things I love

With our new house, came a whole lot of new space. Now that we're several months into home ownershop, and mostly settled, here are a few things that I can't believe I previously did without.

A designated place for gift-a-palooza. 
At any given time, I usually have a least a half dozen miscellaneous gifts stashed for upcoming events and occasions. Plus, there are cards, wrapping materials and the like. In my apartment life, this stuff was spread everywhere, stuck in baskets, cabinets and drawers all over the place. Now, I've taken our former laundry cabinet and turned it into present central. Awesome.

A laundry room, complete with storage.
I was able to give my lovely white laundry cabinet a new life because I have a built-in laundry nook with cabinets. Honestly though, I was over the moon about this area until we moved and I realized that ... wait a minute, what else am I going to put in here besides detergent? But since then, I've included our iron, some stain remover, a basket for rags, and some downstairs cleaning supplies. The middle cabinet below also hides the garbage can, which I love.

The workshop ...
... in which there's a place for everything and everything's in its place. Sort of. OK, I lie. This space is still a disaster of unpack boxes, unorganized tools and miscellaneous stuff that doesn't belong anywhere else. Dealing with this space is on my to-do list every weekend, and once it's eventually taken care of, we'll never have to hunt for a tape measure or the perfect-sized screw again.

Our cozy rec room.
It wasn't always an easy process, but now that the rec room is complete, I can't imagine life without it. It's a warm, snugly place (thanks to the wood stove) to read, watch TV, think and play. It's also great, and I mean this in the nicest way of course, to have more than one living area, so when you need some time to yourself, you don't have to retreat to the bedroom or the shower.

Our growing yard. 
Every day, more flowers, plants and lush blades of grass are popping up all over our yard. Jacob loves being outside and we're so happy to have the space to let him run and play. It's going to be such a great summer outside in the sun.

What are your home's best characteristics?