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Move in day has come and gone!  Curious to see what our new pole barn home looks like?  I just may surprise you.  

New Pole Barn Home Build, tour.

When folks find out we’ve moved into our new home, they enthusiastically say, “Oh! You finished your home?!”

Well, that couldn’t be farther from the truth.

New Pole Barn Home Build, tour.

Moved in, yes. Finished? Not even close. We are living in construction chaos, but thrilled to be here – all the same.

I want to vulnerably welcome you into our new pole barn home, and share with you the progress we’ve made. I have to remind myself that just 6 months earlier, things looked like this:

Placing the beams into the ground for our pole barn home.

Where there once was dirt and poles, now stands a “livable” home.  I’m going to try really hard not to be the hostess that apologizes for all the mess you are about to see in these images. Rather, I’d like to welcome you into our home with eyes to see potential and a heart full of gratitude.

Sure, we have much to do this year to make our home comfortable and have order, but creating beauty from ashes is what we do best and I am so excited to be on this exciting new journey with my husband. He did 90% of the work on this home that I designed for us, while I spent the year basically as a single parent, and it was certainly all a labor of love.

This year of RV life, building, deadlines, disasters, and practically living separate lives – was one of the hardest years we can remember. It tested our strength and pushed us to limits we didn’t even know existed.

We are ready to move past the struggles and embrace hope and remember the creative vision we had for this home in the first place.

We try to remember our dreams, why we built a pole barn home, and soak up the 25 acres of beauty that surround us.

By showing you our new home in this state, I hope to help you see what fun things we will be able to share with you this year as we move from space to space. I hope to bring you plenty of ideas and inspiration for do-it-yourself living, and remind you that dreams are worth chasing – even if they don’t come easy. Perhaps, especially when they don’t.

At the very least . . . perhaps these images will make you feel better about your own current spaces. Because if you have countertops and some shelves . . . you are better off then we are! (wink)

WATCH THIS POST

For a more personal experience, feel free to watch this post!  I hope you enjoy when I take the time to create video for you!

HOME EXTERIOR

Let’s start from the outside, shall we?

New Pole Barn Home Build, tour.

Hopefully, you saw the post where we finished up the front of the garage, in hopes to make the exterior more appealing.

New Pole Barn Home Build, tour.

Well, old man winter hit Utah early this year, and we haven’t had the chance to finish the siding, driveway and really clean it up outside. We have since decided to turn our focus indoors and wait for warmer weather to finish the tin siding, roofing, and the wrap around porch.

New Pole Barn Home Build, tour.

I can’t wait to design our beautiful porch, as I predict it will be our favorite place to admire our incredible mountain country view. Not much to admire now, but plenty to look forward to!

KITCHEN 

New Pole Barn Home Build, tour.

While this is not our dream home floor plan, we decided to embrace the pole barn vibe and went with a very open concept floor plan. The living room and kitchen is one grand space with 12 foot ceilings and feels very spacious (especially when you have hardly any furniture).

New Pole Barn Home Build, tour.

Over on this one side of our U-shaped kitchen, we have tall cabinetry surrounding the fridge.

New Pole Barn Home Build, tour.

This is a panel ready refrigerator, and we need to finish installing some cabinets and getting the custom fronts built for the fridge. We will then paint them and install the hardware.

On the other side, we decided to build out some walls and create a cozy focal point for our beautiful Verona Italian range.

New Pole Barn Home Build, tour.

This will also allow me to play with some marble backsplash and countertops as well as some unique shelving for spices and oils to cook with. You may have noticed how much I loved this concept in my European Inspired Kitchen round-up.

New Pole Barn Home Build, tour.

I’m also so excited to have designed a kitchen that works with a “eat-in” style kitchen, where the dining area is actually inside the kitchen instead of a traditional bar area. This is a popular choice in European countries, where homes are small and compact and there is not much other choice. However, I LOVE the cozy vibe it brings to a kitchen, and the convenience.

New Pole Barn Home Build, tour.

We opted to use what we had, and cut down our rolling work table we built for my garage studio in our last rental. The beautiful quartz top was to good to go to waste! I may re-stain or paint the legs, and I need to figure out what seating to do here, but this big wide table has been wonderful to have.

We have a very large pantry/butler’s pantry just off the kitchen. I have big plans to build floor to ceiling shelving, add a library ladder, and add countertop and cabinet storage.

New Pole Barn Home Build, tour.

We can then have all the appliances in this space and keep our kitchen countertops clear for all our yummy creations . . . and dishes.

LIVING ROOM

New Pole Barn Home Build, tour.

Let’s take a quick look at the living room. Unfortunately, I sold all our furniture in all our moves this past year. I knew I wanted a larger piece for our family of 6 and we ran out of storage room. How we long for a cozy couch to sit on, but we need to build up our resources a bit and find the one we will love for years to come.

New Pole Barn Home Build, tour.

All our walls are just primed, not painted. I am working on selecting colors and deciding on finish work.

New Pole Barn Home Build, tour.

The big beautiful double dutch front doors are among my favorite things in the house. Being a door obsessed person, I don’t regret this splurge one bit . . . even if we can’t buy a couch right now (wink).

Just off the living room, is my office/craft room/slash shipping room for all the TIDBITS Planners. It’s a crazy mess . . . but I try to ignore it for the time being.

New Pole Barn Home Build, tour.

When I get sad, I just remind myself that I have the floors of my dreams!

New Pole Barn Home Build, tour.

HALLWAY

Let’s take a look down the hallway, with a spare mattress that we don’t know what to do with. This hallway is 5 feet wide and filled with beautiful light. It leads to all the bedrooms and bathrooms.

New Pole Barn Home Build, tour.

We have one linen closet in the hallway, that I could desperately use some shelving and storage in!

New Pole Barn Home Build, tour.

You might also remember the laundry/mudroom room reveal, where we shared the only finished room in our entire house – thanks to a sponsored job with a tight deadline. It’s super messy right now, so I’ll just invite you to check out my reveal post for a complete look at this space.

New Pole Barn Home Build, tour.

MASTER BEDROOM

One of the items that make me happiest in this home are these old vintage doors I found at a vintage market. I’m so obsessed with doors (if you can’t tell) that I’ve chosen to take my time outfitting all our doorways, and look for doors with jaw dropping character. These beauties definitely fit the bill.

New Pole Barn Home Build, tour.

We had to widen the doorway a bit, just after the sheet-rockers finished their work. Hubs wasn’t happy about it, but he lovingly did it anyway.

New Pole Barn Home Build, tour.

And I am having a hard time finding a vintage doorknob to work with these, but it will be worth the hunt! Isn’t the patina just stunning?!

New Pole Barn Home Build, tour.

Bringing in items like this is how I plan to make a new home have old world character.

The master bedroom isn’t much to see at the moment, but with those tall windows to the side of the bed, it sure will be someday! We have to still finish the master bathroom that joins this space, but we felt the hallway bathroom was more important to get to.

New Pole Barn Home Build, tour.

Our closet spaces are all doing the best they can, with thrown together rods and metal storage shelves from our last basement.

New Pole Barn Home Build, tour.

BATHROOM

New Pole Barn Home Build, tour.

This is/will be a 2 space bathroom with a vanity area and a closed off toilet and shower area. We figure with 4 kids, we will definitely need that extra space. The bathroom is “mostly” functional.

This is a vintage piece I found as well, but I think I may look for something else before we hook up the marble sink. It isn’t very functional, and with 3 girls, I will definitely need something more functional. I’m on the hunt for a piece with character and function!

New Pole Barn Home Build, tour.

For now, we all 6 dance around this small vanity and fight for the bathroom. But hey, at least it isn’t an RV bathroom.

New Pole Barn Home Build, tour.

KIDS BEDROOMS

There are 3 bedrooms left for 4 kids, so 2 of my girls share a space. This is my little boys very messy bedroom.

New Pole Barn Home Build, tour.

It is extremely difficult to keep clean and tidy spaces when there is not storage and order to be found. I feel bad when I ask my kids to clean their rooms, because they really don’t know how to keep them clean. Please pray for us all!

Here is the double bedroom – you’ll notice all our bedrooms are still concrete floor as we haven’t had the time to finish the flooring throughout the house.

New Pole Barn Home Build, tour.

And a look at the closet and storage chaos that is.

New Pole Barn Home Build, tour.

Across the hall is my oldest daughters bedroom.

New Pole Barn Home Build, tour.

She is just thrilled to finally have her own space. Anybody else find that the oldest kid need their own bedrooms almost more than anyone!? The closets are really good size in this home and our only storage spaces, so I will need to figure out how to make the most of them.

AND THAT’S A WRAP! I actually didn’t realize how bad things were until I took all these pictures. It’s a pretty big mouthful, and we will begin chewing one space at a time.

Our Holiday’s were humble, and Mr. TIDBITS still works away every evening doing what he can to help us progress.

But we are together. We get to eat dinner together. We get to work together and face the problems together.

It was one of the first evenings in our new home, when I had multiple children falling apart and found myself at the verge of a breakdown. And my dear Kevin stepped in and talked the kids through it and made them laugh like he does so well. I broke down in tears, realizing how I’d missed having a partner to parent with.

So may the mess swirl around us – as long as we are together.

I thank you for visiting for this rather personal post, with not a whole lot of inspiration. If you weren’t already aware, this isn’t planned to be our forever home. We plan to live here for about 3-5 years and build our last and final house on our property. What will become of the pole barn is yet to be determined, but we will love it all the same.

I’d love to know what space you look forward to seeing us pull together! I’d love to know what you think of our new pole barn home! Please share in the comments below and subscribe to my newsletter to see it all come together!

Thanks for reading!

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63 Comments

  1. Congratulations….your progress is looking good 🙂
    Exciting times!
    God bless you and your family
    Clare

  2. Hello Cami!
    I recently discovered your channel and am so glad I did!
    Awesome work and inspiration! Thank you!!
    Please, I hope you don’t mind my asking, where did you find the double Dutch front doors? I’ve been wanting some! I’m grateful for any help you can offer with regards to getting this information!

    Abundant Blessings!
    Tanya

  3. You are doing an amazing job! My husband and I have been building our home for 18 years and still just getting to the kitchen which I think is the most important room but had to wait until we finished the last part which included the living room master bedroom and bath and walk in closet… It has been a long road but always fun and creative! In hindsight I probably would have done things differently if I knew how long this project would take but we are very proud of our accomplishments as I know you will be!

  4. I had to smile; your tour brought back great memories of a home that my (now ex) husband and I built. The cellar door was a horrible O.D. green wool Army blanket. The bathroom doors were floral sheets. I can still remember a bright blue eye 2′ off the floor (now 38 yo) peeking through the door casing crack when I was finding a moment of peace in the bathroom. My hand me down curtains were hung on roofing nails and baling twine! Sheets and blankets eventually became beautifully finished Christian panel doors with knobs that encouraged privacy. And window casings that hid the pink insulation! It will all come in time as long as you work together.

  5. Thank you for the real side of your life. I’m currently Rving (if that’s a word lol) right now. We are going to build our own home it will be more stick home but we are going to do all of it ourselves. It’s just 3 of us so the small space isn’t all that bad. But I made it feel cozy kinda like yours not as nice but still cozy. This is such an inspiration that we can do this and we will do this. Cant wait to see your beautiful home when your finished.

  6. One of your best posts ! It was truly refreshing to see the reality of all the changes that are happening. I actually got tears eyed reading thru your post. I also found myself identifying with your likes such as the doors, and the windows across the kitchen. I remodeled my kitchen last year and could (on a very small scale) relate to a few of the struggles. I used windows across one wall of my kitchen and I found a vintage door I used for a pantry. Love your tastes so much😜. Try to remain positive and focused and enjoy your ride. You will definitely look back on this time as a beautiful time in your life. Thanks for sharing with us all!

  7. Really, really a good job. I can already see your style & vision. You are a wonder doing it with 5 family members under foot & needing food/ care. I’d forgotten how much can be done with young energy. It’s a joy to see your beautiful home unfold. Thanks for letting me peak. 💕

  8. Cami, thank you so much for sharing such personal information. It’s so sweet of you to share your journey with us who can only dream about being able to undertake such a huge job! You and your Hubs are so very blessed…never forget that. I’m looking forward to the rest of your journey…you’ve done such a magnificent job already! Hang in there…

    1. Thank you so much Linda! It’s great to discover a team of people cheering us on! Helps me through the bad days. Thank you so much for following along!

  9. Oh my gosh! It’s so beautiful and full of potential! I’ve already told my husband I want to build a pole barn to live in! We’re hoping to start looking for acreage within the next year or so. I wonder if it’s possible to build them on a basement foundation? I just love the style of such open concept and single level living! I can’t wait to see all the beautiful spaces you and your husband create!

    1. Oh Karen, that is so exciting! I hope you find it and can proceed with your plan. I know hoping for it can be an emotional roller coaster sometimes! The single level living is actually amazing – I love not having a basement! I don’t think pole barn construction can have a basement foundation, but I could be wrong. Thanks for visiting!

  10. It’s beautiful for sure, but I too have lived through major construction in my home, and I’m pausing right now to pray for you all!

    1. Oh Becky! Definitely appreciate your prayers! It is crazy and sometimes very hard. Counting my blessings helps 😉 . Thanks for stopping by!

  11. Oh Cami, already I can so feel your love in every space, messy or not! Please try to enjoy these stressful times because truly, all the beauty in the whole wide world is surrounding you right this minute. I am so grateful that you have such a patient, loving husband. His love for you and his children already makes your home the most beautiful one I have ever seen. Thank you for your deep sharing.

    1. Your comment was so sweet Carol! Yes, I have the most wonderful husband who works so hard for us. And whenever I find myself complaining I do just take a peek outside and soak in our glorious blessings. We’ve achieved the first big step in our dream and that is something to be aware of. Thank you for being so very kind and supportive!

  12. hey girl- love the house! Can’t wait to see what y’all do with it. And I will be praying for u. Stay strong and always remember that God has a special plan for u and ur family.

  13. Your house is amazing. I can’t believe how much you have completed in such a short time. I am sure it will be beautiful when you are finished. Every house built is a learning experience and there are always things that you would do different. This is true of every builder so don’t beat yourself up over each less than perfect issue.
    Marble is so very beautiful. My only concern (and one I learned the hard way) is that it stains so easily. If you know of a way to remove stains from marble, please share it.

    1. Thanks Nancy! It is crazy to think what my hubs accomplished in the last 6 months – as exhausting as they were. I’ve been reading a lot about marble and keeping it sealed is important for its maintenance. I think it will be more doable just having a small section versus a whole kitchen. I just love it so much, it is worth it to me. Thank you for visiting my blog!

  14. Cami,
    You and your family have been on a remarkable journey and are hanging in there very well. You have a very admirable attitude which not only help all members of your family as well as an example to all of us readers! Your dream will come true, it is all a manner of time.

    1. Laura, your comment was so king! Some days we hang in there better than others, but I am so grateful to be where we are at right now. I appreciate your kindness and encouragement!

  15. This is such a wonderful space to be creative in and you are doing a great job. I know it must get frustrating and tiring but the end result will be wonderful and your scenery around your home is so pretty, what a blessing. I am very excited to see all this year brings for you and your family.

  16. It is all going to be sooooo AMAZING !!!
    Love all the windows and sun light coming in .
    And ❤️all the special pieces that you are picking out are just perfect ❣️Good things take time …, it is going to be a fun year for you 😍

    1. Oh yes, those windows! I’ve dreamt of a light filled kitchen my whole life! Thank you so so much for following along!

  17. Love the flooring!!! I’m redoing the flooring in my master bedroom, bath and walk in closet. Where did you get it? Love seeing the progress,

    1. Yes, the flooring is amazing! It’s from Floor and Decor. Check my kitchen design post for all the details. Thanks!

  18. It is going to be beautiful I’m sure! Kudos to your family to live there with so much work to be done. Have you built other houses? I would be so overwhelmed!

    1. Thanks for coming by the blog Tina! No, we have never built a home so we are learning a ton! And yes, it is very overwhelming but we are grateful to be here.

  19. Wow, I love it all, and those front doors are simply beautiful. Must be such a welcome relief to finally be in your home all together .

  20. Gorgeous! I can’t decide which are my favorites. The double dutch front doors, the floors, the bright spacious kitchen and pantry, all wonderful! I hate to sound so old fashioned, but I’ve always had to wait patiently and add a piece here, a piece there. And I appreciate each and every piece still today. Sometimes slowing down affords you the opportunity to find what you and your family really love. Thank you for sharing this journey. So exciting!

    1. You can have lots of favorites 😉 . I think having the patience to collect and bring a home together is how we should all do it! That’s what I had to do on our last house and it was very rewarding. I’m in a hurry to get things a bit more livable for us, but then I can’t wait to start hunting for the perfect pieces to really bring the home together. Thank you for the reminder to be patient! Hugs!

  21. Cami, it looks wonderful. I know it must be frustrating right now, but the house is looking great and you are all together in your own space–that’s huge

  22. You are doing a wonderful job…I also love the windows in your kitchen and the front and master doors…..Excited to see how you finish each room…=]

    1. Oh, the windows! I have always dreamed of a light filled kitchen! It’s so nice! Thanks for following along!

  23. Thanks for being real and showing that things aren’t always sunshine and lollipops 😊. I love following along with your progress.

    1. Definitely not always sunshine and lollipops 😉 . Part of the journey though! Thanks for stopping by the blog!

  24. It looks great! You guys are doing amazing and I know that you will have a very beautiful home in the end. Hang in there you guys are doing awesome!

    1. Thank you so much Ashley! We are hanging in there as best as we can. I sure appreciate your encouragement.

  25. Good go see you posting again. Your house is already lovely and I’m looking forward to seeing you and your husband turn it into a home. I can just picture the soft colors and beautiful pictures , etc. Let’s face it , you have Excellent taste. Being together is the most important thing , start and end each day with a prayer , reading of God’s word , hugs and kisses , lots of patience and understanding and y’all will be Great. It won’t always be easy but with God in the midst it will be better. I loved that your house looks lived in , I hate being at someone’s house and you’re afraid to Move ! I like warm and inviting. Have a Blessed week .

    1. So good to be posting again! I’m glad you can see my vision coming together! So grateful to you for the encouragement. Yes, turning to God is my greatest strength and He blesses us daily.

  26. It’s beautiful Cami, you ALL have done a great job. The person that stated you will get ideas for the spaces while living in them is right on.

    If you all still have plans for a venue for weddings, family reunions, retreats, etc. in your future, your pole barn home will be a perfect spot to rent out after you get your forever home built. Your property will be a beautiful setting for those that choose to visit.

    1. Yes, I loved that comment. It is nice to be able to see how we will use the spaces before we finish them up. I’ve already changed a lot of what I originally thought I would be doing. Those plans are always in our back pockets, but we are just trying to focus on what we have at hand right now. I do dream of others enjoying this home as well! Thank you for your encouragement!

  27. Even with all the chaos, the spaces show flashes of beauty! The potential is there and I know you will make it shine. Best of all, you are all together under one roof and that in itself makes up for all the work ahead. I’m looking forward to watching the house transform. Blessings on your New Year!
    Hugs, Cecilia

    1. Glad you can see the beauty Cecilia! I am so truly grateful to just be together. Thanks for coming by again my dear friend! I hope you have a blessed 2020!

  28. Beautiful beginning to what I’m sure will be a beautiful home. It always takes longer than we hope. After 7 months of living in our RV after our house burned down I was just glad to have space! Decorating is going slow and we still have a lot of projects to do but it’s important to just live with the space for a while to make the best decisions. You have accomplished a lot already!

    1. Amy – your challenges have pricked at my heart! What an emotional journey you have been on! I’m feeling for you and pray we each face our challenges with grace! Hugs!

  29. Your house is amazing! Love all those doors, & the transom over the front entrance. These pictures show the results of a thousand difficult decisions & hours & hours of work. I really love your spirit of thankfulness, heart of love for family, & honesty. Family is everything! The kitchen has the space and spare feel of a cool urban loft, especially with the oversized windows. It will be fun to watch it morph into the European feel you love.

    1. Thank you Andrea! Those doors are among my favorite features as well! Glad you saw the hours of work because therein lies all the love and joy! Family is absolutely everything and I am so glad to all be together. Thank you for following along and for your sweet comment.

  30. Amazing… as with everything you do! Can’t wait to see you work even more magic. (eBay is a great place for antique doorknobs)

    1. Thank you Sara! I didn’t think to check eBay. Appreciate the suggestion and to have you following along.