Show us your home

I'm not sure how to post a picture from my computer to here.

You can use http://tinypic.com. Just upload your image, copy the "for message boards" text, and paste it here :)

Sweet thanks. I am in the middle of staining my kitchen cabinets and putting in bamboo flooring. I'm doing other stuff too like scrapping off the popcorn ceiling, getting new baseboards, new fixtures, adding some lighting, painting, etc... Basically remodeling. I'm doing all the work myself. Here are some pictures of the before. As soon as I get done with the work I'll post the after pics. I hope more people will post pictures here too! This is my kitchen, dining and living room. Its a very country look to me. I do not like it. I am painting the cabinets a rich "Bombay Mahogany" with "Spice" Bamboo floors and black appliances. I still need the stove, a sink, and granite countertops. It will take me awhile to get completely done since I work fulltime and go to school fulltime, not to mention that I am a single mom of two beautiful boys 11 and 12y.o. :D







WOW How can I make that smaller? .....Much Better

Haha, I looked at your pictures before I read your entry, and my first thought was OMG EXTREME MINIMALISM ALERT! But I guess it's empty because you are working on it :P Good luck with the work! Looking forward to seeing some progress here if this thread survives :)

I think you have to re-upload and choose a different size to get them smaller.

LMAO...yeah that would be extreme!lol

Thanks BTW

edit: well that didn't work very well. Damn picasa. Anyways, check it out here:
http://themccannon.blogspot.com/2008/04/results-of-decluttering-and-painting.html

^ That looks like one comfy couch, Adam! :D

Definitely minimalistic. I like the kitchen particularly the color of the cabinets with the coutertop and appliances colors. The fridge has a bit of clutter though. But you are doing better than I am. the pictures I posted are from before I moved in. Now its me, my boys and my sister with her two girls in a 3 bedroom house. She will be moving out this summer though. Believe me between the two of us and our kids we have a lot of clutter. I will de clutter as I remodel. ;)

Thanks :)

It's funny, because looking back through the pictures, as if it's someone else's house, I can see things that don't really need to be there. First, I noticed that the fridge did have a lot of clutter on it. I guess I never paid any attention to that before. Then I noticed that really, I could do without that smaller table in the living room, as well as the TV and it's entertainment center in my bedroom. Nevermind the clothes on the floor in there ;) I had to change a few times last night with my painting activities and all. I also realized that I hardly use that toaster oven, and it can probably go down in the cabinets as well, same with that humidor. That would leave that side of the kitchen counter completely empty though.

As far as the kitchen, yeah, I think I spent at least $10,000 on extras in there when I had the house built. The counter, the best cabinets available, the all black appliances, etc. All I need is a real tile floor now instead of a fake one :)

Doing great, adam! Cool Penny Arcade print!
I love the first comment on your blog entry: "You really need more stuff." Haha!

i'm new to this forum, and this is my first post, but i have, for a while now, found this site to be a great source of information and inspiration. i am on a fairly radical simplification/minimalist program, and this living solution has forced me to follow it.. thanks for all that all of you do!
heath

I'm interested to hear the story behind that, Heath.

it's kind of mundane, especially now a days. i started having marriage troubles, so i bought the camper (along with alot of other things)(and marriage counseling) to try to do the "family time" thing and save the marriage. it, of course, didn't work. i decided to give the house and everything in it (sans my clothes and mp3 player) to my now ex-wife, mainly so my daughter would not have to move and leave the ony place she has ever known. cost me a good amount of money, but my baby has adjusted as well as can be expected to the situation, and i think being able to maintain some of her familiarity and routine has helped. i then moved into the camper temporarily (hell, i was paying for it anyway) and after a bit of time i found a new place to live. i discovered, however, that i was just so turned off with the thought of having to furnish and fill up the larger place with stuff, that i found myself missing the camper... so i moved back into it.. i like the simplicity of it. i like the frugality of it a bit too lol.. it's odd, but the original reason i gave away everything was a very good cause to me, one i would repeat in a heartbeat, and it has led me to the fact that most people here have already discovered.. you can't buy happiness, and life is not about acquiring "things".. find happiness on a different path. i garner a measure of satisfaction at the relative simplicity of my lifestyle right now. not as simple and as happy as it could be, but i am still a work in progress.. of course, all that being said, i still have my mp3 player..

Myself and 4 of my friends spent a long weekend in one of those at Road Atlanta. It was fine for sleeping, but 5 of us definitely couldn't have survived in there longer than that weekend. A few of us were able to hang out during the day relatively comfortably (read, 2).

well, i can see where 5 personalities in a small space can be trying lol... i do think my choice is a bit of a cop out as well.. just cheaper and less responsibility too overall... it forces the minimalism thing too. i have alot of admiration for what grey has done. a very nice and neat room. well done. i am also interested in seeing updated photos on mreneeholland's project..

Heath:

I had a similar experience with my divorce, except the living in travel trailers came before the divorce. That's how long I tried to hang on. No children in my case. I gave the trailers away and moved to another state to start over again, and it has been terrific. I'm back on top of my game, and oddly enough, going through the ringer helped create many of my decisions that led me to a better and more simple life.

Sorry for your situation. You seem to have a great attitude and outlook. That counts a lot in my book.

Good fortune to you,

Clair

Heath..my situation is almost identical to yours...just on the other side of the planet!..I live in a motorhome/camper..travel to work in it and then just drive to the coast after work and weekends.There is a stigma in this country if you dont own your own home,youre seen as a kind of failure in society...which leads me to one of my favourite bugbears - that society has got it generally all wrong.Total respect to you my friend..youre on the right path!!

I've been trying to do some cleaning, so my room is a bit more messier than normal, but here are a few pictures of my room in my parent's house:





Then theres my bed, which was messy at the time so I'm not going to post a picture of that until I do some more cleaning, LOL

For the record, I'm waiting for my dad to move the giant black TV out of my room (my little one is better!). But uh, that was two weeks ago so it MIGHT be moved by the time I get out of my boyfriend's house. Maybe.

Once I get things a bit more... uh, clean, I'll post new pictures. I'm definitely not a minimalist, but I'm working on it! Its hard for me to let go of things. :(

Edit: I just realized that this was a few days ago and I've done some cleaning/minimalizing since then, so its not quite so cluttered as these pictures look. I should post pictures of my dad's work room/garage so you guys see what I'm trying to avoid.

Adam, I like the little cars on your desk.

Heath, wow. Like Clair said, good fortune to you.