This Global Home | Day 11: Central Asia

Hi, I'm Heather. I’ve lived overseas for 10 years now with my husband and 4 kids. We homeschool and have a sustainable farm business. This is the front entrance of our house. Connect with me: Instagram

We've lived in the house for a year now but the kitchen was just completed a month ago! I’ve never had a place I could add color to so this is the first! It hasn't been easy moving into a 50+ year old house, but the location is worth it.

This is part of the outside wall of the rest of the house that is now inside. When we moved in, the place had no water inside and was completely open except for a roof over the wood fire cooking place. I love the natural texture that the wall gives the room.

Boys room - This is our three boys' room. It’s usually covered with legos but it was cleaned up a bit for “mom’s pictures.” The beams are low but, with the beds up in the air, the room is more open than if we had put their bunk beds in. Use the space you're given!

The beds are lofted and the window insets (already there) are used as desks. It’s a teens’ room so pardon the unmade bed and homeschool work-in-progress. The boys love the space -- and so do the cats.

This is our daughter’s room. It’s no more than 6 feet high in here and it's small. I’m standing outside to take the picture. The bed is the boys old bunk bed that we cut into a "girl cave," as her brothers call it. She has plenty of room to play and sleep and can have friends sleep over (some above, some below).

Our bedroom is short as well, about 6 feet at the beam bottoms. There was newspaper pasted to all the beams that took me and an electric brush grinder three solid days to clean off. My husband made the bed so it could fit the room and allows for things to be stored underneath it, if needed.

This is the space in our room that I put together for my husband’s painting and leather working. It gives him a space to relax and makes our whole room smell like leather!

This is just beside the bedroom. It’s my whole closet. With a small room, I decided to use a coat rack to hang the extra stuff up so we didn't have to use anymore floor space. The leather bag and belt are creations of my husband, so it’s always worth it to me to give him a space to work! :0)

When we moved in there was a mud outhouse without a roof and that was all. We added on a bathroom and shower room and the covered laundry area came about 8 months later. It's very nice since we have a rainy season that's at least 3 months long. And yes, there is seldom a day there is not laundry hung in here.

Just a little peek of part of the back yard and the cat sleeping on, yes, clean clothes! The clothes can get washed but putting them away -- well, now you’re asking too much!

With a farm to run and a house to remodel, not everything can get done quickly. This is a room that has more work to do. Notice the plastic that covers the window openings. The "couch" is an old bed that was here that I had cushions made for it. Hopefully the wood stove will be in before the cold sets in because baby, it gets cold outside!

This is the part of the house the bedrooms are in. It still has the feel of the village we live in, but that also helps make people feel at home. The porches are the hang-out spots and there are no indoor hallways at all. All rooms have doors to the outside and the porches are the "hallways."

I love plants! Between the farm and my love of them there is always a basket with seeds drying or something hung up to be used for something down the road. My kids always know we are "home" when I start planting something. That love has been passed along and now our kids have their own little gardens made out of old bee boxes we don't need anymore. It’s a good trade, as our bees in their new houses get to enjoy flowers from their old houses!

Decorating a house doesn't mean you have to be Martha Stewart! It’s about family and places that make you feel comfortable. Choose things YOU love --not what the magazines and websites tell you to love -- and your home will always feel like you! My home will always be a little quirky to some people but the door is always open and the coffee/tea is always flowing and that’s the way I like it!