The Surznick Ranch is one! It's hard to believe that we closed on our house a year ago already. We are both still absolutely in love with our home and being homeowners. We haven't had any significant issues *knock on wood* and our first year in our house has truly been a dream come true.

Since we've been living here for a year, we wanted to document the house as it is now and reflect on all the changes that have taken place in the last 12 months. When we moved into our house, we made a big list of all the changes that we wanted to make so that we don't forget about them as we live in the house and get used to it. I can already tell that making this list was SUCH a good idea, because there's already so many things I don't even notice anymore that, at one time, I wanted to modify.

At the same time, having this list sometimes makes me feel like we've barely done anything because there's a ton more to do, so hopefully this post is a reflection of how far things have actually come! If you feel so inclined, feel free to watch the video in this post for a trip down memory lane and see where things started last June.

Note: These photos were quickly snapped before we headed out of town. The house isn't super organized or styled and, of course, these rooms aren't DONE done. But hey, this is what it is (for now!)

The Living Room/Dining Room



The living room/dining room area is my favorite transformation so far. It's not fully complete, but a lot has been done. The biggest changes were adding built-in bookshelves to the living area and painting the pattern accent wall in the dining area. We were so fortunate to work with Home Depot on the dining area and are in love with this space. Our pink front door is such a fun pop of color and makes me happy every time I come home.

Posts about these rooms:
IKEA Built-in Billy Bookcases
How to Get Inexpensive, Large-Scale Art
Copper Pipe Magazine Rack
Hairpin Leg Coffee Table
Before & After: Dining Room Makeover
Modern Dining Area Makeover (Home Depot Blog)

Sources:
Living Room Light
Round Mirror
Plant Shelf
Sofa
Pink Rug
Dining table
Placemats
Eames chairs
Door paint
Pineapple door knocker
Round jute doormat
Patterned Accent Wall paint
Cordless window shade
Floating shelves
Fiddle leaf fig (Smaller size here)
Clock

Nick's Music Room


Nick's music room was the first full room makeover we completed. He's in this room every day teaching lessons, writing and recording songs, planning school lessons, etc. I'm so glad we completed this space for him as soon as we moved in. For a little while I was worried about the navy being too dark, but this room gets beautiful light during the day and makes the blue look so pretty, especially against the piano and white trim.

Posts about this room:
Before & After: Nick's Music Room
Wooden Map Hanger
Orange Chair Makeovers
Hanging Wooden Planters

Sources:
Paint - Behr Starless Night and Behr untinted white
Curtains & Rod
Harry Potter Prints
Gold Task Lamp
Chalkboard Globe - similar
Shelves & Brackets
Desk
Rug
Ceiling Light

Basement and Backyard


Painting the basement white made a huge difference in making the room feel fresh and clean. We worked with Home Depot to swap out the drop ceiling tiles, which was also a game changer. The basement is far from perfect, but the little changes we made really help this space feel nice when we're relaxing and watching tv. Outside our basement is our backyard, where Nick has been working to cut down all of the huge hedges that surround our house. It's a big task, but making a huge difference. We even cleared out enough space to plant a garden!

Posts about this room:
Basement Drop Ceiling Makeover with Home Depot
DIY Drop Ceiling Replacement (Home Depot Blog)
Geometric Patterned Planters

Thanks for spending the past few years with us - on our journey to home ownership and our first year in The Surznick Ranch. We really do love it here. We have house plans for this upcoming year, but are taking it day by day as we also have a wedding to plan and know we can't do it all. Regardless, we can't wait to see what the next year holds!

Sarah & Nick