Our 1920 Sears Kit House Tour: Exterior, Entry, & Formal Living // Part 2

This is part 2 of my home tour series. We just bought this Sears kit house last year and have completely renovated it. You can view part 1 here for more of the story and the complete "before" blog post here.

Today I am sharing the exterior, entryway, and the formal living room. I've tried to include all of the sources, but if you have any questions, drop me a comment below!

I love how the front porch turned out. It was quite a mess before! 

You can see here that my poor hanging ferns are on the verge of dying. I did a lot of research on keeping ferns alive in hot, dry climates, and I am ever-so-slowly reviving them. 

These rattan swivel chairs were $15 Craigslist finds. They are super comfy and I'm digging the 70's vibe.

This old church pew was given to us by a friend, and we always find a spot for it in each of our houses.

|| EXTERIOR SOURCES || EXTERIOR PAINT: CRACKED PEPPER by BEHR | TRIM PAINT: SNOWBOUND by SHERWIN WILLIAMS  | PORCH DECK STAIN: HOME DEPOT  | SHALLOW WHITE BOWL PLANTERS: SOUTHWOOD GARDEN CENTER | HOUSE NUMBERS: HOME DEPOT | ROUND FOOTSTOOLS: IKEA | MAILBOX: HOME  DEPOT | TERRA COTTA POTS: IKEA

The best thing that happened to this entryway and stairway was the removal of the awful yellow carpet. The original wood floors underneath was a beautiful thing to behold. They were stained the same color as the trim work, but had been quite worn out with time. 

Combined with all of the dark trim, the dark floors just made the space feel very heavy. We decided to have the floors sanded down and simply apply poly on top. I was quite nervous about how it would look with the dark trim, but I've come to really love how it looks together. 

|| ENTRYWAY SOURCES || FLOORS: ORIGINAL WOOD WITH JUST A TOP COAT OF MATTE POLY | WALL PAINT: SNOWBOUND by SHERWIN WILLIAMS  | RUG: VINTAGE, EBAY | LIGHT FIXTURE: HOME DEPOT (they don't carry it anymore from what I could see) | EVERYTHING ELSE: THRIFTED FINDS

The formal living room is directly to your right as you come in the front door. Until I found this sofa and chair set on Facebook marketplace (for $40 total!), I really struggled with how to bring this room together. 

There are so many windows and doorways in these old kit houses that there is hardly wall space for art! I am completely alright with that though as I crave natural light and am very indecisive when it comes to hanging things on the plaster walls. 

With old houses, you'll be hard pressed to find a straight line anywhere. Hanging pictures and curtain rods bring on a whole new challenge. Throw in plaster walls and you have lots of fodder for marital growth. 

The curtain rods in most of the house were a DIY project when I was about 30 weeks pregnant. Making curtains rods for the entire house was not one of my brightest ideas, but it did save us hundreds of dollars. I found a tutorial on Pinterest that called for spray paint, electrical conduit, and wood finials. I found the brackets for cheap on Amazon.  Throw in a handy hubby and some choice words and you have inexpensive curtain rods!

|| FORMAL LIVING ROOM SOURCES || POTTERY VASE COLLECTION: THRIFTED, RETRO DEN | VINTAGE INDIGO MUD CLOTH LUMBAR PILLOWS: ELLE JAY HOME  | SOFA and CHAIRS: FACEBOOK MARKETPLACE | RUG: WEST ELM | FLOOR TASK LAMP: ARTICLE | LARGE BLACK PLANTER: NORDEN GOODS | SCONCES: TARGET (SIMILAR) | CURTAINS: IKEA | WALL PAINT: SNOWBOUND by SHERWIN WILLIAMS

*All photography by Melissa Click Photography

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In case you missed it, below is the previous segment of the home tour:

Our 1920 Sears Kit House Before & After Tour // Part 1