Since I’m going to be sharing some home-improvement and decorating posts from here on out (and since so many people have swung by from Young House Love since the Pinterest challenge post), I thought it’d be nice to give you a little tour before we begin. It’s rather a blank slate, as you can see – we have furniture, but not much else. We’ve only just gotten to the point where we feel ready to commit to things like paint and curtains. What can I say? We’re slow. But we’d rather keep the process of making this house our own very gradual and let the house evolve naturally. I have some ideas for where we will be going with many of these spaces in the next few months and I’ll share those ideas below.
Here is the family room, where we spend the bulk of our time. Hubby and I have lived in this house for over a year now, but in some ways we’re still very much in the one-bedroom condo mindset; you will usually find us in the same room. We love the sturdy, comfortable, and crowd-friendly furniture that we chose. Priorities for this room include paint on the walls, some oil-rubbed bronze curtain rods and filmy white floor length curtains to soften up the dark, manly furniture (which is from Ethan Allen – the sectional – and Crate&Barrel – the accent tables and unpictured media console). I’m also bringing in lighter and softer accents, starting with the greenish-tinted clear glass lamp from IKEA and (soon, I hope) some lighter blue/green and white toss pillows for the sectional. This heavy, dark furniture doesn’t overwhelm the cavernous family room, but all the accents I bring in will be light, bright and airy to keep the room from looking like a cave.
I love, love, love my dining room – with two exceptions. The white-carpeted floor is, to be frank, a hazard (we’re a red wine household) and the old-lady chandelier is on my hit list. The carpet will be around for awhile, since we’re working our way up to getting the floors replaced (that’s a big-budget project and we prefer to space those out), but the chandelier will be making its merry way to the Habitat ReStore very soon, if I have anything to say about it. But other than slapping some paint on the walls and actually putting dishes in the buffet (not pictured), I’m thrilled with the dining room. The table, chairs and buffet are from Ethan Allen (Tango collection) and I’m borderline obsessed with them. Sometimes I just go in there to visit them and tell them how beautiful they are. And if you want to talk obsessions, that little line of glassybaby votives is just a fraction of my collection.
The living room is furnished with my condo furniture. I love the big arched windows and how light, bright and airy everything is. I don’t have too much to say about the living room, since I’ve had that furniture since 2007. The couch, chair and coffee table are all from Ethan Allen and the cabinet is from Crate&Barrel. Oh and there are some more glassybaby votives. Obsessed, I tell you.
You’ve seen the kitchen already. Nothing has changed since I last showed you around there – not even the cabinet pulls. I’m sure there is a trip to IKEA in my near future and I’ll be picking up some stainless steel pulls at the next opportunity. At some point I would like to paint the cabinets white, possibly replace the cabinet doors, and switch out the white appliances for my beloved stainless steel (another moment of silence for my condo appliances, please). But the kitchen makeover is on hold until the first appliance dies. And no, I’m not misusing them to encourage them to die. I’m actually trying to keep them working as long as possible. I never plan to move, ever, so what’s the rush?
Here’s the guest bedroom, which is pretty much as it will remain, other than getting some paint on the walls and some curtains on the windows. You can see paint sample cards stuck to the wall, but I’ve actually chosen a color – a nice warm cappuccino color that I think will complement the furniture beautifully. The guest bedroom also has an en suite bath.
This room, I’m calling the “bookroom.” This is one of the two front bedrooms (the other is empty except for a yoga mat and some free weights) that will someday be kids’ rooms, I hope. In the meantime, I can come up here, shut out the sounds of zombie-killing or armchair-coaching coming from the family room, flop down on those floor pillows and enjoy a book. We are considering putting a pull-out couch in here, both for reading and for sleeping extra guests, but haven’t found anything yet. Unpictured: not much, just a stack of piano and cello music, a music stand and two violins.
Finally, here’s the master bedroom! This room is cavernous and we haven’t even begun to fill it. My current top furnishing priority is that little nook by the double window, which I am imagining as a seating area and quiet reading space. I have furniture pretty much chosen for the spot and I’ll update you when I’ve ordered something to go in there. As for the furniture, the headboard is from Charles P. Rogers, the nightstands and an unpictured armoire (which we call the Portal to Narnia) are Ethan Allen (Tango collection again). The master bedroom is my current “big” project. The space just oozes potential and I can’t wait to fill it up!
So there you have it! I haven’t bothered to show you the bathrooms because they’re builder-boring and really nobody needs to see my hot pink toothbrush. We also have a gigantic unfinished basement that is on the “someday” list of projects. I’m psyched to start drawing all over my blank slate and create a space that really feels like “home” for hubby and me. Of course I’ll take you along for the ride!
covered in flour 