DESIGNation: January 2012

Sunday, January 29, 2012

Quick update (in photos)

Entry

A little wall and trim paint. Also cleaned top to bottom. Literally.

Dining Room

Wall and trim paint and a chandelier installed by yours truly

Kitchen

Paint, scour and of course, the appliances.

Thank you David. H. I don't care what Gil says about you.

Family Room

Wall paint, floor steam and little personal touches.

( A little bit more to go on the paint)

The Nursery

Paint, scour, trim painted and 3,001 holes patched and repaired.

(Not in that order)

Thursday, January 26, 2012

The Before - Home Interior

Front Entry - view from the stairs

Dining Room

Family Room - View from kitchen

Kitchen

Family Room

Family Room - View from Bonus Room

Bonus Room

The Nursery

Master Bedroom

The pictures above are as we toured the home originally. We have been weekend warriors for a little over a month now. We (Nate) painted and I scrubbed everything from windows to electrical face plates. Some lights are installed, and the floors are steamed. Already, it is a huge difference, and I can't wait to show you.

This weekend, Nate will finish the trim in the nursery, and we will start moving furniture pieces over. Our friends are coming over to give us a hand with the dishwasher and microwave installation. Our ultimate goal is to get our bed here, so we can start staying here. I was also promised a trip to IKEA to get a rug to cover the "God awful" tile in the family room.

This home, as it sits, is a big blank slate. I cannot wait to get in, get composing, arranging and adding my touches to give it the character it craves.

Home Stats:

Built in 1995

Vacant for one year

Approx. 2,200 sf

3 bedrooms, 2 .5 bath and a bonus room

We also have a secret playroom, that I have big big aspirations for this room.

The yard is as big a blank slate as the home is @ .33 acres, but I'll get to that in the Spring.

Monday, January 23, 2012

The BIG Project - with little knowledge

Hello! Now that my 365'er is finished, it is about time that I start another project to share with you.

My husband and I bought a foreclosure, and we have been busy at work hiring people to fix the mistakes throughout the house. Then we ran out of money for the professionals, and have two mortgages for the time being. (eek!) So, this blog is going to morph into our adventures to make this house our home.

To give you our brief background:

I am an interior designer, and I even have my degree. (you may or may not believe this once this project is under way) I don't practice traditional interior design like you may think. I typically upfit commercical warehouses, distribution and manufacturing facilities. The idea, however is the same across the board. Make it efficient, make it work, and do it for ~~cheap~~ what you can afford. I'll add in a little "pretty" here and there, and I promise to never mention a sprinkler riser in the duration of the project. (Well, maybe once or twice) I am laid back, and have the desire to get things done quickly. (Read: impatient, and tends to panic) I can be dramatic, but just a little.

My husband, Nate, on the other hand is patient, meticulous and tentative. (Read: patient, meticulous and tentative) He's a librarian, he does things right, and will take all the time in the world to do so. When we first got together, his apartment had huge white walls with one 8x10 picture (mounted way too high) on a wall. It was neat. It was stark,but he had great art. He worries, can be over dramatic and is meticulous. I mentioned that.

Neither of us have the knowledge to fix anything, diagnose a problem or install anything more than a ceiling light. We don't have many tools, and we learn on the fly. But by God, we will learn.

Together, we make a good team. It can be rough getting tot he final product, but we get there. I hope you enjoy our journey of ordinary adventures and hits and misses. I hope to teach you how to, how not to, and most definitely how to complete a design idea. Hopefully, you'll laugh along the way, and get to see two old friends completely in love, build something together.

We have a whole house to work with (two actually), so let's get started, shall we?