, so thanks! And I absolutely love your home. My house started out opposite of builder beige – previous homeowner crazy! Every room was a different color with different color trim. Nothing to tie anything together except the overuse of decorative wallpaper. My quest over the last 6 years has (slowly) been to paint each room, all the trim, remove the wallpaper and soooo much more. Some day I’d love to have a new kitchen and bathroom. But until then, I’ve been working on adding my own touch. Now if only my backyard looked like yours….
I love what you said about not waiting for the next house and just doing things we love for where we are now! We too live in a builder basic and I’ve saved tons of inspiration for that ‘next house’. Thanks for inspiring me to get on it and do something with this one, too ;o)
You’re house is amazing! You’ve done so well with it!! I have to ask…what color white did you use in the living room? It looks so clean and crisp!
Hey Jami! It’s Benjamin Moore’s Chantilly Lace. Our favorite white! ;}
I’m just completely amazed at your home’s transformation. It’s absolutely beautiful, light, colorful, and filled with so much character. Your kids are so lucky to grow up in such a happy home. Wonderful job!
Thank you so much Jennifer!
Ypur home is beautiful, and so personalized, I love it! Our home is also UPS brown, and I’m wondering, did you replace you’re siding, fascia, and soffit or were you able to paint them? The ‘after’ of the outside of your home looks completely different. Great job!
Hey Jessica! Thank you so much! Our siding is made of Hardie Board. So it’s paintable. I hope that helps! ;}
I LOVE LOVE LOVE your house!! We are renting and plan to buy in the next year or two! You have given me soooo much inspiration!! So glad I found you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thank you, Lindsey! ;}
my goodness! that house is amazing! love everything about it. Good work and congratulations! you must really love being there. Any tips or advice for renovating or decorating on a shoestring??
Joy
Thanks, Joy! I smell a post coming! ;}
I absolutely love your home. My house started out opposite of builder beige – previous homeowner crazy! Every room was a different color with different color trim. Nothing to tie anything together except the overuse of decorative wallpaper. My quest over the last 6 years has (slowly) been to paint each room, all the trim, remove the wallpaper and soooo much more. Some day I’d love to have a new kitchen and bathroom. But until then, I’ve been working on adding my own touch. Now if only my backyard looked like yours….