Before & After: Master Bedroom

I'm finally ready to unveil Step 1 of our Master Bedroom Redo!

The redecorating of our master bedroom was no small feat... if anyone remembers, the previous owners had some very eclectic taste which they exhibited masterfully in the master bedroom.

The room was a mix of sponged-on mustard yellow walls and large vertical stripes of red and green fabric separated by gold ribbon a la Christmas wrapping. Hm. Interesting.

What we did: We used Stone 2 by Laura Ashely (from Lowe's) on the walls. I saw the color on a design blog, where it was used in a nursery and I loved it. It's surprising, because it's a pretty neutral color for me (I'm generally a bit more dramatic and bold) but it was so soft and pretty and completely unlike the look of the room that we wanted desperately to undo.

The paint is a kind of pinky-taupe that I think looks amazing with our bed (which I've had dreams of for years and we finally got from Humble Abode). I realize most of these after pictures are bed-centric... but we don't have other furniture, aside from a dresser, and it's not a huge room so the bed really is the focal point.

We have so much more to do to bring the whole room together (Step 2) - curtains, pictures of walls...but for now this is what we've got!

Before Pictures









After Pictures

Outside Seasonal Decorations

As promised, here's the fall decorations on the front of our house...

Actually, we think we'll leave the crazy weird and slightly scary (and creepy) flying monkey hanging from the nail in the middle of the porch ceiling. This was my dad's and we love it. No matter how weird it is!

Coming Soon...

...My new unhealthy love for seasonal decorations.

Seriously, I don't know who this person is that I've become, but all I want to do is buy, like, twelve different wreaths for my front door.

Stay tuned...

New Rug!

Hooray, we finally got a rug for the living room! It finally feels (fairly) complete. We still have some little tables to buy and pictures to put on the walls, but it feels like a real room now.

We got the rug from homedecorators.com, which has proven to be a pretty great resource for us. We also got our TV cabinet, standing/reading lamp from them, and now we're waiting for our new dining room chandelier.

It was also a relief, because we weren't sure what colors would look good...I've gone with a semi-monochromatic look (notice how most things in here are blue?) with highlights of yellowy-gold (the couch) and the complementary color of orange (the copper of the top of the coffee table).

Anyway, the rug looks fab with it all, I think. If you disagree, don't tell me!

Before & After: Kitchen (Step 1)

We went back and forth deciding what color to paint the kitchen (the first of many steps in fixing this space up).

We were going to go for white, because we want a clean, open, light space...but decided on the same pale blue (Behr's Cool Sky) with white trim (Behr's Creamy White) that we used in the living and dining rooms. One reason is because the first floor of our house is very open and you can see each room from the others. We wanted things to feel connected, cohesive, and not broken up (since the rooms aren't huge and don't need to feel smaller than they are).

Another reason we went for the pale blue/white combo is because it's just so pretty. Every time I look around at the walls I say, "Isn't this so pretty?" So, why not spread that love to the kitchen?

Before
After
Before
After
See how light it is now, without that dark green keeping everything in shadows?
The blue might not go with things yet, but soon it will all come together.

The next step we plan to take is to paint or stain the cabinets white. I say paint, Andy says stain so they're kind of white-washed with the wood grain still showing through. I'm open to anything - does anyone have experience/knowledge pertaining to this? Please share!

Eventually we'll also (over who knows how many months) replace the sink (I hate this one!), replace the counter (probably with granite, though a big part of me yearns for butcher block), put up a tile backsplash, and change the floor. Speaking of which - what do you think of the floor? Sometimes I love it, sometimes I hate it...

What's Cookin'?

Our kitchen - the color, that is.

(Wait, does color cook? or does a kitchen cook? Whatever. The question was "What's cookin'?" meaning "What's happening?" and the simple answer is "We are painting our kitchen." Whew. Sorry.)

We spent the last two days priming & painting the kitchen. We finished today, and although we still plan to paint or refinish the cabinets, I'm really not one to wait, so I'll post (pre-changed cabinet) before and after pictures tomorrow.

Am I making sense? I don't think so. This is what two days of painting does to my brain. Ouch. Consider this a word problem.

Dog Days

Introducing our new puppy, Vivian!

We call her Vivi. She's a West Highland Terrier, and very smart - she has learned her name, to fetch and to come AND has been AWESOME in her housebreaking (for the most part). And it's only her second full day here!

See more pictures of our little Vivi here.

We're not really the kind of people to call ourselves our pet's "parents" or her our "baby," but seriously, she's so cute and little and we have to wake up in the middle of the night to take her out, so it certainly feels like we are getting some preparation for a baby (and no, I'm not pregnant yet!).

We've wanted a dog for loooong time, but never could get one in our NYC apartments. We knew we wanted one as soon as we moved here. We thought we would get a mutt or something, but we happened upon a litter of Westies, and my mom's dog Buster is a Westie and a great dog, so we went for it.

And it's not just me who loves terriers! One of my favorite sketches by "The Kids in the Hall" is Bruce McCulloch singing the Terriers song.

Your Average White Suburbanite Slob

Wait, you don't know the song "Asshole" by Denis Leary (my favorite line conveniently perfect for the title of this post)?? Before going further, go watch the video NOW!!

(and yes, our other, often-quoted, favorite line is "When handicapped people make handicapped faces"... don't judge!)

Little did we know that one day we'd be what we've been laughing at all these years.
It all started with... a mower.

That's right - we got a lawn mower.

Not just any mower...

a ride on mower.

We have a big yard.
A push mower would take hours.
Everyone else has a ride on mower.
It makes the air smell really nice.

Never mind the excuses, here's my own white suburbanite slob, taking that bad boy for it's first spin.

It's absolutely thrilling. I know. Don't be jealous.

I don't know what's next - me wearing an apron, baking a pie? What other suburban stereotypes can we act out?

Painting (Before & After)

Painting, painting and more painting. That's where I've been.

But today was a change - the big carpet cleaning expedition! How exciting!
We rented a carpet cleaner and just finished up four hours of intense cleaning.
I hate carpeting.

Here's some before and after shots of some rooms we've done so far, in terms of painting. We have lots of decorating that will be coming up soon; just not yet. foyer before (looking into the half bath)

foyer after

half bath after (never got a decent before pic)

guest bathroom before

guest bathroom after

guest bedroom before

guest bedroom after

dining room before

dining room after

living room before

living room after

Paint Colors:
Foyer & Half Bathroom: Glidden Antique White w/ Creamy White trim. (We were dumb - we went ahead and bought the Antique White based on a suggestion on a website that it's a great cream color, without actually testing it first... it's a little more grayish than cream, but it looks clean so I guess it's okay for now.

Guest Bathroom: Behr White Bathroom paint (mildew resistant, all that good stuff) w/ existing wood trim

Guest Bedroom: Behr Grass Cloth w/ existing wood trim.

Living room & dining room: Behr Cool Sky w/ Creamy White trim.

Steak Night (and stuff)

We bought our grill yesterday. Hallelujah!

For anyone who knows us, you know we usually have "steak night" once a week - kind of our version of date night, I suppose, where we make steak and drink a (big) bottle of wine and talk and watch some half-hour TV show (used to be "House Hunters" though now our needs have changed, it's more likely to be "Renovation Realities" or similar) where it takes us two hours to watch it because we pause and chat so often.

Therefore, we've enjoyed steak made on the grill... two nights in a row! I know, sacrilege. Don't judge our red-meat tendencies. Please, don't.

My mom is coming tomorrow and we're off for lots of shopping, mainly for the guest room & bathroom. We need to buy bedding, a shower curtain and towels - we must buy these otherwise she has to do without. We should have lots of girly fun.

Also, we got our bed frame delivered today, and tomorrow our guest bed is coming, along with our new oven. Thursday it's our couch that's coming. It's definitely a busy week here - and, though I'm not giving too much away, I have two important things this week. Tomorrow I meet with a woman at UMass Amherst about finishing my Graduate degree and getting certified to teach in Mass, and Thursday... I have another appointment that I'll discuss later.

Anyway, it's getting later as I write and I'm beat (must be that half giant bottle of wine getting to me)...

more later! Have a good night!

House pictures & Boston!

Okay! For all the exciting moments of our first week and a half in our new house captured on film (well, my digital camera) AND a quick trip to Boston on Saturday, click here.

And for just a glimpse of dusk from our back deck, here's a quick video to give you and idea of the surroundings. We love it!

New House Stuff

I am so exhausted from painting and cleaning (still) that I can't really think of a halfway interesting or intelligent title for this post. If you've come here for the complete entertainment experience, my apologies.

I am desperately trying to post pictures from our first week and a half in the house online and provide a link, but I think the Charter internet makes is difficult. Or it's Facebook, which is where I create my photo albums.

Soon I'll write more and show off all the cleaning/black ant/oven-smoking fun.

Lions and Tigers and BEARS?! Oh My!

We met the next door neighbor today.

She told us there's wild turkeys, foxes, coy dogs (whatever the HELL those are) and BEARS here. Sometimes you see them in the front yard.

what the HELL.

Great Looks

If you've been paying attention, you know that my mind is in overdrive with decorating this new home. I want clean, calm, organized but warm...I want colors and patterns but nothing too busy but instead all cohesive and beautiful... yada yada yada.

I'm inspired by Parisian apartments, French Country, Victorian (especially because of the exterior of the house) and am working with a lot of inherited old wood American furniture.

Here's some great sites I frequently drool over that definitely inspire me and keep my eyes on the prize (and remind me that there's so much more out there than Ikea or Pottery Barn!). Check them out! The last one is great for DIY stuff and clean, organizational ideas (their place is sooo clean looking, especially their kitchen!)
La Maison Bohéme
The Paris Apartment
Southern Hospitality
The Inspired Room
This Young House

Here's some pictures that I've found online that are also inspirational for colors I'd like to use (rich cream, soft lavender, grey-green, sunny yellow, pale and deep blue).

I'm a Homeowner - Get Me Out of Here!

No, actually, I love it...

But for the record...

96 Hours in our new house and so far:

- Slugs (outside, thankfully, but still - ew!)
- Dead critter in the pool
- Discovered water in the basement after a major downpour (above the foundation, thankfully)
- Discovered a leak in the ceiling of the guest bedroom
- Pretty sure the house was hit by lightning today while we were painting (flash, boom, buzz, electricity out momentarily)

And finally, an hour ago...

- The oven caught on fire. On the inside. And smoked the whole house up. We moved it out, aimed the fire extinguisher and had at it (pictures to follow). It's sitting in the backyard now, and I'm about to search online for a new one.

I've always been terrified that bad things happen to good people. Or that there be balance in the world. Or whatever. I just hope this whole house thing works out...

Closing on our House

We did it!

After years and years...

and years...

...of dreaming and planning, we finally have a house. It's weird and crazy and didn't go quite as smoothly as we'd wanted (nothing ever does, right?).

The original plan was that we were supposed to close at 11am with a final walk-through beforehand at 9:45am.

But, last week we were told that the seller had movers coming at 8am today, and probably wouldn't be done in time. (Hey - I bet I know what you're thinking... you're wondering why wouldn't the seller move out any day OTHER than the day of closing? Hm. Good question!)

So we changed the closing time to 1pm with a final walk-through of 12. Of course at 11:45 today our real estate agent called to let us know that the seller was still at the house, along with lots of his things, a storage pod and a big garbage container (like, you know, for construction projects?). They'd be all moved out by three o'clock. ANGER!

But we knew we couldn't do anything. So we walked-through, we went and closed but withheld some money till the seller left, signed our names and initialed tons of papers, and finally went back to the house. At 3pm. And hung out there while the seller continued to move...

til 5 o'clock!

But he's gone. So is the trash container, his pod of stuff, and everything. We have moved some stuff in there, and now, sadly, are back in Pittsfield till Wednesday. Then we move some more things from the condo to the house, go to New Paltz, and meet the movers at the storage space there the next morning.

And, finally, by Thursday evening, we'll be home sweet home.

Finally!

SO Frustrating!

What's frustrating, you ask? Trying to set up utilities for the new house (which, in case you're counting, we close on in 3 days!) and being told I can't set up an account or appointment for my cable and internet until the current owner of the house JUST MAKES THE CALL to disconnect his account.

Just call. He can schedule it for anytime, but he just needs to MAKE THE CALL!

But, no. I've been passing the message through my agent to his, to him since Tuesday. Just called, thinking, surely it's Friday, he's SURELY gotten his act together by now...

But no. Still has an account. Hasn't made the call.

Frustration.

Preparing for The Big Move

We close on our house in one week. From today. Oh, goodness.

Next Monday we will, presumably, do the final walk-through, sign lots and lots of papers which basically promises we'll never be able to afford to eat out again (or for at least 30 years), and then get the keys to our new place.

I say this is all "presumably" taking place because although we were pre-approved for the mortgage, we are still technically in the process of getting the whole thing tied up because of little details here and there, as well as a delay with some underwriting something that had nothing to do with us...all of which is causing things to be just a little less than definite for my liking.

But, everyone involved assures us everything is normal and set and we've got our plans for next Monday, so we are under the impression that the show will go on next Monday, as planned.

It's really a wild thought that we'll soon be in a house at all, much less our own house. Living in apartments all these years has felt to me to be temporary, and then this past year has been made up of living in even more temporary places... it's amazing to think that in a week I can unpack my things and find places for them, and not have to consider packing them up any time soon. It's completely surreal.

More on relocating plans later... have to go call cable companies and set up an appointment!

I Have No Style*

(*Sung to the tune of "I have no legs," sung by that guy on the subway in "Kids.")

I have totally been lazy about posting and I'm so sorry! It's been a crazy couple of weeks. Mainly, two HUGE things have happened!

Last Monday was my birthday! 31 years ago I graced the Earth my arrival. I've been going strong ever since.

I never thought I'd have a problem turning 30, and I didn't. Now that I'm 31 I feel I know myself even better and have come to terms with who I am. Mainly:

- I get super nervous before going somewhere or dealing with a situation that is anything outside of my normal routine (new job, doctor appointment, seeing anyone for the first time in ages, etc.). Even thinking about it makes me one anxious lady.

- When I am mad or upset I cannot respond to someone or something immediately. If I do, the chances that I will regret my response is inevitable. Instead, I need to take at least 15 minutes to consider all sides and possible repercussions and calm down. My response is then better thought out and much more level-headed.

- I am an unbelievable softy. Nearly any sentimental or cheesy movie, commercial, story, person - anything - can bring me to tears.

- While I can be a real powerful, professional ball-buster at work, I can be a whimpering, fearful fool in my personal life.

- I have no style.

This last point I bring up because it covers a lot of territory. In terms of personal style, mine has become one of dressing way too much for comfort and not enough for style. Having little style is my style, I guess.

I have great aspirations to dress in one-of-kind, great clothing, looking hip and stylish and classy and creating mass envy among everyone I meet.

But, realistically, I'm lazy and end up at Old Navy buying the same cheap shirts that are cute but really do nothing for me. Ah, whatever. I'll work on that later.

This lack of style carries over to interior decorating.

The first apartment Andy and I had, in Brooklyn, was painted with bright reds and turquoises and had a ton of colorful Ikea furniture. It was exhausting and headache-inducing and I ended up hating everything there.

Then our apartment in Queens was white and plain and cramped with a lot of hand me down furniture. It was comfortable but messy and had no style. Followed no color scheme, incorporated no flow with objects or anything. It was a senseless mish-mash.

I have great, stylish ideas, but I kind of suck when actually making them a reality.

And so, the real reason I bring all this up...

The second HUGE thing that's happened to me...

We've found a house!

It's awesome. We found it last Saturday when looking with my mom and step-father. We found it, made an offer, haggled just a little, signed the papers, and yesterday had the inspection. It looks good.

We close (it's ours) on June 8th.

So, right now I'm obsessing over style. And sofas. And paint. And color palettes. And everything.

Needless to say, that's what I'll be thinking of and writing about for the unforeseeable future (at least until the 8th... and probably for a while after that).


Our lovely contemporary Victorian (contemporary because it was built in 1991) in Easthampton, MA.

House Hunting in Western Massachusetts

We are still at the house hunting phase in our relocation to Western Massachusetts process.

We are looking for a home in the Pioneer Valley, specifically Northampton, Hadley or Southampton.

At this point we have actually made offers on two houses. The first was way out of our price range, but the seller's agent said the sellers were very motivated and we should not hesitate to "throw out a number!" So we did, expecting nothing. And we got nothing. The sellers responded by saying they weren't going to respond to such a low number. How rude! (Yes, I hear Stephanie Tanner from "Full House," too.)

The second house we made an offer on was very cute, also at the very top of our price range, and the best house we'd seen that particular day. But, really, in hindsight, we acted way too hastily. We put the offer in, discovered we were dealing with house flippers who started haggling over weird things and acting a bit shady. They rejected our final offer, and then called two days later saying they accepted it.

After that we started realizing that the house was really small, AND we'd go broke having to fix the things that needed fixin', considering the price we were paying for the house was so high. So, ultimately, we backed out of the sale.

Now we are searching again. We've walked through nearly 20 houses at this point. I wonder now if we are going to be one of those couples who is unrealistic in our search, or end up seeing 100 houses before finding "the one."

We also have been a little disappointed because we haven't seen as many of the houses in the style that we'd prefer - colonial or farmhouse.
We've seen some, and a lot need updating or renovations, which we're totally fine with, but they are already nearing the top of our price range, so that doesn't leave much money for those renovations.

We'll see what happens. We're on a little break right now, mainly because we are going away this weekend, Andy's weekend off, so we won't be seeing houses till April 25th, when my mom and step-father come up to visit from NYC.

I'll let you know what happens!