2024 House Tour {Five Years!}

Five years, y’all. FIVE YEARS in this house! It’s honestly hard to process. When we moved into this house in 2019, we had a tiny toddler and a kindergartener. Corey still worked in an office, and we had a sweet but anxious Doberman.

Today? We have two elementary-aged kiddos (and one of them is heading to middle school next year). Corey has changed careers and is a realtor (and loving every second!), and our Doberman is no longer with us, but we have two other dogs.

It’s a LOT of change for five years!

Every year, as we approach the anniversary of moving into this house (which we also refer to as our house’s birthday), I like to take some time to photograph the entire house. My goal is to capture a moment in time – exactly how our home looks this year. I make sure it’s clean, but I don’t stage it or do anything more than I’d do if you were coming over for dinner. I love having these photos to look back on and see how far our home has come.

And, I say this every year, but I don’t think this is just for bloggers! I’ve heard from many of you who have started to photograph your home every year just to capture the memories. There’s something so special about looking back and seeing how your home has evolved over the years. I love spotting the stray toy tucked under a chair, the dog that snuck into the frame, or the messy shelves in the kids’ rooms. We live in our home – and I want our house tours to reflect that.

So, let’s get into it, shall we?

The Entry + Powder Room + Laundry Room

Not much has changed in any of these spaces, with the exception of the fact that our laundry room is falling apart. We first did this space in 2020, and honestly, I’m ready to rip it all out and start fresh. We made a lot of decisions based on what was available to us during the pandemic, and I would do things a lot differently today.

I’d love to say this is on my agenda for 2025, but I’m honestly not sure yet. My dream would be to remove the tile and shelving above the washer and dryer, and start fresh with some closed cabinetry. But, of course, that’s a big job!

The powder room hasn’t made any progress this year, but I do want to work on adding some more art to the walls. My long-term goal is for the entire upper half of the room to be covered in art, and I’ve been slowly gathering things. So, we’ll see if I get to it!

The Living Room

The only change in this space over the last year is a fresh coffee table – and honestly, I’m not mad at it! This space is still exactly what I want, and it brings me a lot of joy.

I do have a few small things I’ve thought about changing (like removing the lights by the fireplace and potentially a new rug), but I make no promises. We could get to this time next year and things could still look exactly the same!

The Dining Room + Kitchen

Oh look, more spaces that look exactly the same! Turns out, we didn’t do a whole lot to our downstairs this year.

The other day, I was eyeing our kitchen and thinking about how I’d really like to add a shelf above the sink. The space between the cabinets has always felt a little empty to me, and I think it’s time to do something about it. The urge to do it hit me hard, so I might get it done soon. I’d love to have it up in time to decorate it for Christmas.

Despite the fact that nothing major has changed, I really love looking back at the small changes between years. Little things like styling really change the feel of the house and I love watching how our style has evolved.

Our Bedroom + Bathroom

The biggest change to this space is that I painted the ceiling! It’s something I’ve been thinking about doing for years now, but I kept putting it off. I love the change, but the only problem is I didn’t do a great job. It ended up a tad splotchy and in certain lights, and it’s making me nuts. I need to fix it, but, of course, I’m putting it off.

I think our bedroom is one place where I can really emphasize the “we live here!” aspect of this house tour. Some views of this space just aren’t pretty. I swapped out the desk chair with a walking pad because it’s so much more functional for me. Corey keeps his PS5 on the dresser, along with all of the controllers, and it’s a mess 100% of the time.

Would I love to fix it so that everything looks neat and tidy and magazine-ready always? Of course. But, we live here! Sometimes practical makes more sense than pretty.

The Bonus Room + Hallway

And here we’ve arrived at the part of the house that has, for sure, seen the most change this year! I finally finished adding shiplap around the room, I painted the ceiling, and we added a rug to the space. It’s really coming together and the changes have brought me a lot of joy.

I also repainted the hallway at the beginning of the year, and I’m so happy with the change. Previously, it was a tad too dark and I hadn’t painted the trim. Once I made this change, it instantly felt much more intentional and cohesive.

The Boys’ Rooms + Bathroom

And finally, the kids’ rooms! I always love seeing how their little personalities shine through these photos. Jackson’s stuffed animal collection grows exponentially every year and I’m starting to worry there won’t be room for him in the bed soon.

We added some more shelving and a rainbow mural on his wall, because he needed more space for his LEGO collection. There’s a piece of me that absolutely can’t stand the constant clutter on every surface in his room, but I’ve learned the collections of chaos bring him a lot of happiness. So, I’m not fighting it.

Grant still doesn’t have huge opinions about his room, but he’s talked a little about wanting to change up his gallery wall and maybe his bedding. I think we may give it a refresh in the new year!

And that’s where things are at in year five. This house has come a long way (see the first house tour here), and I’m excited to see what happens in year six. Last night, we celebrated our house’s birthday with our tradition of a choose-your-own-adventure fast food night. It’s something we’ve done since year one and I always look forward to it – it feels like such a fun celebration and we love to take the time to talk about our favorite things about our home.

Next up? It’s time for Christmas decor!