(re)model behavior

So in the last week and 1/2 we have all but made it official that we will be moving back to Dodge City this summer. With moving comes a new house.....and new house means....REMODEL! I love, love, love to remodel houses. I am not talking just painting and new carpet. I like to knock down walls and build new ones to reconfigure the whole look and feel and flow of the place. If all goes as planned, we will be moving into my dad's house. It is more space than we have now, but it definitely needs some TLC to go from a house for a 50-year-old bachelor for a home for our family.

Now this house is no stranger to my remodeling handy work. First came the basement. Shortly after we had Rileigh, my dad let us move into the basement of his house. It was completely 70-ed out. Orange shag carpet on some walls, wood paneling on others. It was less than pleasant. At that time I was really into watching Trading Spaces.....which lead me to a brilliant plan. I talked my dad into letting me remodel the basement AND talked him into not looking at it or know what was going on until "reveal day." Justin and his dad did all of the work and made a wonderful transformation. My dad was bowled over with the reveal. I suppose that is what lead him to allow me to remodel his upstairs as well.....

Even though the upstairs remodel was only a few years ago, most of the changes I made were only cosmetic. You know, taking down wallpaper, new paint, new flooring....your basic updates. My plans for after we take over this summer are.....well....bigger! I have spent the last few weeks looking up "inspiration rooms" and drawing new layouts. Justin always just rolls his eyes at my latest creations, but I know he will come around (he has to! he will be doing the work!)

Some minor ideas:

Right now I am OBSESSED with wallpaper, which is weird...because I spent HOURS ridding our current house of it. However, wallpaper has made some major advances recently and has expanded far beyond boring flowers and stripes. My current favorite:

There is a room in the basement of my dads house that I painted barn red. I would love to incorporate this wallpaper into part of that room. It will be an office/guest room. (I love that I will need an office now that I am almost a grown up with a real grown up job)

I am planning to knock down some walls around the upstairs kitchen and living room. There is a big living room/dining room space already, but I would like to open the space up to the kitchen.....and expand the kitchen a bit. Today I was looking through the pottery barn website and found and inspiration living room layout:

There is a fireplace at the same place as this in the current living room, though it is all brick. So I quickly started to research resurfacing fireplaces. Although I don't think I will go with the stone that is like this inspiration room...I do think I will add the wood surround + mantle and perhaps do a paint treatment to the bricks.

My only other solid obsession is creating some banquet seating as part of the breakfast nook. I am imagining it in a space where I have a 1/2 wall, sort of like these two:

Thinking about all of this makes me wanna just HURRY UP and get started. Best part about this remodel...my sister-in-law has an even better eye than I do + she is SUPER handy and she loves doing it, so I will have her help for all of it.

One last bit of beautiful-ness. Not sure where it would go, but i LOVE this (lighting and all):