10%

A home in transition

Sitting, waiting, wishing.

By Life & Muse

October 17^th, 2019

When I first started documenting the experience of designing our new home, I wrote:

"We just want to be able to look back and cherish all the moments of joy, fear, frustration, and sheer, sheer awe that we’ll experience every step of the way."

At the time, I really thought that we'd have much more progress and many more moments to share along the way. But as it turns out, this process has mostly been a whole lot of waiting around. Waiting for discussions to happen. Waiting for decisions to be made. Waiting for contractors to begin. Waiting for furniture to ship. Waiting, literally, for paint to dry. Sure, in between all that waiting, there's a lot of pinning, planning, and paying, but these activities are mostly just shades of waiting, disguised with the promise of eventual outcomes.

Light at the end of the tunnel

Presumably, once we've waited long enough though, we'll cross a chasm where our Pinterest boards will finally start coming to life and all the decisions we've been making for months will culminate into a perfectly orchestrated design euphoria. Presumably.

5 months after starting this process, we think we're right at the edge of this chasm. The last week and a half has been particularly productive, with many big decisions being made, deposits being paid, and first construction tarps being laid. Momentum is picking up. We're so ready to leap.

At the end of this week, we vacate our home for 2 weeks (to Hawaii, no less) to make way for painters, after which we expect to be returning to the most material step forward since moving in. No doubt, there'll much more to share then, but in the spirit of documenting more of the in-between moments, I thought I'd share another glance at what our home life has looked like in this transitionary state.

Spoiler late: it's not glamorous. In fact, it's downright messy. But anyone who's been through renovations of any scale will understand that the following photos are definitely very real. I probably don’t even have to tell you that the photos are unstaged.

I hope you enjoy this very candid look into the current state of our home.

Note: As usual, nothing in this post is sponsored. Though I’d be very open to it. 😉 In the mean time, the product links are just to tame your curiosity.

Hallway

Not a whole has changed in this space since the last update. Over the next few weeks, the whole entryway and hallway will be getting a fresh coat of less-yellow paint, which I'm thoroughly excited for.

Here are a few other notables:

We've ordered an entryway table that'll fit the same silhouette of the bar cart that's there currently, but be much more useful.
Not shown: the indescribably terrible chandelier that we're relieved to be replacing soon with something more stylish.
We're still on the hunt for an entryway rug and bench.
Mr. Pepper may or may not remain in the hallway, at Zoey's discretion.

Living room

We are so excited about this room. We've pivoted the layout and feel like this arrangement takes better advantage of the room's best qualities. Facing the bay window also somehow opens the room up and creates a grander perception of space.

Here's what's in store:

The walls will be draped in a rich olive green to give the room a dark and cozy vibe.
We've got a big and comfy sectional Cloud Couch arriving in December that we can't wait to sink and disappear into. Buying this couch was by far the most stressful decision we've had to make to date.
The TV will be mounted to the wall and we'll be getting rid of the media credenza.
Our lounge chair will be sticking around, as will the new rug we picked up last week that we're loving more and more over time.
A new and beautifully textured light will replace the existing chandelier.
We're hoping to be able to re-purpose our existing couch and coffee table in the dining room, if not we may need to part ways with them!
Zoey's toys will likely continue to be scattered all over the floor.

Guest bedroom

It’s hard to see the full mess in this room, but trust me, it’s there.

Beyond being the temporary holding space for our entire closet (see below), we have some grand plans for this space:

A sleek navy will fill this room to give our visiting guests a fresh and modern home away from home.
The bed will remain and will be complemented with two mid-century side tables on each side.
Current plans suggest that we'll add a small working desk in the bay window, but that's still up in the air.
We promise this room won't be filled with all our clothes by the time our next guest arrives.

Master bedroom

This room has been slowly coming together over time and is probably the closest to being fully furnished.

Here are some upcoming highlights:

This room is getting a dark and high contrast treatment, with the walls going dark grey, while the ceilings, trims, and baseboards remain a stark white.
Our king bed is now accompanied by our mega-wide bedside tables that we are super in love with (who knew that side table real estate could feel so luxurious).
We found these stylish pillar table lamps last week that really complement the proportions of our side tables and headboard.
We moved the hallway console table into the room the other day. It now sits under where our a new Frame TV will soon be mounted.
A bench may find its way into the bay window, but there's a pretty good chance that a crib or bassinet may claim that space instead.
There'll likely always be chargers strewed casually beside the bed because, let's face it, it's 2019.

Master closet

The only major structural work we're doing is to our closet. We've combined an unused den with our mini walk-in closet to make a mega walk-in closet. In the photo below, you can see where the original wall was removed (with the left side being our original closet, and the right being the den).

We're also excited to have designed our entire closet system with Container Store's Avera collection. Never have we had to think so carefully about every drawer, shelf, rod, and counter in our closet.

Guest bathroom

Ugh, those light fixtures, mirrors, and backsplash tiles kill me. But alas, projects like these are all about prioritization, so those'll have to wait for a future wave to get a refresh. Fortunately, we're squeezing a clean coat of white paint into this wave to gives this bathroom some new life.

Nursery

AKA ex-office. AKA ex-miscellaneous storage room. This room is a real mess right now so we're really looking forward to transforming this space into a nursery for Atlas.

We've got a lot more to figure out for this room still but for now, we know it's getting a fresh coat of bright and airy paint and a pretty sweet wallpaper pattern on the big wall shown on the left below. Our pins are also building up quickly.

Kitchen

Nearly identical to the last update, only messier in its current state.

Not a whole lot is changing here except:

The walls will be brightened up with fresh paint.
Those wacky blinds on the back window will be coming down. Finally.
The back breakfast nook is being converted to a working space, where we’re placing a custom desk built to fit both Hanna and I side-by-side.

Dining room

We've thoroughly enjoyed hosting larger gatherings in this room and are glad we invested early in our new dining table and chairs.

Here's what else is to come:

The walls are becoming a beautifully bold coral/blush color.
The chandelier is being swapped for something more elegant and less... medieval.
We're hoping that our current living room couch and coffee table will find a home in this room.
A rug, a set of side tables, and some single seaters are in the cards, but we're waiting for the dust to settle on all the other items before adding those finishing touches.
Sadly, that shoe cabinet will not stay in this room.

Up next

There’s a quick breakdown of things happening next:

Closet construction completion
Painting the whole house
Wallpaper installation
Closet installation
Drapery installation
Lighting installation

This should easily take us into December which means we should have a fairly well shaped home in time for the holidays! Knock on wood.

In the mean time, we’ll likely continue shopping for rugs, lamps, artwork, throw pillows, and other small touches that’ll complete our spaces. I also have bigger plans for all our smart home devices (don’t tell Hanna).

That's it (for now)

Thanks for reading this far! I know most updates are pretty mundane so the effort it takes to get to this part of the post is not lost on us. Rest assured, the after photos are coming.

If you’re a real keener, you can follow our Pinterest board. You’ll see literally every item we’re considering, the ones we’ve shortlisted, and even the ones we’ve pulled the trigger on. If that’s your jam, follow away!