Dean and I have been homeowners for one whole year! We shoved a mountain of clutter behind the shower curtain and invited friends and co-workers over for a celebratory breakfast. Hausu played a couple times in the background cuz the concept of a Hausu-Houseversary is delightful (here are the party invites). We served 40 waffles and, luckily, no one fell through the hole in our kitchen floor. We also had the sweetest surprise guest: A BABY FAWN! Still dying over this precious thing, curled up at the bottom of our steps.**We love our technicolor dream home. Here’s where we started. Here’s where we’re at:

The Kitchen: This isn’t a starter home for us and we laugh when pros give us well-meaning advice about “resale value.” We splurged on the Wilsonart laminate countertops we liked over quartz/granite/wood/a more “versatile” pattern. We spent three late nights sanding and painting cabinets inspired by the live action Paddington movie. (We also got a killer deal on the dish knobs- a buck apiece!) Kitchen Models: Sean and Susan | Joan, Will, Forest (so sad they’re moving!) | Imke and Joshua (ditto!)

The Dining Room: May it always be unmellow yellow. We are cursed with black thumbs but were given so many pretty plants. Here’s hoping we can keep them alive! Dining Room Models: Hannah | Raoul and Missy | Rhys
No photo but Aleta was the first to drop in. She’s one of the few we trusted to hang out in our house pre-makeover.

The Living Room: Un, deux, trois cat. We try not to be couch potatoes all the time but this is where me n Dean spend most of our late nights. Watching too much TV, reading our phones and comics. The bookshelves are a lasting gift we’ll always cherish.Front Porch Models: Ryan, Priscilla, Poppy | Merrit, Iris, Blake | Tallulah and Jessica

Our Bedroom: Also the room we give our parents when they visit. We painted big, bloody chevron peaks on the windowless wall. We were going for Suspiria colors.Bedroom Models I: Eddie admiring Dave Holmes’ drawing of Clint Howard crying | Katie and SarahThis is the wall opposite the chevron. Leftover paint got slapped on the dresser. Clint Howard and our anniversary portraits hang above.The Pink Bathroom: It broke my heart to gut our itty-bitty pink tiled bathroom but we tried to keep the spirit alive in hue. The only idea Dean vetoed was “poodles.”Bedroom Models II: Josh and Marie (aka Jean Seberg’s beautiful twin) | Lauren and Tim | Jay

The Office: This isn’t finished either. We patched up plaster cracks and reset the walls to white for now. Maybe a curvy ’70s stripe or mural somewhere down the line. This room’s also a part-time hotel for foster kittens.

The Hallway: The last of the tan walls. We’re still color scheming…
Hall and Bath Models: Pete | Kenzie | Kelly

The Hall Bathroom: I’m still mourning the demise of this bathroom’s original basketweave tile… but it felt good to get rid of more goopy, dark brown walls (not original). Crisp, pastel mint and a maximalist clash of bright textiles. Jamie gave us the Merman towel back in 2008. We have our fave Esther Pearl Watson print here too. It probably deserves a better spot.

Last but not least, it’s Erin’s Room! Our last experience left me disheartened and nervous about future roommates but this lady really restored the good vibes. We doused her room in a royal purple and my mother-in-law painted the trim electric blue. I like how Erin was able to make this work with her less-kitsch-more-bohemian style.

**Deer hang out in our yard all the time but we’d never seen a fawn this tiny before! It was cat-sized! We called Animal Control and our friend’s friend who is a wildlife expert. They both said our yard must’ve looked safe to the mama deer; she’d come back. The baby doesn’t need anything and don’t touch it. Our wait was brief: we saw the fawn had left then minutes later a rainstorm hit. Gotta hope that means our yard deer are reunited and safe. We hope we get to see this little dude grow up!

Here’s to many more years, Little Ranch!