I know I’ve mentioned before on this blog that I’ve developed a habit of moving once a year. In the past 6 years, I’ve lived in 5 homes/apartments. The longest I’ve ever stayed in a house was in college, with 4 other roommates and rent that was cheaper than my car payment.

Well, Brad and I moved again in August, and for the first time in… well, ever, we think this rental is the one that’s going to keep us for a few years. At least until we either A. move out of the state or B. buy a home in Texas. In every home, I’ve gotten a bit of the nesting bug. You know… bought some flowers, got a new piece of furniture, hung some artwork, etc. This time though, I diagnosed myself with SES, Severe Nesting Syndrome. I could only think about what rug I was going to get, how we were going to create overhead lighting in the lightless living room, decided on a couch for our sitting room, and how many plants were too many plants.

It got a little out of hand, but in just a month, I had our home feeling as homey as my budget allowed. There’s still quite a few things to do, but they’ll have to wait until I can afford them.

So without further adieu, some photos of our progress.

Living Room: This is hands down my favorite room. Between lounging on the couch on laptops and having friends over for Sunday Game of Thrones/Walking Dead/Newsroom watch parties, we spend most of our time here, so that’s a good thing.

Nearly all the artwork in our home is by family or friends, or the very least, by local artists. I was really excited to have a gallery wall that had meaning. On this one there’s a piece by my grandfather (whom I never met) from 1956, lots of pieces from friends, a bridesmaid gift that has a tear-jerking letter on the back, and of course, Brad’s photography.

Dining Room: On our to-do list is a larger table. You know, one you could actually seat 4 at, but preferably 6. This one is so tiny you can barely fit 4 plates on it, much less have elbow space. I’m holding out for something I really love (but can also afford), but I’m leaning towards adding some Eames dowel chairs to our chair collection.

Note: These photos have all been taken at different times, so in the photo below you can see I’ve added a Fiddle Leaf Fig to our family. His name is Pete.

Extra Sitting + My Office: This was the room we couldn’t decide what to do with for a long time. We knew it had to serve as my office space (Brad has his own room for his office), but it’s a pretty high traffic area, so it had to serve another purpose as well. Cue, Thrive. I found this Nixon Chair and Tyler Loveseat and knew they had to be in our home.

I wasn’t too sure what to choose for a rug, and since I was low on funds by this point, I bought a cheap one from RugsUSA. Turns out it was a terrible idea because three months later, it looks pretty rough. We’ve since moved it outside on the back patio to make that feel more cozy when I’m out there with coffee & a laptop. We’ll replace it eventually but eating food and paying rent takes priority for now.

We hid the litterbox in the fireplace and put a small curtain rod in the opening to hide it. Since we live in Texas, we’ll never need the fireplace anyway. I definitely recommend going this route if you can’t figure out where to put the box. The only downside: I can’t do some cool collection of wood logs or something equally neat.

The Bedroom: Not too much going on in here, but it’s cozy. Finally splurged on bedding (after having an IKEA duvet cover for a year) and got this set from West Elm. Rug from RugsUSA, crazy corner shelf from Overstock, headboard and bed frame from IKEA, and a knock off Nelson bench from Overstock. Bargains, bargains.

Last but not least, The Backyard: This set-up was a major selling point for us on renting this house. I love having a covered patio. Now that the weather is finally cooling off, we’re spending a lot more time out here. Patio furniture is a mix of IKEA and Overstock (including hammock).

So that’s (part of) our house so far! It feels the most “us” out of all of them so far, and it’s been super nice having a space that’s just ours again.

So what do you think? What room in your house are you itching to update?