Master Bedroom Progress

Here it is:

The Master Bedroom.

The master bedroom was very high on our priority list of things to get done as soon as possible in our new home, since its one of the places that we knew we would be spending lots of time. I wanted a peaceful and calming feel in this room. When we decided to go with the wall color (Sherwin Williams, 7669 Summit Gray), at first I was hesitant that it would be too dark but Chris was confident throughout and I'm glad that I trusted him. 
When we first saw the house, this was one of the most boring rooms but instead of being deterred, I saw it as a blank slate. 

Bedroom BEFORE (From the listing)

There was a lot of work done that you can't see here, mainly in the closets- there are 4 total in the room. Two of them are right when you walk in the door- a small walk-in and a linen closet (not pictured) and the other two his & hers closets are on the right side of the room when you walk in, which you can see. They all required lots of TLC but in the end came out bright & clean. We also loved the amount of natural light in the room coming in through the large windows. 

Our Master Bedroom During & After

Because of the dark color, edging wasn't easy, but we did get some help from our friends with the painting (thanks Kevin & Bobby)!

Most things in the room were from our apartment, but I got great deals on the new things we did purchase - the throw pillows, lamps and small mirrored dresser are all from Home Goods. The stand-up mirror (which doubles as jewelry storage inside - pretty awesome) can be found here: http://www.wayfair.com/Powell-Furniture-Cheval-Jewelry-Armoire-with-Mirror-597-514-PW4745.html), and our duvet was a Christmas gift that we asked for from my parents last year from Nordstrom. (http://shop.nordstrom.com/s/nordstrom-at-home-contrast-pleat-duvet/3212613?origin=category&contextualcategoryid=0&fashionColor=&resultback=0)

I still have a wishlist for this room: a rug for under the bed, chandelier for above the bed, and a matching bedroom set (dying for a King!). But for now and until we can afford those things, I'm extremely happy waking up here and wanted to share the progress we have made so far!  

Photography: Jenn's Senior Pictures

This past week in Cape Cod on vacation with my family, I took some Senior Pictures of my sister. Can't believe she only has one more year of high school left, time is flying! She's gorgeous, so she certainly made it easy, and I'm really happy with how they came out. 

See some shots below: 

Where the heart is.

So far, making changes to our house has been as much fun as I had hoped it would be. I've learned so much- for example, the difference between 2 shades of paint on the same swatch can make a drastic difference once you apply the color to a whole room. We have been big fans of buying testers first to paint part of the wall and comparing different shades or hues, since the amount and type of lighting that you have in the room you're painting also makes a huge difference in the end color result.

Sherwin Williams Paint Swatch Book

We have been using mainly Sherwin Williams paint- even though its a bit more expensive, the quality is great and we chose these colors knowing that we want them to hold up for a good amount of time before we have to touch up or change. SW also provided me with a free paint swatch book, which I'm pretty pumped about. (Think they noticed the amount of time we have stood in front of the wall of paint swatches, trying to make the right decision?)

Today I wanted to feature one of the rooms I'm proudest of so far in terms of paint color: the kitchen.

The kitchen started off as completely white, walls and cabinets. We have big plans for this room but of course need some time to save up. Eventually I'd like to refinish the cabinets, add a new backsplash and countertops and even take down a 1/2 wall to make a breakfast bar, opening the room up to the living / dining area. The photos below are the before (from the listing and how the room looked when we first walked through the house) and after (painted and decorated). They are taken from the angle facing away from the sink & cabinets: 

Kitchen Before (Left) and After (Right)

We loved the blue for the kitchen because it felt warm and cozy- a french country blue. The color is Sherwin Williams' 'Open Seas'. The floating shelves provided some depth to the room, and were beyond easy to put up. They are from Target, and come with a template of where you need to drill (still a 2-person job, but took about 20 minutes). I surprised my husband, who went to work outside after we had finished putting up the shelves, with finalizing the decorating and setting up our wine fridge. The Giada cookbook is even open to his favorite meal, linguini with white clam sauce. I'm really happy with how this space came out and can't wait to make some even bolder design decisions in the future for this room. 

Back at it!

Ok, it's been way too long since my last post but so much has happened. WE GOT THE HOUSE! And, I could not be happier. We went on a family trip to Europe in April (another post for another time), and we closed on the house a few days after we got back. It was a complete whirlwind. We closed on April 25th and moved in only a few short days later.

Of course, as mentioned previously, the closing process was not at all what I expected and actually was quite overwhelming. We had been hoping to close within the month of March but thankfully had built in a buffer with the landlord of our apartment. Also, during the final walkthrough I had a bit of a panic attack over the amount of work that needed to be done to make it livable. With our friends and family, we managed to get a few things done before the big move, such as painting the first floor & master bedroom as well as installing a new sink & toilet in the master bath. But, now that we have been in our home for a few months (which I can't believe- it has flown by!), I can say with confidence that every single minute of stress- and glasses of wine drank- were worth it. I feel like a different person. After renting apartments for over 5 years, it is so nice to have a place to call ours. 

We have been taking on many projects, lots that I'd like to share here in a series of blog posts and before & after pictures to show how much work we have really done. It's been an exciting time where I have been able to make so many design choices. And, don't get it twisted- we have SO MUCH MORE to do. But, I'm looking forward to all of it. :)

Our New Home.

House Hunting...

Sorry I haven't updated lately- I was traveling for work (had a blast in Austin, such a great city!) and we have been super consumed with our home-buying process. I didn't realize how stressful this was going to be! HGTV makes it look too easy- they get the house in the time it takes for them to drink a glass of wine, whereas I have consumed MANY glasses throughout this process!!! 
We have put in an bid on a home that we love & after much negotiating, finally got an accepted offer. I thought that things would go downhill from there- but not so fast! We then, after inspection, found some things that needed to be fixed at a high price tag, so went back for further negotiations and 2 weeks later, we have ANOTHER accepted offer... Now we are impatiently waiting for our contract to be submitted to the lawyers, signed & countersigned and at that point, I'll get excited. 
So- stay tuned! Really hoping that my next update will be as a homeowner & the projects can begin!! I have all my design magazines stacked up & ready to start collecting inspiration... 

Inspiration is waiting! 

In the meantime- say a prayer, cross your fingers & send some good vibes my way- every little bit helps! Happy Almost Superbowl Sunday! 

So nice to be at home during the day...

This picture was taken of my living room this weekend- I like how cozy it looks with the fire burning! I had a nice easy Saturday, which inspired me to do some "new year" cleaning & organization. It's always nicer relaxing in a clean house!

Resolutions...

Happy New Year!!

I'm pretty pumped for all that 2014 has to offer- We are hoping to buy a house this year & travel to Europe. We already have a few weddings of close family & friends to look forward to, and I'm sure there will be many more exciting things. Its always nice to reset, reevaluate and set some goals for yourself. 

Here are some of the resolutions I have made for myself for 2014: 
- Give Back: Find some charitable causes that I can donate time & money to this year
- Bike 100 Miles before June 31st : Either on my new bike or a stationary bike (ie Soul Cycle if I could find a way to track mileage...)
- Run a full 5K without stopping
- Finish my Interior Design course: This could be tough since I still have 5 out of 6 units to go, but I plan on scheduling time in advance for me to get these done! 
- Take a Photoshop class and continue to develop my Photography skills 
- Keep updating this blog! 

Here's a pretty good HuffingtonPost article on 'Resolutions for Women on the Run' that I found inspiring: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/christine-pelosi/five-new-years-resolution_b_4525975.html
I really like "4. Get out of your own way: We diminish ourselves far more than our foes do, letting fear of failure or success hamper us. We listen to that little voice inside telling us that our skin or clothing is too loose or too tight; the relatives who cheer our professional advice then ask "when are you getting married?" or the ghosts of boyfriends or girlfriends past reminding us of old failure, and we stunt our own growth with self-sabotage disguised as advice. Let that go." This aligns well with Sheryl Sandberg's "Lean In", which I am in the middle of- it's very informative & motivating so far!