We’ve almost been in this house for a month now — can you believe it? We moved on the 14th of last month and this Sunday is the 14th again. The moving pod has been emptied and hauled away. We even recorded a podcast episode about what we overpacked and what we donated after getting here. Shrinking down from a 14-room home to a six-room house, and from about 3,150 square feet to roughly 1,400, was a big challenge. It took months of planning, purging, and organization, but it was absolutely worth it.
In short: we don’t miss what we gave up, and the lighter, simpler life feels great. My best advice for anyone downsizing dramatically is to let go of more than you think you can. Trust me — you won’t miss it later.
We covered a lot of the unexpected parts of moving into a smaller home in the podcast, including the logistics of the move, how we settled in, and surprises along the way. If you want a faster way to catch up, that episode explains many of the mechanics.
Now for the visual tour: here are photos of the kitchen, dining area, and a small seating nook as they look today. This large, open room forms the central common area on the main floor. The house feels a bit like a ranch: all bedrooms and baths are on the first floor, with a flexible bonus room upstairs that we use as a family room and office. It’s similar to how other ranch-style homes might use a basement space as a family room, except our bonus room is above instead of below.
Most of the furniture in these photos came from our pod — we only ordered two more kitchen chairs after we moved in. Watching how things land and evolve in a new space is always fascinating: some rooms take forever to figure out while others feel right away like they’re where they belong.
For context, here’s a photo of the kitchen when we first bought the house. We removed the peninsula and soffits and refinished the pine floors to be much lighter and less orange. Those changes, plus painting the rooms Sherwin-Williams Pure White, made a dramatic difference. The house looked bleak in the listing photos because it was dark and rainy when we toured it, but after renovations and moving in we were surprised at how bright the house actually is.
I also made a video that answers a lot of common questions — from what’s behind a specific door to whether a future en-suite will affect a kitchen window. There’s even a tour of the pantry and storage solutions, and much of the video can be followed without sound since you can just watch what we open and show.
Note: the video is available with auto-generated captions if you prefer to follow along that way.
Photographs are nice to document a moment in time, but a video captures a lot of the feel that pictures can’t. Looking back at these images, I forget after a while about little quirks — like a hole in the wall above the stove where a vent hood will go, or a mismatched black dishwasher — until a photo reminds me and I think, “room for improvement.”
One change we’ve really appreciated is choosing a casual dining table instead of a kitchen island. Because the chairs are standard height, we find ourselves sitting at the table to write, sort paperwork, or work on laptops — things we didn’t do as often at our island in the previous house. It encourages eye contact across the table during meals instead of everyone facing the same direction, which we love.
We considered many options — a peninsula, a small island, a banquette, built-in benches — but for now the table feels flexible, casual, and just right for this space.
We keep two matching chairs upstairs that can be brought down to seat six if needed. We also have seating for eight on the upstairs deck and plan to add seating on the covered front porch. Entertaining options are plentiful when we’re ready to have people over again.
About the stove vent: you can see the hole with the hookup wires hanging out. It’s a funny little memory — the stove itself works great, which was a pleasant surprise after discovering the house had been empty and neglected for years. The appliances have been reliable so far.
This photo shows most of the cabinet and counter space. It’s a far cry from our old kitchen, which had what felt like hundreds of cabinets, but all the essentials fit. We plan to add shelves above the sink wall to expand storage further.
Surprisingly, I’m warming up to the pink laminate countertop. For our Phase 1 updates we plan to paint the cabinets, install hidden hinges, add new hardware, build shelves on the back wall, and probably change the dishwasher front to match the other appliances. I’m debating whether to repair a missing pink corner with wood putty or Bondo and paint it to blend in.
As for the kitchen window that faces the covered porch: it isn’t very bright because the porch shades it, but we love the view. Our plan is to add a small bathroom to the porch area while preserving part of the window and its view. One clear lesson from living here is that smaller can be perfectly fine — sharing one main bathroom has worked much better than we expected.
Welcome to the pantry: it looks shallow at first glance, but it stores cereal, chips, and staples just fine. We repurposed two bookshelf cabinet units from our old house, so much of this is a fun exercise in rearranging what we already owned.
Photos don’t capture the full sense of space the way video does, but roughly one third of this room is cabinets and appliances, while the other two thirds are the dining table, storage bookcases, and the small sitting nook with a dresser by the door that doubles as a landing zone and extra storage.
Closing off a large doorway gave us more usable wall space in both the kitchen and the bedroom. That wall now supports our bed and an additional bookshelf. We’re grateful for the extra storage — dishes and bowls fit nicely, and plants are thriving in Florida’s light. Even our dog Burger seems happier.
That little sitting area surprised us by getting a ton of use. I expected it to be decorative, but the kids use it for crafts while we cook, and adults perch there to chat. The chairs are oddly irresistible to children — they somehow end up sitting upside down in them. John and I sit there too when one of us is working nearby; it’s a cozy mini hangout.
If you enter through the front door, there’s a large laundry closet to the left that we reconfigured. We added floating shelves and a counter for folding, turning it into a hardworking storage and laundry zone. It’s been a game-changer for organization.
The dresser by the door holds sunscreen, leashes, doggy bags, and the everyday items we grab on our way out. It’s the same dresser we used in our bedroom, refreshed with new brass pulls. We’re loving the warm metal finishes throughout the house — little details like hinges, doorknobs, and frames make a big visual difference.
A few finishing touches in this room are improvised — the woven side table is actually a basket topped with a lazy susan held in place by small bottles. The other side table is an Ikea tray on an identical basket. This room is a very literal example of making do with what we have, and it’s working well.
So yes, this room isn’t finished, but everything has landed in a way that’s functional and surprisingly comfortable. We’re pleased that the older appliances are holding up and that our pared-down belongings fit the space. There are a few things we miss — like one small basket I got rid of before the move — but overall the downsizing experiment feels like a success.
P.S. To follow this house’s progress, there’s a category with posts that track the journey from the before tour to renovation updates and the exterior makeover.
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