Hello all you fabulous people! We’re thrilled to be a part of this Christmas tour today, where we’re sharing our home with so many other amazing sites! This is a great series, and our friends are linked below! Be sure to check them out if you’re looking for more inspiration this season. So pull up a chair and your favorite warm beverage and let’s take a little tour, shall we?
A little bit about us if you aren’t familiar with The Handmade home…
We’re a family owned remodel/design firm located just outside of Nashville in Franklin, Tennessee. We have three hilarious kiddos and two rescue pups. We purchased this 1970’s fixer upper which we lovingly refer to as the money pit, three years ago, and took on a full rehab adventure. Since we work with fabulous clients, so you can spy our portfolio here. You can follow along with our money pit journey here + shop our spaces, here. Let’s get started!
When we share spaces in our home all dressed up for the holidays, we love sharing a little before and after, too.
Just in case we forget how far we’ve come… this was no small feat ;}
Our kitchen on the main level, started out as a little kitchen that had not been touched since 1980 something. As it turns out, this is just the kind of thing we love to get our hands on. When we stepped into this space, we immediately fell in love.
So we knocked down those walls and took out the ceiling as well, with an LVL beam to fully utilize the space. What was previously 4 rooms became one big room, which we now lovingly refer to as the kitchen and great room on the main level. We love how bright and open it is now.
A large island makes for a great central gathering area, along with double ovens for awesome cooking options.
Since we actually get questions about this one all the time, we still adore our soapstone + marble countertops from Polycor.
This was once upon a time, the view from what is now the other side of the kitchen. A long, formal living / dining room. And a tiny entryway. We love how cozy it now feels, all dressed up for the holidays.
This is the view from the opposite wall, upon entering the house. Tiny fan included.
And this is what it looks like now, that we’ve opened up the space. We tend to move our Christmas tree around each year in this room, and this year, it landed to the right. Since we’ve done so much work on the house, the grand plan is that the right side will become a coffee/bar area. To the left is where we have plans {beginning the process this year!} of knocking through that wall to add our master suite.
We’ve updated our lights this year to Kichler and love the big changes!
In this little corner, once upon a time, looked like this. We loved sprucing it up for Christmas!
What we love the most about it, is that there’s a TV behind that art.
These stockings were made by an amazing shop once upon a time on Etsy, but are no longer available.
Ampersand art available here!
When we moved the walls, we also centered the cabinetry on the far wall. That meant moving the existing window, and adding another. Two of our favorite pieces we added are these stained glass windows we scored at the flea market that summer. At the time, we purchased them with no idea where we would use them. Then, we remembered the sun sets on this side. On sunny afternoons, the whole kitchen lights up with multicolored sunbeams. Sometimes you grab something if you’re drawn to it, even if you aren’t sure where it will go.
This was once the small den on the other side of the eat in area of the kitchen. Where Emerson is standing was a porch which now leads off to our latest addition, which we’ll share more of below.
The space now looks like this…
One of our recent changes to really utilize storage space in the room, is this window seat addition. Once upon a time, the kitchen looked like this from this angle…
We loved adding a custom cushion and another matching vent from vent covers unlimited – we have them throughout our house and they’re our favorite little addition with all the details.
See more about this little area, here!
Ever since we removed those walls, we knew there was no turning back. We love how perfect it is for entertaining.
The stairwell to the upper rooms once looked like this…
And now it’s light and bright again. We love this little seating area.
Which brings us to all things fun decor upstairs. We’ve placed trees in the kiddos’ rooms since they were babies. Every year, they add ornaments, and honestly love the process of a tree to decorate all their own. This was Aiden’s room once upon a time before the renovation…
And here it is all cozy and warm for the holidays. All three shared a space for a while until we could give him room of his own, since we did the renovation in stages. When we talk about splitting them all up in the future, he knows he’ll have the smallest room. He doesn’t mind. He absolutely loves having his own space.
And our youngest two share this room. When no one is looking, we’d even argue they prefer it that way.
I mean, I guess the cornea-burning red before, was appropriate for the holidays.
And that leaves us with our master for now. The plan is that one day our daughter will have this room, if we get the chance to build on to the house. We love the set up for kids and parents on different areas of the house for a little privacy, since we’re all next door right now. But this space has come a long way from dirty fans and sketchy closets.
But back to the main floor… because our addition that we just added onto the back, once looked like this:
And we loved decking it out for the holidays this year. We found this white flocked Christmas tree here + love the addition this year.
You can read all about our colorful Christmas mantel, here!
I’m looking forward to things slowing down, so I can enjoy this view a little more.
And I adore this angle, too… a peek back into the great room.
You may notice that our pups seem to love to lay in about every photo. They’ve loved posing since they were rescue puppies, and I think that since they’re farm dogs at heart, they really enjoy posing/working for the camera. I’ll whip it out and they follow me around in hopes of earning a treat. ;}
We loved adding trees this year to the downstairs, too.
But in case you’ve missed this before… it’s probably the most drastic.
We incorporated the old garage into a functioning basement for our family. It holds our main entryway {because everyone needs a hall tree for their children and all things school}, bonus room area, laundry space and my office.
We couldn’t help but add a little Charlie Brown – esque Christmas tree, alongside another fun tree with bright fat colorful bulbs.
It’s our favorite spot to gather for movies and family game nights. You’d never know it once looked like this…
And the kids loved decking the halls down here, too with sweet, meaningful ornaments.
We didn’t get a chance to deck out the hideaway this year, but we do love this fun shot.
Thanks so much for tuning in!
Have an inspired day! And don’t miss the other fabulous sites participating in their tours, too!
Sharing today with me are….
Wednesday
Taryn Whiteaker Designs ** Just a Girl and Her Blog ** Cherished Bliss
So Much Better With Age ** Cassie Bustamante
Lemon Thistle ** The DIY Mommy ** Love Create Celebrate
The Handmade Home ** Craftberry Bush
And sharing the rest of this week…
Monday
The Happy Housie ** Shabbyfufu ** Jenna Kate at Home
Inspiration for Moms ** We’re the Joneses
Rambling Renovators ** Home Made Lovely ** My 100 Year Old Home
Maison de Cinq ** Nick + Alicia
Tuesday
House by Hoff ** The Tattered Pew ** Clean & Scentsible
The Turquoise Home ** Rain on a Tin Roof
Stacy Risenmay ** This is Our Bliss ** Southern State of Mind
Styled with Lace ** Life is Better At Home
Thursday
Grace In My Space ** Rooms For Rent ** Modern Glam
Happy Happy Nester ** Town and Country Living
Two Twenty One** Place of My Taste ** Life is a Party
Sincerely, Marie Designs ** Willow Street Interiors
Friday
Tatertots and Jello ** A Pretty Life in the Suburbs ** Maison de Pax
She Gave it a Go ** Summer Adams
Amber Tysl ** All Things With Purpose ** Cuter Tudor
Chrissy Marie Blog ** The Happy Housie
Anna says
Love all the beautiful additions to your home! Gorgeous!
cassie bustamante says
wow! what a fabulously fun tour! i love your colorful mantle so much, and just love seeing those befores- you guys have made this place amazing!
ashley @ the handmade home says
Thank you so much Cassie! Your photos are absolutely gorgeous! Can’t wait to check out everyone elses!
Krista says
What an amazing renovation and looks beautiful decked out for Christmas. I love before and afters! Thanks for sharing your home on the blog hop. Merry Christmas Ashley!
ashley @ the handmade home says
Thanks so much for having us, Krista – it’s an honor to be included. Can’t wait to get around and see everyone’s!
Jamie says
Wow, I loved seeing all the before and after photos! And all decorated for Christmas?! You’re blowing my mind! Love your home and your family.
Hugs, Jamie
ashley @ the handmade home says
You’re too sweet, Jamie! Hope you’re having an amazing week! Your photos are gorgeous!
Abby Lawson says
Wow! What an incredible transformation! And I love all of the fun and festive colors for the holidays! Thank you so much for sharing!!
Stephanie @ Casa Watkins Living says
Omg so many fabulous changes! Wonderful to see that there is a light at the end of the renovation tunnel I’m still in.
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