The Chance Family: Our Hawaii Home (Before and After)

I'm not sure if I ever really went into detail about the CRAZY housing market here in Hawaii. Obviously, it makes sense because it is a small island and many people live here, there is a high demand for housing. Also, with the numerous military bases, you have a constant influx of people fighting over the very few listings that are out there. In total, we probably looked at 20 + rentals. When we arrived, we checked into Navy Housing to see about a house in the privatized housing. We were offered a home in Pearl City, which was a super cute historic home, but the commute for Kyle would have been almost 1 hour each way because of the traffic and congestion. Not to mention, that Pearl City is on the Leeward side of the island which doesn't get the trade winds so you have to run your AC all the time! It was hard to give up the Pearl City home because I was SO ready to be settled, but I knew I could never have Kyle sit in traffic 1 hour each way. He would not be a happy camper and it would just add to his already long days!

We basically had a home in Lanikai Beach that Kyle absolutely loved! There were a few caveats for me though. The owner had furniture in the home that he was not willing to remove and it was BAD furniture, the landlord was super unpleasant and they wanted to charge an additional deposit of $1000 to allow Macey Jane. There were just too many wrongs. Meanwhile the landlord played games with us for a week while he communicated with the owner in Germany. So, during this time I LIVED on Craigslist and was determined to find a place for us. We were waiting in my doctor's office for my first appointment with my new doctor and so naturally I pulled up Craigslist. I saw a new posting for a 3 bedroom townhome within our price range and the pictures looked nice, so I emailed the landlord. By the time we left the appointment, she had emailed me back telling me to stop by.

Every time we would go to look at a place, I would get super nervous because it was almost like we were interviewing for the place instead of the other way around. We got here and I was super excited because I saw the potential that this place had. Kyle on the other hand was holding out for the Lanikai house. We walked around and chatted with the owner and she was willing to accept Macey with no deposit and she was super-laid back and actually nice to us. Something we hadn't experienced with the property managers here in Hawaii. We left the house and I was super excited. We got about 10 minutes down the road and I told Kyle we need to go back because if we didn't we would lose this house. I ended up calling the owner and asking if she would please hold the place. She gave me her word that she wouldn't show the unit to anyone else until we made a decision. Of course, I didn't really believe this, but I had to have hope.

The next day, I met her back at the unit to give her a deposit. She held her word and never showed it to anyone else. She received over 150 emails on this place!!!!

So, here are some before and afters of our lovely Hawaii home! We could not be happier here!

Kitchen

I was originally worried about space, but I almost feel like this kitchen has more space than my Jacksonville kitchen! It's been spacious and it has a dishwasher which is NOT common here in Hawaii!

Dining/Entry

I'm really happy with how this space came together! It is small and the main entrance that we use is to the left. We have 2 dining tables back home, but we didn't bring them because of space. I ordered this table, which is actually a craft table, on Target.com because I thought it would be perfect in an office or laundry room in our next house for crafting or sewing! It's not the best quality, but it does what we need! Still trying to find baskets to fit on the shelves! But it has lots of storage and that is a huge plus here!

This was the light fixture that was previous in the dining/entry and I couldn't stand it! So, Kyle installed the one above from Home Depot! I think it turned out great!

Living Room

We had the house painted before we moved in and after a Facebook poll, I got some great ideas for colors! We did the Living Room in Bleeker Beige from Benjamin Moore! I'm really happy with how it turned out! The living room has windows on both sides so we get a really nice breeze through the house!

I still love our Crate and Barrel leaning bookshelves and bar. The movers disassembled them before the move and they traveled really well!

Utilizing all of our space with this desk from Target.com in the corner of the living room!

Stairs leading to Bedrooms

Master Bedroom

We painted this room Revere Pewter and we love the way it turned out! We also have a small ocean view from our bedroom window!

Master Bedroom Color before Painting! Yikes!

Bathroom Before and After

The upstairs bathroom was not my favorite, but after some love I like the way it turned out! I ordered the shower curtain from Pottery Barn and of course I love all things monogrammed! :) Behind the door, there is a small door that opens into an attic. That has been a god send to store all of the items that we aren't using or didn't have space for!

Guest Bedroom

I got these prints in Italy last summer and I was really hoping to use them in Hawaii! I got the frames from Crate and Barrel before we left. I have a few of these frames. I just love the classic look of them! We decided not to paint this room because we didn't mind the color, but we didn't have bedding to match, so we bought new bedding and these prints matched perfectly!