now that we have officially been in the house a week, I wanted to share a little home update! we got the house on new years eve, and blake and I rang in the new year in our new house just the two of us :). from the second we walked into this house, it just felt like it was made for us. it truly felt like we were meant to live here, and it feels so good to be officially in.

I wanted to live in the house for a little while before we undertook any renovation projects or made any purchases for the house, and I am SOOO happy we did it that way. my entire renovation and design strategy has shifted since we moved in. we are using spaces in different ways than I anticipated. and the space feels so different now that we are actually in it. even though most of our rooms are empty, I am really starting to get a feel for what they will be someday!

before we moved in the only thing we did was paint the second floor and basement. we had professional painters do the second floor, but they couldn’t finish the basement in time for the move so my dad and I did the basement! painting a room has always been on my bucket list, for some reason I have always wanted to do it. and it was actually really fun and extremely soothing. there is something so calming about painting a room. maybe because my dad is just a really calm person, but I found the whole process really enjoyable.

a few tips for painting from a beginner: (1) enlist help from someone who has done it before; (2) buy an audio book to listen to, I listened to Becoming Michelle Obama; (3) wear clothes you don’t mind ruining, RIP lululemon pants; (4) be prepared for sore muscles…there are muscles in my forearm that I didn’t even know existed; (5) paint is expensive…I have never painted a room before so I thought a can of paint was about $5. well, the previous owners had used Regal Select on the house and we wanted to be consistent. my jaw actually dropped when I saw it was $60 a can! so budget accordingly. we used about two cans on each room (5) have fun and don’t rush!

our entire house, with the exception of bb’s room because I haven’t decided exactly what I want to do with it yet, is chantilly lace. paint is so subjective and could look entirely different in two different houses, or even in two different rooms of the same house! but we loved how the color looked on the first floor so we just continued it throughout the house to simplify things. it’s a crisp white that goes really well with the natural wood tones throughout our house.

I am not sure what will come next in terms of renovations. it’s a bit of what comes first, the chicken or the egg. we need new carpet upstairs, but if we are going to be moving walls eventually, I don’t want to replace the carpet until we do that. the second floor bathrooms need to be redone and the basement bathroom could use a refresh too. way down the road, we would love to build out the attic space or build a guest suite above the garage. but we haven’t met with contractors yet to see if that is feasible. so until then, we are just living in the space as is to get a good feel for what we want. I am also just starting to get a feel for what textures and tones work best in the house. I am gravitating towards natural fibers, textures and materials.

decor wise, the plan is to get the first floor done and then move onto the second floor and basement! we have our old furniture in the family room and dining room for now, and the rest of the first floor is empty. I am actually starting to love the empty space haha. it’s perfect for bb. room to dance and play and it just feels so calm and airy in here. I am going to try really hard to make our decor feel minimal yet homey. I don’t want it to start to feel crowded in here.

the goal is a really kid friendly space that doesn’t feel cluttered and crazy, with toys and play spaces organically spaced throughout the house. I wish I was the type of mom that could just have ugly and brightly colored toys throughout the entire house without it driving me insane. I am not that type of mom. I want this house to be a place where bb can roam and play freely without it feeling like toys just threw up all over the house. so the plan is for play spaces to be built into the decor scheme and thoughtfully placed.

I haven’t pulled the trigger on any pieces yet. I want a plan for the entire first floor before I buy anything. one piece can effect the entire decor scheme for the rest of the house, and I really want the house to have a good flow. when we “decorated” our condo, I bought things piecemeal and it never felt like it had a rhyme or reason. I want the perfect mix, but I also don’t want the house to feel too “decorated.” you know when you walk into a room and it feels too perfect? like they just walked into restoration hardware and bought an entire room full of furniture? I do not want that. I have a serious love/hate relationship with restoration hardware. we have pieces from there that I love, but when you get too much from there it starts to feel like stepford house. I want a mix that feels unique to my family and home. I want it to feel done, but not too perfect, if that makes sense? I also want room to find more pieces as the years go by. we love to travel and some of my favorite pieces and artwork from our old condo are ones we found in different cities around the world!

to start to get a feel for what I want where, I have been moving artwork and furniture pieces around the house. I want to see how they feel in different spaces before I make any final decisions! we also have some large scale artwork we are going to get framed. but I want to find the perfect place for each piece. I’ve been making blake hold up this kuba cloth all over the house until we find it’s forever home :). to be determined…

can’t wait to share more of this process as we go!

xoxo