Home Transformation

Our home is finally ready! Last weekend, on my due date no less (!), we put the finishing touches on our apartment. Of course, decorating is a process that goes on and on, but having built furniture (as opposed to a living room stacked with unbuilt, still in the cardboard boxes from IKEA) makes the undeniably profound difference between livable and a big mess.

Case in point. In a few short weeks, we went from THIS:

To THIS!

Go ahead, gasp! I completely understand. And if you happen to be one of the people who said reassuring, sweet things to me like, "All you need is a few swaddling blankets, breasts and diapers to bring the baby home," you can see now why I laughed in your face. Ha! Can you imagine bringing a baby home to that top photo? Omgosh. Horror!

In roughly the same time frame, the kitchen went from being 100% gutted (and I kid you not!) to being perfect in every way. I have never had a kitchen that's so easy to keep tidy. Nor can I figure out why that is. 

Here is the heart-sinking "before" picture of the kitchen:

And here is what the kitchen looks like today:

To say that I'm happy is such a gross understatement it doesn't bear saying. But I'll say it anyway. I am SO happy! What a wonderful feeling to have a beautiful, organized home to bring our baby home to for the first time. Now I just need to go into labor... ;)

Here are a few more "before" and "now" pictures of the apartment. Just keep in mind that I am amazing while looking at these photos. During this home transformation I was pregnant, working full time until a few weeks ago, pregnant, still going out and being social, pregnant, swimming and doing prenatal yoga. Did I mention pregnant? Because being 39 weeks pregnant and building shelving is kind of insane! I did it anyway. Where's my power drill?

Our bedroom before:

And today:

During the transformation process: 

And today:

The nursery before:

And today:

And last, but not least, the entryway before:

And today:

Oh what joy! We are waiting get a few pieces of artwork back from the book binder who is mounting them on aluminum. Once they're hung, I'll post some more photos. But, isn't it just so much fun to see the horrifying before photos and the serene, lovely today photos? I love it!

Did welcoming a new member into your family prompt a move? How did it go? Were you scrambling to finish before the baby arrived or did you have lots of time or help?

{all original photos}