Today is our one month anniversary in our new house. We are still pinching ourselves - is this really ours? Such an odd feeling. A good feeling, but odd and unfamiliar at the same time. There is also a tremendous sensation of freedom as we have no landlord to answer to. We can pretty much do what we want, when we want. (Unless the city has a problem with it, then it becomes another story.) And with that freedom comes the ability to dream. Before, as renters, we always stopped ourselves from thinking about what could and should be done with our homes because we didn't want to invest too much of our own money into something that wasn't ours. But now, we can open up that creative channel and dream away. It's a fun place to be.
And we will be doing a lot of dreaming because our home definitely needs some updating. Actually, some major overhauling in certain areas. It's a great house and we adore it, but it's obviously been ignored for a long time. To some new homeowners, the condition of this house would be a total drag. To us, it's perfect.
So, after a month in our new abode, I'm ready to give you a little tour. We haven't done much yet. Just unpacked our boxes (most of them) and moved in our furniture. We really want to live in the space for awhile before we make big changes. And, to be totally honest, we are out of money. So the bigger projects will wait...but that won't keep us from dreaming!
living room before and after
fireplace before and after
our little entry
our weird doorless entry closet...that has become a major junk collector - ewww!
kitchen before and now. not much difference! this is first on our remodeling to-do list.
kitchen before and now, again
more kitchen
yucky interior cabinets. yes, they smell. even new contact paper doesn't help.
so the food goes in our makeshift pantry
and an extra dresser stores lots of dishes and kitchen gadgets
my vintage linens fit right in!
the afternoon sun in the dining area
the bath had stinky cabinets, too.
it's in the process of a mini-makeover for now. (more to come later...)
bedroom before and after. what to do with that silly shelf?
bedroom before and after
our beautiful half bath that had to be ripped out per the city of San Rafael.
for now it's housing some jewelry
the window I broke on our first day in. yup - those are originals!
office before and after
extra bedroom before and after. we're not used to having an extra bedroom. it feels so luxurious!
our front porch. big dreams here.
and our side yard. we're thinking bocce. (so much more yard, but I'm saving for another post.)
As you can see, lots of dreaming to be done. And then lots of doing. As a designer, it's hard not to just jump into everything and try to make it all perfect - especially before putting it all out there for the world to see on my blog! But this is the reality. And making a home takes time and thoughtfulness. Even if we had unlimited funds, we would still wait before making any major changes to the house. I truly believe you have to live in a home a bit before you know what you need from it, and what it needs from you.
So, I hope you'll join me on this journey! Here's to a little dreaming...
