tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86730238562190863932024-03-14T05:53:29.985-07:00Practical DecorHome decor that makes sense.Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08460862134077477457noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8673023856219086393.post-30112096720067804842015-06-16T09:10:00.000-07:002015-06-16T09:10:44.128-07:00{Lifestyle} South Beach Diet - Why I'm Doing ItSince getting married in March 2013, I've gained 30-35 lbs. I'm not the heaviest I've ever been in my life, but I'm heavier than I want to be. <div>
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I probably gained the first 20 in the first year of marriage and the remaining 10-15 since then. In January of this year, I finally stopped gaining and have been able to hold steady, but that was only half of what I wanted to be achieving. I don't need to get down to my pre-wedding-weight (I was only at that weight for a short time before the wedding), but I would really like to get back to my comfortable weight (AKA: The weight I need to be at in order to fit into the majority of my clothes). </div>
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The weird thing is, while I feel disappointed with myself for allowing this to happen, I'm conflicted, because the real reason this happened is that I'm HAPPY. I don't need to blame anyone or anything - I have simply been enjoying life. I've been spending time with family and friends (often over food and drinks), chatting over meals with my husband about things both big and small, having picnics in the parks with my puppy, cheers-ing to new jobs, new homes, new adventures... and I wouldn't take a second of it back - not even to fit into my best skinny jeans.</div>
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The issue for me really is that it's not the decisions I've made during these times that were bad - it's all the times in between. I probably didn't need to have a bagel at work every morning for breakfast and I definitely didn't need those mid-day trips to the convenience store for a chocolate fix. That's all excess and that's where the problem lies for me: I don't need to indulge at EVERY meal. I can indulge when the mood strikes - as long as it's not all the time. "Everything in moderation" is my mantra, only I have been completely ignoring that.</div>
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So, for the past six months, I've seen that I can very easily maintain my weight, without even much effort. What I needed a plan for was losing enough weight to get to a point where I have a reason to open my third drawer and wear some of the many pants I no longer fit into. Enter: South Beach Diet.</div>
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I don't generally believe in dieting. I prefer to make lifestyle changes and look for ways to incorporate those changes in a way that they aren't a "fad" for me. In other words, it should be something I can maintain on my own. </div>
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I've used Weight Watchers with success (in fact, that's how I lost 35 lbs prior to my wedding), but I think I realized I didn't want to track points for the rest of my life. I wanted to learn a new way of thinking about food that could sustain itself without an app or monthly subscription. </div>
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I took a look at the way I tend to live my life and tried to find something that would allow me to do that, while providing guidelines I could follow throughout my life. I'm not a fast food junkie, but I'm addicted to carbs. I'm not a big boozer, but I love having a glass of red wine after a long week. I'm not a chocolate fiend, but I love me some cheese. I'm not extremely active, but I take my dog for long-ish walks at least once a day, sometimes twice. And I walk to and from the train station, all of this resulting in what my Fitbit says is usually around 12,000 steps per day.</div>
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I started reading up on <a href="http://www.southbeachdiet.com/diet/about" target="_blank">South Beach Diet</a> and learned that it's heavily Mediterranean-based. It takes a three-phase approach - Phase 1 (for two weeks) carb-free, with lots of lean proteins, vegetables, healthy fats and no sugars at all (including alcohol) to break you of your addiction to carbs. Phase 2 (until you reach goal weight) which slowly re-introduces carbohydrates via fruits and whole grains (and red wine!). Phase 3 is the maintenance phase, which is the "phase" you'll stay on for the rest of your life with the knowledge you gained from the other two phases. If at any point you start slipping, you can revert back to Phase 1 or 2 to help get you back to where you were. </div>
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I felt like this was something I could do. To me, this was a logical way of living. You eat as well as you can using wholesome, nutritious ingredients. When life gets in the way or amps up and meals are a little more out of your control than usual, you compensate by restricting a little until you're back to where you need to be. All I needed was a plan (and to get through Phase 1)!</div>
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In my next post, I'll go over how I prepped for embarking on the South Beach Diet, as well as logging a daily food journal for the duration of the plan for anyone who is interested in what my experience with it has been. What was/is your most successful "dieting" approach? Any words of encouragement? Help a girl out! :)</div>
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Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08460862134077477457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8673023856219086393.post-74110432425813335552014-06-12T09:35:00.002-07:002014-06-12T09:35:39.665-07:00How Exercising Got Me a China Cabinet for $25<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i>This is a story about how exercise combined with being in the right place at the right time, got me a china cabinet for $25. If you ever needed a little motivation to get out there and do your workout, this is it.</i></div>
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This past April, I began running (I just completed the Couch to 5k Program!) and there was a relatively hot morning a few weeks ago when I was really struggling to get motivated and get out there. I finally decided to just do my run (more like "Get it over with") and boy am I glad I did, because I stumbled on a Yard Sale right near my house that had a big china cabinet sitting at the curb. I noticed it as I jogged by and made a mental note to mention it to my husband when I got home. After my shower, we were getting ready to go grocery shopping when my husband agreed to swing by the yard sale to check out the china cabinet. </div>
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Seeing it up close was a little disheartening. It was very dusty, which was highlighted by the sun shining directly on it and you could really clearly see all the scuffs and scratches in the sun, including a chunk of missing wood, but instead of a price tag, there was a sticker that said, "Make offer." The homeowner came over and told us it was a Broyhill and asked us to make her an offer. Truth be told, we weren't in love with it seeing it so up close with the sun highlighting all of its defects, but we kept talking to her about it and I finally said, "I don't want to insult you." She said, "Guys, we're moving and downsizing and I'm not bringing this thing back into the house, so how about $25?" Neither of us could believe our ears, so we agreed and made arrangements to borrow my Father-in-Law's van to bring it to our house (which was literally around the corner). </div>
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A couple of hours later, it was in our Dining Room in place of the sideboard that used to be on that back wall:</div>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsOSFxQ95Coir-SWpxy4nzDMkyhaOBlBtN9MhF7XX5AjFzOSG0wMI-ks9Oy-To6a-N4fgIg4KnILlknSbaVxlOosthJTZSWYG_HLrXwKPlvZx_UGOe3JFL8yszZB_CZj4Y8SajCQSst46Z/s1600/20140311_094053_Richtone(HDR).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsOSFxQ95Coir-SWpxy4nzDMkyhaOBlBtN9MhF7XX5AjFzOSG0wMI-ks9Oy-To6a-N4fgIg4KnILlknSbaVxlOosthJTZSWYG_HLrXwKPlvZx_UGOe3JFL8yszZB_CZj4Y8SajCQSst46Z/s1600/20140311_094053_Richtone(HDR).jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">BEFORE<br /></td></tr>
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I used some Murphy's Wood Cleaner and Windex to give it a really thorough cleaning. I even used Q-Tips to get into all the little corners and crevices, since there was dust in all those spots. I was practically inside the China cabinet with the Windex, cleaning all the grime off the back mirror and inside of the glass. Well, they say hard work pays off and I'd like to say they're right:<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqvBEfPDAfuor03CtNA4umbw7iPqV6_ikU2txpKUOEhRgzYXrTI9_-bF7xw35ErdvHobZ4Viz3eWkaEll6lyDpF44dCwLQQl9jtkv_GJMXT_R2zB5Ybt04xVXJxdIGtlpFIGN9YLxvdnUu/s1600/20140612_113558.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-size: medium; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqvBEfPDAfuor03CtNA4umbw7iPqV6_ikU2txpKUOEhRgzYXrTI9_-bF7xw35ErdvHobZ4Viz3eWkaEll6lyDpF44dCwLQQl9jtkv_GJMXT_R2zB5Ybt04xVXJxdIGtlpFIGN9YLxvdnUu/s1600/20140612_113558.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">CURRENT</td></tr>
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Here are some of the crevices where the Q-Tips really came in handy:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBtBT5OiJlVDAMPmIzy_Xkb9Xavm4yPYnFi81dNSL4NlXboJS8aKlx0PsjgxnLaHLyrJYgcKnGW-nxGmWQcsPDD5Koq57NYFPeCYs3BsxB1rTEFNLQHEa32QTC-0wLAZ3sReSDCpOx62mp/s1600/20140612_115402.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBtBT5OiJlVDAMPmIzy_Xkb9Xavm4yPYnFi81dNSL4NlXboJS8aKlx0PsjgxnLaHLyrJYgcKnGW-nxGmWQcsPDD5Koq57NYFPeCYs3BsxB1rTEFNLQHEa32QTC-0wLAZ3sReSDCpOx62mp/s1600/20140612_115402.jpg" height="179" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOM9Sdf1husBmYMPyUrCFHTWChYZ4JbaXrevyWwgWjVpJ7W2afa0q_f5LevXnR-d2LHXxDi3ABtomXqy6Tyb6bnqeCBPXMUz40WKGxghJ6_dBQIx6L0BiUbLYwvLJmUcxNKlGY_j5tbqR3/s1600/20140612_115415.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOM9Sdf1husBmYMPyUrCFHTWChYZ4JbaXrevyWwgWjVpJ7W2afa0q_f5LevXnR-d2LHXxDi3ABtomXqy6Tyb6bnqeCBPXMUz40WKGxghJ6_dBQIx6L0BiUbLYwvLJmUcxNKlGY_j5tbqR3/s1600/20140612_115415.jpg" height="179" width="320" /></a></div>
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As far as that chunk of missing wood I mentioned earlier? Enter, Minwax's Stain Marker: <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw8KIepxPTFiusn6OR28Ub-GeTI-MZGtHRzK5IE2oBaVUiOCw1Dqx7WGIsddRQ5RsRK0scS7mB8XH0z5-JdDbvYqD7fxj5eRv7crlLF_gk8LMlr3HdHtSqefHyumJAcuE3CZt7aBeHrSmI/s1600/20140612_115804.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw8KIepxPTFiusn6OR28Ub-GeTI-MZGtHRzK5IE2oBaVUiOCw1Dqx7WGIsddRQ5RsRK0scS7mB8XH0z5-JdDbvYqD7fxj5eRv7crlLF_gk8LMlr3HdHtSqefHyumJAcuE3CZt7aBeHrSmI/s1600/20140612_115804.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></div>
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These things are amazing. I bought one in the shade 230 - Early American, for less than <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B0000DI7ZI/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B0000DI7ZI&linkCode=am2&tag=practdecor-20" target="_blank">$6 from Amazon.</a> When it got to my house, I just shook it up and applied it to the bare wood. No sanding, no nothing. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7BTPnope0alpErroOW9nLF4kHWRXo1vIJISjq3bCTFbJerEWDp2XxSvNX88oQvEodSPH4OHsBqUd6aehXxZ_I0aRlPpQXSRV6yjpqn0WOquP3eqU1OL1pDkVeaTlpruJ0wKjDHlJkZXHu/s1600/20140612_115441.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7BTPnope0alpErroOW9nLF4kHWRXo1vIJISjq3bCTFbJerEWDp2XxSvNX88oQvEodSPH4OHsBqUd6aehXxZ_I0aRlPpQXSRV6yjpqn0WOquP3eqU1OL1pDkVeaTlpruJ0wKjDHlJkZXHu/s1600/20140612_115441.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="text-align: start;">It made the huge blemish practically invisible. Here is another place where I used it (you can still see the dent, but no discoloration):</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR8bAEu0npTkzC7wgZJZifBUxaN6Q1GQzSl3C0Xo5WLFGT02qYou6ki7WKD0e8ukcoEVhAVzqbrKdMzA9uGKgCHY3kG-X0ygueN9S2UmEAAef8ZD72RNoQbVQpgssRoUFG1PD9fvEShzKd/s1600/20140612_115429.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR8bAEu0npTkzC7wgZJZifBUxaN6Q1GQzSl3C0Xo5WLFGT02qYou6ki7WKD0e8ukcoEVhAVzqbrKdMzA9uGKgCHY3kG-X0ygueN9S2UmEAAef8ZD72RNoQbVQpgssRoUFG1PD9fvEShzKd/s1600/20140612_115429.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></div>
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Another thing I did to spruce it up a bit was spray paint just the hardware silver. The rims on all the china inside are silver, so I thought it would be a nice update to all the tarnished brass the hardware previously was.</div>
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I just unscrewed the hardware and then placed the screws back into the backs of the hardware and punched holes into the top of a pizza box to stand the hardware up. Then, I gave them all two nice coats of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007RH9QQ8/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B007RH9QQ8&linkCode=as2&tag=practdecor-20" target="_blank">Krylon's Sterling Silver Spray Paint.</a> After they dried, I screwed them back into the china cabinet and was thrilled to see how it instantly updated the look.</div>
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After cleaning it, we were able to stock it up with all the beautiful china we inherited from my husband's Grandmother and the champagne, martini and cocktail glasses we got from our Wedding Registry last year. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6mW5uDsLgpKoz93wrzZhC314Z0EEV8k4JPjDCiUk6UNZIUpE3QbFHgxefxesZHQjgVxV4aVl1G293Iy0kUfOB2xVUrOKfNx-8x_09R1mtEqAyTUA32kx2miilYpB9fVdZzrqyxa9qw0BA/s1600/20140612_113619.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6mW5uDsLgpKoz93wrzZhC314Z0EEV8k4JPjDCiUk6UNZIUpE3QbFHgxefxesZHQjgVxV4aVl1G293Iy0kUfOB2xVUrOKfNx-8x_09R1mtEqAyTUA32kx2miilYpB9fVdZzrqyxa9qw0BA/s1600/20140612_113619.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stocked Up!</td></tr>
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I love how it sort of makes the room seem more formal, but also so much more functional! Prior to having a china cabinet, our china and glassware were in boxes in the basement. We hadn't yet used them since living here, but since unpacking them into the china cabinet, we've already gotten to use them for Mother's Day Dinner.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjudUHxQOlXrOoMcI1VqG0LZhbAuwGcQnPlQC5vo264vBCqkOyo7cH6E1W-GK9sI4E38l1d-RqwDJtgTB-R-hIgObbyBaUhxO_TCuDr0e1564VZrw-GY5IV_dKMBGP99iAvqPs8tLrJRESz/s1600/20140612_113653.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjudUHxQOlXrOoMcI1VqG0LZhbAuwGcQnPlQC5vo264vBCqkOyo7cH6E1W-GK9sI4E38l1d-RqwDJtgTB-R-hIgObbyBaUhxO_TCuDr0e1564VZrw-GY5IV_dKMBGP99iAvqPs8tLrJRESz/s1600/20140612_113653.jpg" height="640" width="360" /></a></div>
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Have you unexpectedly scored anything great lately? Tell me in the comments!</div>
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Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08460862134077477457noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8673023856219086393.post-12761230651094188152014-03-11T09:04:00.000-07:002014-03-11T09:05:31.508-07:00A New Floorplan!In my <a href="http://practicaldecor.blogspot.com/2014/01/a-wacky-and-wet-start-to-new-year.html" target="_blank">last post</a> I talked about how we started off 2014 with a burst heating pipe and over $25,000 in water damage and how we made a split-second decision not to put the house back together exactly as it was. Here I am with an update! <br />
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The renovation has been completed and we're pretty much done playing "Musical Chairs" with our furniture, shuffling it around from room-to-room. Today, I'd like to introduce you to our new Living Room/Dining Room combo!</div>
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This is pretty much exactly what you see when you walk in the front door (courtesy of the panoramic photo capture mode on my camera):</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EEfJSnavEJY/Ux8SPC-PpGI/AAAAAAAACkI/3zh6NfGoi2A/w1044-h156-no/20140311_094001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EEfJSnavEJY/Ux8SPC-PpGI/AAAAAAAACkI/3zh6NfGoi2A/w1044-h156-no/20140311_094001.jpg" height="94" width="640" /></a></div>
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Directly in front of you are the stairs to the second floor. To the left is our new living room, which used to be a bedroom that was separated by a wall that we removed and to the right is our dining room, which used to be our living room.</div>
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Here's the new living room side:</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PZOBcDhhUJg/Ux8SgrTHFEI/AAAAAAAACkg/a0or3sJWjkc/w983-h553-no/20140311_094115_Richtone%2528HDR%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PZOBcDhhUJg/Ux8SgrTHFEI/AAAAAAAACkg/a0or3sJWjkc/w983-h553-no/20140311_094115_Richtone%2528HDR%2529.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></div>
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And here's the dining room side:</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FNY8q8DepdM/Ux8SapyRToI/AAAAAAAACkU/12_chC4OHK4/w983-h553-no/20140311_094053_Richtone%2528HDR%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FNY8q8DepdM/Ux8SapyRToI/AAAAAAAACkU/12_chC4OHK4/w983-h553-no/20140311_094053_Richtone%2528HDR%2529.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></div>
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Before this room was our dining room, it was our living room and was closed off to the room on the other side of the stairs:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwGz7RgebOFpyPMpyZJsN_ki2FKxYB51BLK0IAv9c47kbQ83iQO7ei0EjhKs8iLiVbma6sgQLXSoDgYCq3B46JmvhSKm3FGA_WCQ18omUyrz9KmmzbOMKd1DSpSXjSX5BHlo4BpfB-4IJG/s1600/Living+Room+stair+wall+0715.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwGz7RgebOFpyPMpyZJsN_ki2FKxYB51BLK0IAv9c47kbQ83iQO7ei0EjhKs8iLiVbma6sgQLXSoDgYCq3B46JmvhSKm3FGA_WCQ18omUyrz9KmmzbOMKd1DSpSXjSX5BHlo4BpfB-4IJG/s1600/Living+Room+stair+wall+0715.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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Here is that same exact view now (with the front door closed):</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-a30iEipQAVU/Ux8uxJlmGTI/AAAAAAAAClE/6hME3E3uN8U/w983-h553-no/20140311_114152_Richtone%2528HDR%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-a30iEipQAVU/Ux8uxJlmGTI/AAAAAAAAClE/6hME3E3uN8U/w983-h553-no/20140311_114152_Richtone%2528HDR%2529.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></div>
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Huge difference, right?! The wall that was separating these two rooms had a closet on the other side of it for the bedroom, but it wasn't a load-bearing wall. We also had the railings for the stairs replaced and I just love that you can see through the staircase now.</div>
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I'm still working on hanging things on the walls so they don't feel so empty, but I'm loving how it's coming along. Here are some close-ups of some of my favorite details so far:</div>
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I springed-up my coat rack as much as possible with some bird decor:</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-S69Vlr_NbM4/Ux8xHqLUbpI/AAAAAAAACls/movp-RhUlJo/w311-h553-no/20140311_115154_Richtone%2528HDR%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-S69Vlr_NbM4/Ux8xHqLUbpI/AAAAAAAACls/movp-RhUlJo/w311-h553-no/20140311_115154_Richtone%2528HDR%2529.jpg" height="640" width="358" /></a></div>
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I just loooooove this bling-y chandelier I got from Overstock.com:</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CFKFMPnBhbY/Ux8xW5Uk-OI/AAAAAAAACmE/P_8BXHgiLGc/w311-h553-no/20140311_115253_Richtone%2528HDR%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CFKFMPnBhbY/Ux8xW5Uk-OI/AAAAAAAACmE/P_8BXHgiLGc/w311-h553-no/20140311_115253_Richtone%2528HDR%2529.jpg" height="640" width="358" /></a></div>
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Those frames behind the table are filled with some free botanical prints I found online, that I put into wooden frames from WalMart:</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-J4Ao8uOsf1Q/Ux8xbWD0UnI/AAAAAAAACmQ/Ekkms6JW36A/w311-h553-no/20140311_115312_Richtone%2528HDR%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-J4Ao8uOsf1Q/Ux8xbWD0UnI/AAAAAAAACmQ/Ekkms6JW36A/w311-h553-no/20140311_115312_Richtone%2528HDR%2529.jpg" height="640" width="358" /></a></div>
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I'm on the hunt for a large ornate mirror to hang over the buffet in the dining room, so hopefully I find something great soon!</div>
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In the living room, I'm loving the colors introduced by the pillows and painting:</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QjA6KHaMR-g/Ux8xygqAodI/AAAAAAAACm8/_sCV0j0bjBA/w311-h553-no/20140311_115444_Richtone%2528HDR%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QjA6KHaMR-g/Ux8xygqAodI/AAAAAAAACm8/_sCV0j0bjBA/w311-h553-no/20140311_115444_Richtone%2528HDR%2529.jpg" height="640" width="358" /></a></div>
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Check out this lamp that I spray painted and the red bird art I got from a calendar. I replaced the art inside one of those square IKEA art frames with the bird:</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-erovI4WJr1Y/Ux8x5ocRqCI/AAAAAAAACnE/JtsE7Iblr_g/w983-h553-no/20140311_115513_Richtone%2528HDR%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-erovI4WJr1Y/Ux8x5ocRqCI/AAAAAAAACnE/JtsE7Iblr_g/w983-h553-no/20140311_115513_Richtone%2528HDR%2529.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></div>
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I've still got lots to do, but I'm enjoying the openness and brightness of the space so much!</div>
Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08460862134077477457noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8673023856219086393.post-50331116102842302502014-01-23T09:58:00.001-08:002014-01-23T09:58:08.412-08:00A Wacky and Wet Start to the New Year<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Four days after the start of the New Year (and less than five months after moving in!) we experienced our first disaster as homeowners. <br />
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We walked in the door from grocery shopping at about 5:30 in the evening to water gushing out of our ceiling into our Living Room, Bedroom and flooding our Basement. Lots of panic and flying expletives ensued.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitNraaLyUiglehbp1DFSn4hENf6UC6_6d8FOI2ZS409XlvTnBkI5jcHR6Km9CjNB-2fwUG1UzcEB-CKiy9gY6OtN6vCd9aLfMCT0wN3n4MkonQPAp7q8XycCbAXprqIDUM6GYOWEzf9rBB/s1600/20140104_190508.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitNraaLyUiglehbp1DFSn4hENf6UC6_6d8FOI2ZS409XlvTnBkI5jcHR6Km9CjNB-2fwUG1UzcEB-CKiy9gY6OtN6vCd9aLfMCT0wN3n4MkonQPAp7q8XycCbAXprqIDUM6GYOWEzf9rBB/s1600/20140104_190508.jpg" height="400" width="225" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Aftermath: Christmas comes to an abrupt end.</td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihnEQR0T3DbOuG6Fyqyi7baJCZO8L-sFUOwTuFze8CPgRYqTlF_fO7MHJwJWqyEY4ovLuvHqe4rPzC7IiMh2ojQPvQ4XRwoZJRuoRlJZmwnGHtn-LZ1AQX6Y5cq7zs2nV1GjzYqMqwKzrx/s1600/20140105_182712.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihnEQR0T3DbOuG6Fyqyi7baJCZO8L-sFUOwTuFze8CPgRYqTlF_fO7MHJwJWqyEY4ovLuvHqe4rPzC7IiMh2ojQPvQ4XRwoZJRuoRlJZmwnGHtn-LZ1AQX6Y5cq7zs2nV1GjzYqMqwKzrx/s1600/20140105_182712.jpg" height="400" width="225" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">The same view after the walls were opened up for drying and mold prevention.</td></tr>
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It turned out that the copper pipe that runs along the eaves of our 2nd floor carrying hot water to the baseboard heaters had burst in two places. After turning off the water main, it still took a good 20-30 minutes for the water to finish pouring out of the ceiling on our main floor, which gives you an idea of just how much water was up there. It had saturated our hardwood floors, walls and ceilings, as well as the walls and floors in our basement.<br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH0OHJTA5P3F98Fy17BFCSZzHQv63y9vbgDvMmjd5UUO3jcy5YCEtUplNbHK7qbxvft0j8G2p3bu_TS9tSftrW57OoMr5xEQS4l4_neTtSV7dF-ihMPWH5WTa9Bkiiuam2QoBS8iVJkrIi/s1600/20140104_222427.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH0OHJTA5P3F98Fy17BFCSZzHQv63y9vbgDvMmjd5UUO3jcy5YCEtUplNbHK7qbxvft0j8G2p3bu_TS9tSftrW57OoMr5xEQS4l4_neTtSV7dF-ihMPWH5WTa9Bkiiuam2QoBS8iVJkrIi/s1600/20140104_222427.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">The Aftermath: Walls are ripped open to find broken pipe.<br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxGkcszFw0njILbf4DHiZVwr4fe72Yyxu84NHX0TjLwAY2oHP41gBEep15FkrCeo1muYuuueOLKTNs6NE93oDmOVy1C9uW9tvFMTNscjVA6iKadCioacxwfdu2Z0jY8pF44tv_TqX6JHdD/s1600/20140104_222159.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxGkcszFw0njILbf4DHiZVwr4fe72Yyxu84NHX0TjLwAY2oHP41gBEep15FkrCeo1muYuuueOLKTNs6NE93oDmOVy1C9uW9tvFMTNscjVA6iKadCioacxwfdu2Z0jY8pF44tv_TqX6JHdD/s1600/20140104_222159.jpg" height="640" width="360" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of Two Culprits.</td></tr>
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I'll spare you the details, but there was approximately $25,000 in damages. This included our sofa and brand new mattress, which didn't survive the incident. After filing a claim with our insurance company, we're having a restoration company do the repair work. But the most exciting thing is, we decided NOT to put things back exactly as they were. <br />
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Ironically, just prior to the New Year, we had sat down and talked about our plans for the house over the next couple of years. We planned to spend this year prepping the upstairs for us to move up there to sleep and shower (re-finishing one of the upstairs bedrooms and the upstairs bathroom) all with the intention of converting our existing Master Bedroom into a Living Room and then moving our Dining Room into what was our Living Room. We had planned on accomplishing this by knocking down the wall to the left of the stair case when you walk in. We saw this layout once when we were house hunting and it was beautiful. So nice and open.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwGz7RgebOFpyPMpyZJsN_ki2FKxYB51BLK0IAv9c47kbQ83iQO7ei0EjhKs8iLiVbma6sgQLXSoDgYCq3B46JmvhSKm3FGA_WCQ18omUyrz9KmmzbOMKd1DSpSXjSX5BHlo4BpfB-4IJG/s1600/Living+Room+stair+wall+0715.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwGz7RgebOFpyPMpyZJsN_ki2FKxYB51BLK0IAv9c47kbQ83iQO7ei0EjhKs8iLiVbma6sgQLXSoDgYCq3B46JmvhSKm3FGA_WCQ18omUyrz9KmmzbOMKd1DSpSXjSX5BHlo4BpfB-4IJG/s1600/Living+Room+stair+wall+0715.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The far wall adjacent to the stairs is the one I'm talking about removing. That wall would have a banister to match the one that's already there, opening up the front two rooms to one another.</td></tr>
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When the restoration company told us they'd be re-finishing our hardwood floors, the thought crossed my mind that now would be the time to knock down that wall. We didn't want to have them re-do the floors, then in a year or two remove that wall and then have to re-do the floors again, since it can be a pretty disruptive process. So, we asked them to just go ahead and remove that wall (since it wasn't load-bearing) and we'd shuffle our rooms around accordingly.<br />
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Here's where we are now. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgghc8o51xiYq4t8lzb-nmnDGN4vRNAR3GGsouP65qF3Hr2lP5Tbbk_yjrhCLIopAemKNKssS5advfP48y1vrNnE0ixJ0nWhOlM5CD18KNXySqPsTLe9cielb1AVYyXiuXAU8aZvLklgpyl/s1600/20140120_121343.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgghc8o51xiYq4t8lzb-nmnDGN4vRNAR3GGsouP65qF3Hr2lP5Tbbk_yjrhCLIopAemKNKssS5advfP48y1vrNnE0ixJ0nWhOlM5CD18KNXySqPsTLe9cielb1AVYyXiuXAU8aZvLklgpyl/s1600/20140120_121343.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That same wall opened up to what used to be our bedroom</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWg4ueueDA5J0dwURHHAtA5ojXBujlyfmo2gbtlJ_zGH_T2KIAKeC1ewkmInBt471GOMlc16npNBS9G_LRzQ5Jw1Yum0cJyYOntqhzbqaL9DkwvzDl2GRp0bwetkz1aKBBFK3FM4X3PKOY/s1600/20140120_161637.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWg4ueueDA5J0dwURHHAtA5ojXBujlyfmo2gbtlJ_zGH_T2KIAKeC1ewkmInBt471GOMlc16npNBS9G_LRzQ5Jw1Yum0cJyYOntqhzbqaL9DkwvzDl2GRp0bwetkz1aKBBFK3FM4X3PKOY/s1600/20140120_161637.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View from the opposite side, inside what used to be our bedroom. This will now be a Living Room.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdmDQL9LM0nVUehs4suX3FU-2iuYqhefliWQRCYA52boyaLtGGHpUepOA3tuVAkoMDaQRxreQA_55-YQvarRQaUn7G4uphmxRr4bafqKsAQWUBtT_0tWfcLOVfXPDwaQ2X0370SXKF7kTk/s1600/20140120_161847.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdmDQL9LM0nVUehs4suX3FU-2iuYqhefliWQRCYA52boyaLtGGHpUepOA3tuVAkoMDaQRxreQA_55-YQvarRQaUn7G4uphmxRr4bafqKsAQWUBtT_0tWfcLOVfXPDwaQ2X0370SXKF7kTk/s1600/20140120_161847.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another angle of the removed wall, facing the front door.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP37MwOstLspUqale0NQSlk2X-shKACGhsGLbP63gVz_YkHb-mI9T080eeddBDy5WgfWINX8slkxHrappumt8YQ538d_3yivKzYoWwXda4_36dK3a1uMUnJNg2I6pp5PvZ3TAuxzrB1GLI/s1600/20140120_161613.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP37MwOstLspUqale0NQSlk2X-shKACGhsGLbP63gVz_YkHb-mI9T080eeddBDy5WgfWINX8slkxHrappumt8YQ538d_3yivKzYoWwXda4_36dK3a1uMUnJNg2I6pp5PvZ3TAuxzrB1GLI/s1600/20140120_161613.jpg" height="400" width="225" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Same angle from other room.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGai3fZBOd-13t3vux4jjGfwYSABJpGl8Vlrr8CB5-3HlDgCtcLcp9vrcxuHAsWNlW1XOf8CudXPPmn0f-6Ag3fzb_2goPr7JPQ_8pu9uA1MfMoHLffmgXtilIpKEdRUXx0jsJi6e7nNU3/s1600/20140120_161937.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGai3fZBOd-13t3vux4jjGfwYSABJpGl8Vlrr8CB5-3HlDgCtcLcp9vrcxuHAsWNlW1XOf8CudXPPmn0f-6Ag3fzb_2goPr7JPQ_8pu9uA1MfMoHLffmgXtilIpKEdRUXx0jsJi6e7nNU3/s1600/20140120_161937.jpg" height="400" width="225" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View while coming down the stairs.</td></tr>
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Those are some interesting wall coverings they used in the '50's, huh?<br />
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I'm really excited about this, because I think it'll change how we use the whole house. I realize we'll be losing a bedroom, but right now it's only the two of us in a 4-bedroom house anyway. And we have potential to add the bedroom back upstairs where we'd prefer it later on, anyway. Also, there's still a closet in the corner of the new Living Room, so if we need to, we can put the wall back up and convert it back to a 4th bedroom. Mostly, I'm just looking forward to getting our living space back and being panel-free in these two rooms!<br />
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I also hope that it will inspire me to tackle more decorating/DIY projects around here, because I was so preoccupied in the first few months of living here that I barely accomplished anything. So, here's hoping a clean slate gives me a fresh pair of eyes to tackle this new space with!<br />
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Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08460862134077477457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8673023856219086393.post-45857729535699509072013-09-25T06:20:00.001-07:002013-09-25T06:20:28.938-07:00How Craigslist has helped me make a House into a Home<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Thanks to Craigslist, we now have a home for all our books! </div>
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In my last post, I mentioned how <a href="http://practicaldecor.blogspot.com/2013/09/an-overwhelmed-first-time-homeowner.html" target="_blank">overwhelmed I was</a> upon moving into our first home. We weren't able to do any painting or renovating before Move-In Day, so the whole experience was rushed. All we were able to do was some basic cleaning and pulling up some carpeting in what is currently being used as our bedroom.</div>
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Weeks after moving in, I was starting to get more comfortable, but there were still a couple of things preventing our house from feeling like a home to us. One was that in a couple of rooms, there were still stacks of boxes that we couldn't unpack, because we didn't have anywhere to put their contents. Specifically, boxes full of books and our China.</div>
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I quickly learned that buying a large bookcase brand new was going to cost a lot of money. We weren't prepared to spend hundreds of dollars on a large piece of furniture just yet, so I started scouring Craigslist for something. On a morning over Labor Day weekend, a listing popped up for a really nice, large, real wood bookcase. They had it custom-built for their home, but when I measured the walls in our office, I saw that it would fit perfectly on one of the walls. More importantly, they were only asking $50 for it! They actually had two of them, but only one would fit in our office. </div>
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After checking it out in person, we knew it'd be the perfect solution for our Boxes O'Books, so we scheduled a time to come back with a U-Haul to pick it up. The U-Haul rental was actually more expensive than the bookcase itself, but we knew we needed to rent a truck at some point to go back to our old apartment to pick up some outdoor furniture we left in the garage and both locations were close to one another, so it was a good time to tackle that chore.</div>
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We came home and I immediately began unpacking all of those boxes and now you can see the floor in the office (I can see in this photo that the carpet needs to be shampoo'd)!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6TSCN5euXe7X7UxV7rLdpn2dOwjPSdfPVbv-nDD4iu6KFlpV0mGKcyQmd2fjqok8AIEE0REeGJ54RwnHfhrEMIPHT91nPhReBHEiE0V7YPQlw13AUqhcQ-klEjYHAYMrKhGPSE4Di7fYY/s1600/craigslist+bookcase+wall.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6TSCN5euXe7X7UxV7rLdpn2dOwjPSdfPVbv-nDD4iu6KFlpV0mGKcyQmd2fjqok8AIEE0REeGJ54RwnHfhrEMIPHT91nPhReBHEiE0V7YPQlw13AUqhcQ-klEjYHAYMrKhGPSE4Di7fYY/s640/craigslist+bookcase+wall.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf6LTnsLladYwBafbx2hmrWONP2rpBYJXy7DpKjlf3vj_Xr07vrpw2QKwhV6ey11P8uAjrV0oCqKlQdfxA0BqTV3hjkngcd0sRM6nxK8E8D24QR-MemFoUaXusXz_jDj-jYv83uL_g66PK/s1600/craigslist+bookcase+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf6LTnsLladYwBafbx2hmrWONP2rpBYJXy7DpKjlf3vj_Xr07vrpw2QKwhV6ey11P8uAjrV0oCqKlQdfxA0BqTV3hjkngcd0sRM6nxK8E8D24QR-MemFoUaXusXz_jDj-jYv83uL_g66PK/s640/craigslist+bookcase+2.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9LTuGgOKyPCxELHCGelyDKCxvg8w14Tx0mNrO36mC-XEYcAlKnls4EXa5XytpJOHxdrfWBg9hi9EHvPsQEvxZoep2xRAcJKDeYyIU01rMlboDF-hKgfNMjzbKv_Em4gtaC4jksgnIaUt7/s1600/Office+with+craigslist+bookcase.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9LTuGgOKyPCxELHCGelyDKCxvg8w14Tx0mNrO36mC-XEYcAlKnls4EXa5XytpJOHxdrfWBg9hi9EHvPsQEvxZoep2xRAcJKDeYyIU01rMlboDF-hKgfNMjzbKv_Em4gtaC4jksgnIaUt7/s640/Office+with+craigslist+bookcase.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Other side of the room - with a cat in his tree</td></tr>
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Another thing that was preventing our house from feeling like a home to me was not having anywhere to host guests. We had a large dining table that we brought with us from my Husband's Grandparents, but we didn't have any chairs for it. We wanted to be able to invite people over, so we started looking for dining chairs and almost fell over when we saw some of the prices. I mean, $200 for a single chair that only gets sit on once a week (if that) seems exorbitant. We needed 8-10 chairs (the table seats 10) and our max budget was $1,000 for all the chairs. It became clear that this approach was not going to work.</div>
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I knew after a weekend of visiting different stores and coming up with nothing, that second-hand was going to be the way to go. I checked both Craigslist and Ebay for a little over a week, when on my morning train ride to work, a posting popped up from someone in my area selling a beautiful cherry wood dining set. It included a large dining table (with a leaf) with 8 matching chairs (two of which had arms), as well as a China cabinet, for $1200. I had originally asked the seller if she'd consider selling us just the chairs, but then I realized that the chairs were too large/wide for the dining table we inherited from family and also, the chairs and table were meant to go together (we just didn't have room for the china cabinet). We checked the table and chairs out in person and I offered her a little more than half ($650) for them and she accepted! We borrowed a friend's truck and brought home our beautiful new dining table and chairs set for $650! Way under our $1,000 budget, for chairs, alone.</div>
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Here they are in our Dining Room (sorry about the sun-squares):</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5CtOp6a73r04Lr8F0SRvoO8iDcsFyz2sK2JYtA8fSg35Zb2xAGa7gv_rLCjJbcthpXeWPxt8vQ7gpzVGNnPEmY4mO6Nm9gK_to0AdAOCGuiOwwmbCOOhLDu6tKtdIRt5pj58CbxHOoaLv/s1600/DSCN0554%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5CtOp6a73r04Lr8F0SRvoO8iDcsFyz2sK2JYtA8fSg35Zb2xAGa7gv_rLCjJbcthpXeWPxt8vQ7gpzVGNnPEmY4mO6Nm9gK_to0AdAOCGuiOwwmbCOOhLDu6tKtdIRt5pj58CbxHOoaLv/s640/DSCN0554%255B1%255D.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiKDUP2B_c3-U6s8VOMREr2RYxi3rKy5yzvlQ8Tl_ZxjfQ3QA4a77ptqeJW7Yw-nFXgBpW6-Mir8w-Y7la5KukQML1DEqJDkE1162Iss3gYID4zn_e7rYdmhbkhuwOFebx0nYbswMd-Jur/s1600/DSCN0566%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiKDUP2B_c3-U6s8VOMREr2RYxi3rKy5yzvlQ8Tl_ZxjfQ3QA4a77ptqeJW7Yw-nFXgBpW6-Mir8w-Y7la5KukQML1DEqJDkE1162Iss3gYID4zn_e7rYdmhbkhuwOFebx0nYbswMd-Jur/s640/DSCN0566%255B1%255D.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A few scratches, but nothing terrible!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCTGCgAjFN1E4ekJG5599Sni4M2Ta1zATNXcGHXtFx5bSvncn9Yauq4Unyy3C_fdLcksTbqKSG_Ijw4GSS5tMZStB0RpCKV659k3g0qe7roApZGCh3yfvODQ0m2wcacMmA838vI6O2h7-J/s1600/DSCN0567%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCTGCgAjFN1E4ekJG5599Sni4M2Ta1zATNXcGHXtFx5bSvncn9Yauq4Unyy3C_fdLcksTbqKSG_Ijw4GSS5tMZStB0RpCKV659k3g0qe7roApZGCh3yfvODQ0m2wcacMmA838vI6O2h7-J/s640/DSCN0567%255B1%255D.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Just check out those legs!</td></tr>
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Here is it without the leaf:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuJ_xb-Te8BeTmtYUR8FgUcpX-dz7tdf5pRTCD4l4qxcyNb7T62Qu3qHWok-np0wipafD6SMNdEQpqCpoz9F6iT5_jmEJV-IrkfrGAo2lthr1AkDezo7213QZ5MvARlJwKyJfhojEUi9WB/s1600/craigslist+dining+table+without+leaf.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuJ_xb-Te8BeTmtYUR8FgUcpX-dz7tdf5pRTCD4l4qxcyNb7T62Qu3qHWok-np0wipafD6SMNdEQpqCpoz9F6iT5_jmEJV-IrkfrGAo2lthr1AkDezo7213QZ5MvARlJwKyJfhojEUi9WB/s640/craigslist+dining+table+without+leaf.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy_H3z8zANKYOaQ7vqDY4QmjUuOLpP0nco2E-ckknhK3i7OyE1knU6Sn1b75bya3Xi8W9ffWB1yxOrCwT3xUV7SIPQx2MbOOsegNkJQ67_fYAnogM8ocFp2t9NTJvp0VK_8wvEZu2bpbys/s1600/DSCN0565%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy_H3z8zANKYOaQ7vqDY4QmjUuOLpP0nco2E-ckknhK3i7OyE1knU6Sn1b75bya3Xi8W9ffWB1yxOrCwT3xUV7SIPQx2MbOOsegNkJQ67_fYAnogM8ocFp2t9NTJvp0VK_8wvEZu2bpbys/s640/DSCN0565%255B1%255D.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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And there's one more thing Craigslist is responsible for in our house - our first piece of granite in our Kitchen!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNKHM4IHDoHTJcY-TNYmdWsPJvn9rm3kGTOT2JI-DXtp8dE1vXnoLhl-mo3AN_oPVtLU-OK-ykOnvbX6svoMDSmwjMP7FocF853hF_nDdOYwgybjfo0dK2CHWnujSkQp9LPH7YRSRl_cRq/s1600/craigslist+wine+bakers+rack.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNKHM4IHDoHTJcY-TNYmdWsPJvn9rm3kGTOT2JI-DXtp8dE1vXnoLhl-mo3AN_oPVtLU-OK-ykOnvbX6svoMDSmwjMP7FocF853hF_nDdOYwgybjfo0dK2CHWnujSkQp9LPH7YRSRl_cRq/s640/craigslist+wine+bakers+rack.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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Since we don't yet have a china cabinet, I had a ton of glasses that needed a place to stay. I was so tired of pulling them out of their boxes every time I had company over. I had this wall in the Kitchen on the Dinette side that had a small bookshelf there for a bit for extra storage, but I wound up moving it to the Living Room, since I needed storage there, too. For a few weeks, this wall was blank and I had been searching for a Baker's Rack, because I knew it was the perfect place for one. But holy moly are they expensive! </div>
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Then, one morning on Craigslist, a beautiful granite and wrought iron Baker's Rack popped up with an even more beautiful price tag of $75. Apparently, we were the first people to call about it and to come see it. We borrowed my Father-In-Law's Van in case we liked it and sure enough, she came home with us and now lives in our Dinette, holding most of our beautiful wine glasses! </div>
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The granite slab alone was probably 50 lbs. It's such a nice addition to our Kitchen, especially since we looooove wine!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF9R63QIY_HrwtfFiJggmlds_tzN-zJoT8UVj9koHrV4RInHj2QoEGbwx39u0EdoQ3WhAiL20Sd1TTeWVa47fOp0Yf_GjQbkwFN2NGzi5y8Pa4L_zolptu5KanOodOnkh7JMRaV8Jhhq6w/s1600/bakers+rack+other+end.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF9R63QIY_HrwtfFiJggmlds_tzN-zJoT8UVj9koHrV4RInHj2QoEGbwx39u0EdoQ3WhAiL20Sd1TTeWVa47fOp0Yf_GjQbkwFN2NGzi5y8Pa4L_zolptu5KanOodOnkh7JMRaV8Jhhq6w/s640/bakers+rack+other+end.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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These are just a few reasons why I love me some Craigslist!</div>
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Happy Living!</div>
Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08460862134077477457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8673023856219086393.post-24870412903912695372013-09-18T15:37:00.002-07:002013-09-18T15:37:46.712-07:00An Overwhelmed First Time HomeownerIt's been so long since I last wrote here. I don't know what to say except that buying and moving into our first home was way more overwhelming than I ever imagined.<br />
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It's not that it's overwhelming in a <i>bad way </i>- it was just overwhelming in so many ways.<br />
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There are so many things we want to do... on top of all the things that absolutely had to be done. I spent the first few weeks here walking around the house with a bottle of bleach in one hand and a roll of paper towels under my arm. The guy who owned the home before us worked on cars (we hope) and his hands must have always been dirty. We noticed that every switch plate and door and wall had black hand prints all over them. I'm not a neat freak or anything, but it's just different when it's <i>your </i>dirt. <br />
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We finally got the house into a condition where we felt more comfortable. After that, the unpacked boxes we still had were really beginning to bug me. The boxes in the Office were filled with books and we didn't have a place to put all the books yet, so in boxes they stayed. <br />
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The problem was budgetary. We had really depleted our savings to buy the house, plus we set aside an additional $10,000 to convert the house from oil heat to gas heat, since it's so much more cost and energy efficient. We knew the gas conversion would pay for itself over the next decade or so, but spending an additional $10,000 after you've just bought a house is scary. <br />
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We set aside some additional money for furniture/decorating, but not much. It was at this point that I started to feel overwhelmed. I had always dreamed of buying a home and decorating it and making it look and feel exactly how we wanted it to. But I'm not very skilled in it and I find myself second-guessing almost every purchase I'm about to make. I didn't even want to look at furniture online anymore, because I knew we couldn't afford any of it right away. We've only bought a few pieces of furniture since moving in and the majority of them were from Craigslist (I'll share those in a bit). But all of this on top of not having any confidence in what I was doing (decorating-wise) really started to make me second-guess blogging. I wanted it to be fun, but I was feeling so intimidated and clueless. So, I just stopped for a while.<br />
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Recently, I stopped looking around the house and focusing on the things that have yet to be done and started really focusing on the things that we've already done. These days, I'm feeling grateful and much less overwhelmed, as I'm enjoying being in our home so much more. <br />
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As soon as I started to feel better, I started to think about the blog again. I still want to have fun and continue to interact with the other Home Decor bloggers and hopefully learn a lot. So, I'll keep updating the blog as long as I have something to write about. We're decorating at a snail's pace, but we'll be here for a really long time, so what's the rush anyway? <br />
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The room that I'd say is "most done" right now, is the living room. Probably because this is where we spend most of our time. We still have to paint this room (that lovely yellow/green came with the house) and I'm not exactly sure what color to go with yet. I've got a brown and blue-gray thing going on, but I can't say it was entirely intentional. We brought the brown sofas and coffee table with us from our apartment and really, that's all that came with us - everything else is new. I fell in love with the gray carpet (and its price) and everything else just sort of came along for the ride. I think I need a "pop" of color somewhere, but I'm not really sure yet which one I want to use. Orange? Yellow? Purple? Pink?!<br />
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The sofas and coffee table are from Raymour and Flanigan (outlet), the rug is from Overstock.com, the pillows and lamps are from Homegoods, the mirror next to the entry is from TJ Maxx, the round end tables are from Joss & Main and the curtains are from Wayfair.</div>
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In total, I spent just under $500 on new items for this room (purchases outside of what we brought with us). Good thing the budget was set for $500, HA! </div>
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I have a bathroom update to share soon, as well as a few really great Craigslist finds that I can't wait to share. </div>
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Happy Living! :)</div>
Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08460862134077477457noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8673023856219086393.post-57722894832283028822013-07-29T19:36:00.003-07:002013-07-29T19:42:10.658-07:00All Moved In!*I have to apologize for the impromptu hiatus these past couple of weeks. Life hit us hard recently, between our full-time gigs, a cancelled flight home from a Wedding, last-minute packing, last-minute moving and everything in between, there just weren't enough minutes in the day. Without further adieu, welcome to our new home!*<br />
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With the help of family and friends, we moved into our first home less than 48 hours ago and we're *almost* completely unpacked (shout-out to my mom for spending three hours with me on Friday attacking the grimy fridge). The last few boxes contain things that need furniture that we don't yet own, or are decor items that we need to find places for in our new home. <br />
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The first room we set up was the Living Room. I had put the feet back on the sofas about three minutes after they were lugged into our Living Room off the truck and I had to pick a place for the TV fast, because the cable guy arrived while we were still unloading the boxes. I quickly laid out the furniture in an L-Shape, with the back of the Love Seat facing the entry way when you walk in, so that <strike>I can buy</strike> we can place a console there.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTtb7lCNKHiBmtCSdwgwyI7Eb3vJeZB6HZjZr95Vuxc0YAKq86YFeeDqqdvQxucdHlQkbfeazJgaiycXi-y60PkuOK2blF-0iHHNA7VwVaJB5g1ypdHMdG8C0gl_ZmkUI8FEH_UIyhdchs/s1600/DSCN0405.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTtb7lCNKHiBmtCSdwgwyI7Eb3vJeZB6HZjZr95Vuxc0YAKq86YFeeDqqdvQxucdHlQkbfeazJgaiycXi-y60PkuOK2blF-0iHHNA7VwVaJB5g1ypdHMdG8C0gl_ZmkUI8FEH_UIyhdchs/s640/DSCN0405.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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I'm not quite sure yet if the furniture will stay like this. We're living with it for a few days, but I did ask the cable guy (I should stop calling him that, his name is Lou!) to leave me some slack on the cable in case I changed my mind. I'm already considering moving the TV to the left a little (centered on that back wall) with "built-ins" around it or to the wall on the left and flipping the Sofa and Love Seat to the walls opposite where they are now, to allow for additional seating. <br />
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So many other things about this room will be changing. The paint color, the pillows, the lamp, the end table, the window dressings... much, much more will be changing. The only things that will likely stay are the sofa, love seat and coffee table.<br />
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This. Kitchen. The first time we saw the house, I apparently had my "This-Has-Potential" Goggles on, because even though I was enamored with the sheer size of it, it was GRIMY. It might have been the dirtiest kitchen I'd ever laid eyes on, nevermind that I'd actually have to cook and eat in it. *shudder*<br />
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It took us about three days to get the Kitchen to an inhabitable state. I'm not joking. There are still food stains on the wall next to the sink that NO cleaning product is capable of removing and since they're FAUX wood panels, I can't even paint over them. We have to wait until we're ready to <strike>tear down the walls</strike> re-do the kitchen for those stains to be gone. BUT, the Fridge was so disgusting that I wasn't even sure we could keep it. It took SIX magic erasers and tons of soaking in bleach and warm water, but my mom and I got it sparkling again. I actually don't have a "before" picture, because when I said I wanted to take one, my mom said, "Why would you EVER want to remember what this Fridge currently looks like?" I wasn't thinking like a Blogger and I agreed with her. Of course, I regret this, because you'd never in a million years guess it was the same Fridge and I was already a huge Magic Eraser fan, but now I'm a DIE-HARD Fan. #MagicErasersSavedMyFridge<br />
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I love the little dinette side of the kitchen, because even though we have big plans to change the layout completely down the line, in the meantime, it's nice to have so much space. We can easily both be in the kitchen at the same time and Hubby was doing some classwork at the table on his laptop while I was finishing up dinner. We ate there for the first time tonight and I really enjoyed it!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOuESznJBl9j2X7zB2SegIurT4Q6ZG4JJdYHAawGQoCR0jQYptiI3MzickAMvcP7BfEwkgZXqPWc0jjhN5bhMGoOMzzVzuoztWeLHnnNdDwyLzkOYrsMRyJs93Hnj3IqCXZd55xqmBJWD6/s1600/DSCN0409.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOuESznJBl9j2X7zB2SegIurT4Q6ZG4JJdYHAawGQoCR0jQYptiI3MzickAMvcP7BfEwkgZXqPWc0jjhN5bhMGoOMzzVzuoztWeLHnnNdDwyLzkOYrsMRyJs93Hnj3IqCXZd55xqmBJWD6/s640/DSCN0409.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Here's our little pass-through from the kitchen to the Living Room. It's kind of nice, because while people are sitting in the living room, I can still communicate with them and see <strike>the TV</strike> them. #TheresThatFridgeAgain<br />
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This room off the kitchen is where we're currently storing most of our boxes. I think it will eventually be a formal dining room, although I'm still toying with the idea of adding more seating on the other side of this room with a little bar area. I'm really excited about this spot, even though I'm not quite sure what we'll do with it.<br />
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The Pepto-Pink Bathroom is looking a little better than it did when we first saw it. I think it's the white shower curtain, as opposed to the yellowed-white curtain that was hanging before. I originally wanted to do gray and pink until we could afford to gut the bathroom and replace the pink fixtures, but I realized I had registered for brown towels when we were getting married, so pink and brown it is! I think I will try to replace/paint the vanity and mirror for a quick update to tide us over. One thing we will not be able to quickly address is the faux tile wall covering. it's yellow with flowers and HAS to go, but I'm not sure how big of a job it will be to remove it all.</div>
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I'm not sure what I will tackle first, but I'm really anxious to paint and the only rooms that are ready for paint are the living room and formal dining room right now. Every where else has some kind of weird wall covering that needs to be removed first. I'm going to scope out some inspiration pictures to try to get ready to overhaul one of these rooms. I'll be sure to let you know as soon as I've picked one!Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08460862134077477457noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8673023856219086393.post-79227013683687601362013-07-17T20:01:00.001-07:002013-07-29T19:41:33.133-07:00What Closing On Our First Home Was Like (and some updated pics!)First of all, I apologize for not posting this sooner, but let's just say, "When it rains, it pours." Not only did things start moving incredibly fast on the home buying front, but work really started picking up, too. A project that I've been working on for the past couple of months got kicked into high gear with the due date pushed up to July 31st and the only day we have available on the calendar to move into our new home is Saturday, July 27th. I've been trying to balance working overtime on the project and prepping the home for move-in day, so things have been a little nuts.<br />
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Our closing was on Monday at 10:00 am and our final walk through was just prior to that at 9:00 am. By Noon, we were back at the home for the first time as homeowners and had our first visitors when my in-laws came to see it for the first time. I was way too excited to hear our doorbell ring!</div>
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Final Walk-Through</h2>
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At 9 AM, we got to the house before our Agent did. This gave us a chance to take a few exterior pictures and do a walk around the outside of the home, which I think is pretty important since we hadn't seen it in a couple of months (since our inspection): </div>
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Since our home is "north-facing," it typically accumulates some moss on the siding, which a yearly washing is supposed to keep away. I can't wait to give our new home a nice, sudsy bath!</div>
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Next, we walked around the backyard and checked out the lower deck, which was now cleaned of all the previous owner's belongings:</div>
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The split-rail fencing around the perimeter of the deck will likely be removed. It also needs to be washed really well and a couple of loose boards will have to be re-secured. </div>
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Next, we checked out the upper level of the deck:</div>
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You can see our shed in the background here and the upper deck itself looks pretty good! I think this will make a great outdoor hangout area and I can't wait to spruce it up!</div>
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Here's the opposite angle:</div>
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But here is where it really got interesting. We were told that the seller had already moved to Arizona (his mother attended closing in his place) and when we checked out the rest of the yard, we noticed...</div>
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He left us some fishy friends!</div>
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The terrible thing is that he didn't leave us any fishy food and we can't even move in for a couple of weeks anyway. I'm going to send my brother to the house to take care of them and he's sort of a fish-tank expert, so I'm hoping he'll be able to help us clean it up a little, too. My next task would be convincing my Husband to keep the Koi Pond, since he's not a big fan. He'd rather have plush, green lawn, which I understand. BUT... FISH!</div>
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At this point, our Agent arrived and we were able to go inside. I don't know why, but I was kind of nervous. I guess I was worried I wouldn't love it anymore or something, which is silly. </div>
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I definitely still loved it, but I will say that the change in seasons made a difference. The trees/landscaping were <strike>more bare</strike> less overgrown when we last saw the home and let's not forget how a humid heat wave in NY can impact a vacant home in terms of the types of odors it brings out. </div>
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When we first walked in, it smelled kind of musty to me. I think the home just needs a good cleaning and to be aired out, but it was a little off-putting (I have a sensitive sniffer), but then I noticed these stains on the hardwood floors in the Living Room:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEfvb4HuylFUNLw9LlXzgNweEiNsyzm0_dcxH-aB072oelvPxtEMCV1q0FXdvY6BH3cl3Kkdk5Cb6BSGjn8kv3sw8p8jHPtPy7iVTgqbAi7hBiXBVeXAu9YQcX8hZuUU5_KXko0hI0u3J4/s1600/Living+Room+stair+wall+0715.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEfvb4HuylFUNLw9LlXzgNweEiNsyzm0_dcxH-aB072oelvPxtEMCV1q0FXdvY6BH3cl3Kkdk5Cb6BSGjn8kv3sw8p8jHPtPy7iVTgqbAi7hBiXBVeXAu9YQcX8hZuUU5_KXko0hI0u3J4/s640/Living+Room+stair+wall+0715.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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I'm 90% sure those are pet urine stains (if this were smell-o-vision, you'd probably agree) and while we saw a couple of them during our first tour of the home, there were far more that were visible once the furniture was removed. You can see it worse in this photo (allow my Husband's hairy arm to point them out to you):</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9erVPSfcxG0TLpLRISKDTp4wTBDdwPCFOAtBTJc0eXpXwMNxuQnEfg2hTO8zTt4anf8Nvd0rxnU_WTVKbvzGImNMNJCAQnVmWJEXwPYDHaRwEXZzWPZNb9gHCpsAdkvdt06mtrVOvBZ_t/s1600/living+room+pass-through+0715.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9erVPSfcxG0TLpLRISKDTp4wTBDdwPCFOAtBTJc0eXpXwMNxuQnEfg2hTO8zTt4anf8Nvd0rxnU_WTVKbvzGImNMNJCAQnVmWJEXwPYDHaRwEXZzWPZNb9gHCpsAdkvdt06mtrVOvBZ_t/s640/living+room+pass-through+0715.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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We'll likely need to have these re-finished down the line. Until then, we'll just <strike>cover them up</strike> decorate with a nice area rug. </div>
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Next, we checked out the Kitchen. Something about this house is that it currently has really cheap finishes. I don't mind it so much, because I know we can change them over time and make it better, but on our short list is replacing the Microwave, Oven, Dishwasher and Refrigerator. We're planning on going with stainless steel and I think a really easy but impactful change would be the hardware on the cabinets! I can't wait to replace them with some pretty brushed nickel knobs! *swoon*</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij-Snm4m7DmPCuS2u5k9dxrMKf-y9L2Kfnxmt_BlwKamI7aXBNHBRIllbMIEGFs5iqJj6VAi7OIBwHdN2zDbqaqN86Zm1lq_nPu_v6TXlztgnVccqMIEe1tY1ljS23_0NIH19vTsDh6ps1/s1600/kitchen+appliances+0715.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij-Snm4m7DmPCuS2u5k9dxrMKf-y9L2Kfnxmt_BlwKamI7aXBNHBRIllbMIEGFs5iqJj6VAi7OIBwHdN2zDbqaqN86Zm1lq_nPu_v6TXlztgnVccqMIEe1tY1ljS23_0NIH19vTsDh6ps1/s640/kitchen+appliances+0715.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Oh, I almost forgot to mention that someone laid linoleum tile over the hardwood floors in this Kitchen. After we've had the chance to live in the house for a little while, we're planning to renovate it and I'll likely use that as an opportunity to reveal the original hardwood floors. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiIBmXzA5AOnQU349SIxxXr22ibpvs4QP7TD8HEVPWUDYePiI4xo9sVmw2s6293W9k5Y7mUdkLW1q6YurikUx2EsH58gYzVApTJvei80d2x9CuW783ruiKEgH1zxuM3FcRy4Y8TZXz41xK/s1600/kitchen+dinette+0715.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiIBmXzA5AOnQU349SIxxXr22ibpvs4QP7TD8HEVPWUDYePiI4xo9sVmw2s6293W9k5Y7mUdkLW1q6YurikUx2EsH58gYzVApTJvei80d2x9CuW783ruiKEgH1zxuM3FcRy4Y8TZXz41xK/s640/kitchen+dinette+0715.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Here is the extension that was added onto the Kitchen and was listed as a Formal Dining Room. I'd like to replace the carpet with some hardwood flooring to try to match what exists in the Living Room and Kitchen (beneath the linoleum). And let's not even talk about those window dressings:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmEDDk-1YWohFsrSJK8ghKWGvsvZiORQ0szBEsX0Y_fSKvvdUoKMkKSL10S5LVMJNc8MnNxiXKUgagEL0voxSEApYnph4Ztl7ChNIxp7biiMz3NTiWlpTKMaZr4RSl9mT-kzE6xTNPbKuU/s1600/extension+room+other+side+0715.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmEDDk-1YWohFsrSJK8ghKWGvsvZiORQ0szBEsX0Y_fSKvvdUoKMkKSL10S5LVMJNc8MnNxiXKUgagEL0voxSEApYnph4Ztl7ChNIxp7biiMz3NTiWlpTKMaZr4RSl9mT-kzE6xTNPbKuU/s640/extension+room+other+side+0715.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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If we make our way down the hallway off the Kitchen, it takes us to where the bedrooms and bathroom are on the lower level. Take a peek at our pinky-paneled bathroom:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8SDv-Hzy2sPAVosL2itvjPcn-jDJ1wjGaPalNvMbQJcCD-mCzH0TZnHFoI9wxgYOTki9NJURbOk7AtqSwVJGkNuLemlEkp6INLxlpbHIFaOa_vWqwIDdF52032CpQ-ojMReTPJ7DazDkz/s1600/pink+and+paneling+bathroom+0715.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8SDv-Hzy2sPAVosL2itvjPcn-jDJ1wjGaPalNvMbQJcCD-mCzH0TZnHFoI9wxgYOTki9NJURbOk7AtqSwVJGkNuLemlEkp6INLxlpbHIFaOa_vWqwIDdF52032CpQ-ojMReTPJ7DazDkz/s640/pink+and+paneling+bathroom+0715.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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We have some big plans to completely renovate this bathroom, but I have to say, despite how old and outdated it is, it's in pretty good condition!</div>
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Across from the pinky-paneled bathroom is the bedroom that we're planning to use as our Master for the time-being. We're doing this to save on cooling/heating costs until our family expands. As you can see, the carpet has got to go and I'm hoping to get rid of it before we even move in. It looks like it might be older than I am.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrgFbBi6OuLbzNDakucqQvPIuQzkWd8gKXURBCGM-l4eaEEuB7pm0ZemB5-2kX4W36kGcgXF_lChKgMO2RB3GNBO0M4bwSxmK1Gtw4bIjSmAxYstwnxRZSeoF_J9wnGGf1hnoKtPsQHhiG/s1600/master+bedroom+otherside+0715.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrgFbBi6OuLbzNDakucqQvPIuQzkWd8gKXURBCGM-l4eaEEuB7pm0ZemB5-2kX4W36kGcgXF_lChKgMO2RB3GNBO0M4bwSxmK1Gtw4bIjSmAxYstwnxRZSeoF_J9wnGGf1hnoKtPsQHhiG/s640/master+bedroom+otherside+0715.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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A few other things worth mentioning about this room are that the wall covering that looks like wall paper in this picture are actually wall paper PANELS. I have no idea what's under them, but I noticed they had been nailed into the wall. I'm hoping there's dry wall beneath them, but I guess we'll have to wait to find out! Here's the same room from the opposite angle:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOPNsrDD4jZQAjxuQZveRrrEeX8_OYQ966HIOE1uRaf_1oduWby-52bSkpbMbk3EGUWgf8x_qwYWNMAUQgRlQxo5YUthkwYm9YavrTAZ_eXeDYG285NUcdlqXl7FrtO_8LMJD1UVN9PzJg/s1600/master+bedroom+0715.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOPNsrDD4jZQAjxuQZveRrrEeX8_OYQ966HIOE1uRaf_1oduWby-52bSkpbMbk3EGUWgf8x_qwYWNMAUQgRlQxo5YUthkwYm9YavrTAZ_eXeDYG285NUcdlqXl7FrtO_8LMJD1UVN9PzJg/s640/master+bedroom+0715.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Finally, on the lower level is the smallest bedroom of the four in the house. We think it'll make a great Nursery down the line and for the time being, we'd like to use it as a temporary Guest Room. That is, as soon as we remove the carpet and that little corner shelf that I think no one besides my cat would really love. Eventually, we'd like to make it a designated office.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVCWpd0bq_OONAzu2WkaqRDNZRuGYGIwJsXm0zntjhxipnWIBuSZAZHKhwqF2_XxAHGlGcVjVSa9J1xmdtyG76vr4p1MLqez5tMuOPohefhHIskGnlA1WV9UUd_9XhxNHZoMsCJ1iDEHyw/s1600/small+bedroom+0715.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVCWpd0bq_OONAzu2WkaqRDNZRuGYGIwJsXm0zntjhxipnWIBuSZAZHKhwqF2_XxAHGlGcVjVSa9J1xmdtyG76vr4p1MLqez5tMuOPohefhHIskGnlA1WV9UUd_9XhxNHZoMsCJ1iDEHyw/s640/small+bedroom+0715.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Closing on the House</h2>
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Closing was... interesting. Basically, there was a weird issue where the previous owners thought we wanted to keep these big, black glass and metal shelving units that were in one of the upstairs bedrooms. We don't know where this came from, but it came down to the fact that we didn't want them there (nor did we have the time to move them out ourselves) and they didn't want to remove them (especially since they thought we wanted to keep them). There was some crazy misunderstanding, but it was a point of contention for a good 45 minutes where the lawyers actually walked away from the table, they threatened not to close - it was crazy. Finally, it all got worked out and the pieces were supposedly removed from the home (we'll find out tomorrow when we go back to check it out).</div>
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Other than that, we signed a ton of papers, did a celebratory dance when they handed us the keys, said thank you and goodbye to our Agent and Lawyer and went back to the house to take some measurements!</div>
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I hope you'll stay tuned for our upcoming progress!</div>
Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08460862134077477457noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8673023856219086393.post-51159102804355425212013-07-12T04:07:00.000-07:002013-07-12T04:07:58.992-07:00We're (Almost) Homeowners!!!!I haven't written a blog post in the past few days, NOT because nothing has been going on, but because LOTS has been going on and I've just been so busy! If you've been here before, you might know that we were in the process of <a href="http://practicaldecor.blogspot.com/p/timeline.html" target="_blank">purchasing our first home</a> and had been anxiously-awaiting final loan approval, so that we could finally say this is Our Home:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtFDQhX7cg6ahvD7dAtRikZXIrDO7W2EW_DhT6QjcXUHywwBtjCrrHb8bHMS_LJB-o87n2RD_4reICPC65uoa3Ej3liAMjraK_89xsLJ9jobS07kasjnFm6KNv4Z-3gCwPmZcD_m7wUDVT/s1600/front+of+house.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="420" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtFDQhX7cg6ahvD7dAtRikZXIrDO7W2EW_DhT6QjcXUHywwBtjCrrHb8bHMS_LJB-o87n2RD_4reICPC65uoa3Ej3liAMjraK_89xsLJ9jobS07kasjnFm6KNv4Z-3gCwPmZcD_m7wUDVT/s640/front+of+house.PNG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Well, we received the "Clear-to-close" from our Bank on Wednesday, 7/10 and it's just been nothing but a total whirlwind since then. However, I can finally report our official Closing and Move-in dates for you, which means lots more content for the blog is coming sooner than you think! I can hardly contain my excitement!!!!<br />
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Our official Closing Date is</div>
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Monday, 7/15 at 10:00 am!</h2>
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That morning, we will be doing our final walk-through at 9:00 am, which is when we get the opportunity to make sure that the house is in the same condition we agreed to purchase it in and that the items they agreed to fix have been. Our Realtor is taking the keys from the final walk-through and bringing them straight to the closing table. After the closing, those will be OUR KEYS!!! During the walk-through (or right after closing - whichever allows us more time), I will finally be taking our own pictures of the (empty) house, so that you can see all the things the seller's photos don't show. I'm talking FUN STUFF, like the huge bar in the basement, the second upstairs bedroom, the backyard, etc. </div>
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As far as moving, we would have loved to have been able to move-in the next weekend, but we'll be away for our best friends' Wedding in Disney World, which we are SO excited for. Instead, we've set our Move-In date for Saturday, July 27th! In the weeks leading up to that date after closing, we will be trying to move a couple of boxes by car and I'd really like to take a couple of evenings to clean the house top-to-bottom before moving our stuff in, so we will have to try to make time for that. </div>
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I know I sound like a little kid with how excited I am and all, but it's hard to describe what achieving this dream of home-ownership means to me. It's a long story (that I'll save for a separate blog post), but it's something I'm so proud of. Plus, it was getting a little insane how many times I'd "drive-by-stalk" our new house. The next time we drive by it, we can actually go inside! And we'll only be a few hours away from OWNING IT!!</div>
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I just wanted to say thank you to those who have stopped by the blog so far, as well as anyone who is new. I hope you'll stick around while we practically decorate our entire first home! :)</div>
Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08460862134077477457noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8673023856219086393.post-91710012252086540002013-07-09T19:56:00.000-07:002013-07-12T04:07:39.191-07:00Yay or Nay: TVs in the Bedroom<div>
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<a href="http://www.houzz.com/photos/63493/Master-Bedroom-modern-bedroom-other-metro" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="376" src="http://st.houzz.com/simgs/4b61d06e0c5f73ce_8-1000/modern-bedroom.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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<small><a href="http://www.houzz.com/photos/modern/bedroom" style="color: #444444; text-decoration: none;">Modern Bedroom</a></small></div>
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Inquiring minds (at least mine) want to know: Do you have a TV in the Master Bedroom? When we were house shopping with our Realtor, he kept commenting about where we could place a TV in each Bedroom we saw. We told him so many times that we don't have a TV in our Master Bedroom and never really intend to. We like to watch TV in the Living Room as a family and when it's time for bed, it's time for bed.
Our Realtor would say, "Ahhhh, Newlyweds. Just you wait." Maybe this will change when we have kids? I don't know, neither me nor my Husband grew up with TVs in our bedrooms, so it's not really natural for us. But I suppose down the line I could see a benefit to it.
So, I'm dying to know - do you have a TV in your bedroom? Do you WANT a TV in your room? Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08460862134077477457noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8673023856219086393.post-54733427720109776412013-07-08T18:12:00.002-07:002013-07-08T18:14:17.703-07:00Home Buying Status Update! Last month, I posted an <a href="http://practicaldecor.blogspot.com/2013/06/status-update-and-overall-timeline.html" target="_blank">extremely detailed timeline</a> for how our home buying process has been moving along. At the time of that post, we were awaiting our Final Loan Approval, so that we could go ahead and actually schedule our closing date.<br />
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Well, the bad news is that 12 days later, we're still waiting for Final Loan Approval, BUT the good news is that we're a lot closer to getting it, because our new Town finally produced the paperwork that our bank needed in order for us to be approved. <br />
<br />Today, at 4 pm, I received an email from our Attorney that the paperwork was received by the Title Search Company and that my Attorney had already sent it to the Bank's Attorney and our Loan Officer. Our Bank told us that it typically only takes about 24 hours to receive Final Loan Approval once that paperwork is received, so I'll be calling the Loan Officer tomorrow morning to make sure she received the paperwork and to confirm when we can expect to receive final approval.<br />
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The reason I've been so under the gun is that our Interest Rate Lock expires on July 18th. We have to close before then, or we'll have to pay a fee to extend our lock. It's not the end of the world if we have to pay the fee, but with all the <a href="http://practicaldecor.blogspot.com/p/blog-page.html" target="_blank">projects we have planned</a> for the new house, we certainly don't want to spend any more money than we absolutely have to. <br />
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I'm hoping that the next time you hear from me, we'll be approved for our mortgage and we'll have a definite closing and move-in date to share with you! In the meantime, you can countdown with us!<br />
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Time remaining until our Interest Rate Lock expires:<br />
<div style="background:#000;width:400px; height:260px;font:0px sans-serif;text-align:left;"><object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" id="cdtw" width="350" height="240" style="outline:none"><param name="movie" value="http://countingdownto.com/c/w.swf" /><param name="flashvars" value="eid=328129" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#000000" /><embed name="cdtw" src="http://countingdownto.com/c/w.swf" flashvars="eid=328129" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="400" height="240" allowscriptaccess="always" bgcolor="#000000" style="outline:none"></embed></object><br/> <a href="http://countingdownto.com" style="font:bold 8px Arial;padding-left:19px;color:#444;">WEBSITE COUNTDOWN CLOCK</a></div>Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08460862134077477457noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8673023856219086393.post-35656839789281546862013-07-07T17:36:00.005-07:002013-07-08T18:14:03.185-07:00What's In Your Purse?Melanie over at <a href="http://mailboxjourney.com/" target="_blank">Mailbox Journey</a> wants to know what's in everyone's purse, so I thought this was the perfect opportunity to get a little more personal and show you what I carry around with me every day and hook up with others for a fun Link-Up Party. Here we go!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh72Ug1klV6nxTt6TYOjWeJN6Uhrxa9USnQY7hO0mjZln-MigosR0x0i0agh3VwAlrE6EYQ3b-yuRUHLq1-yMByDhrOhKCI97peqW7SCet3ipFgC6SaIV1pxtbuPJTGWMpfoQr7qWfFIrnz/s1600/purse+party.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh72Ug1klV6nxTt6TYOjWeJN6Uhrxa9USnQY7hO0mjZln-MigosR0x0i0agh3VwAlrE6EYQ3b-yuRUHLq1-yMByDhrOhKCI97peqW7SCet3ipFgC6SaIV1pxtbuPJTGWMpfoQr7qWfFIrnz/s640/purse+party.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1. Coach Alexandra Purse - This was a gift to myself for my job promotion at work a few years ago. I've used it every day since then - seems to be holding up well!<br />2. Coach Alexandra Wallet - I bought it with the purse :) {matchy-matchy!}<br />3. Make Up Pouch - This was a little pouch that I received as part of a promotion at Sephora and it was the perfect size for my every day make up<br />4. My Brown Ray Ban Wayfarer Sunglasses - I bought these on a work trip to California at a discount store and they have a huge scratch on the lens, but I love them so I wear them anyway.<br />5. Pens - I can't be anywhere without a pen to jot something down.<br />6. My Vera Bradley ID/Coin Purse - This is about 7 years old and I've always used it to hold my Metrocard and ID card for work. It's also where I keep my ear buds.<br />7. Sephora Mirror<br />8. Revlon Lipbalm<br />9. Blistex Medicated Lip Balm<br />10. <a href="http://sabonnyc.com/lotions/hand-cream-1/hand-cream-3.html" target="_blank">Sabon Hand Cream in Patchouli Lavender Vanilla</a> - This is literally the best hand lotion I've ever used.<br />11. A Thumb-Drive - I'm an IT Professional, so I need to keep a thumb drive with me at all times.<br />12. Keys<br />13. Nail File<br />14. Tampons<br />15. Checkbook - I find that while buying a home, I've had to write a lot more checks than I used to.<br />16. Nail Polish Remover Pads - In case my polish is just too chippy and I need to go to a meeting or something.<br />17. A retractable tape measure - You never know when you're going to find that perfect console table and will need to check measurements to see if it'll fit!<br />18. Hair Tie - Because I will get hives if I don't have one on back-up/<br /></td></tr>
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Link Up!</div>
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<a border="0" href="http://mailboxjourney.com/2013/07/05/whats-in-your-purse-link-up/"><img alt="Mailbox Journey" border="0" height="212" src="http://mailboxjourney.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/purselinkparty.png" width="320" /></a></center>
Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08460862134077477457noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8673023856219086393.post-33611823147737169152013-07-02T18:32:00.001-07:002013-07-03T04:42:58.377-07:00Why Listing Our Moving Sale On Craigslist Might Not Have Been the Best Idea I've Ever Had.Melanie from Mailbox Journey <a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/frame?post=1235214881&group=3593640&frame_type=b&blog=3593640&link=aHR0cDovL21haWxib3hqb3VybmV5LmNvbS8yMDEzLzA3LzAyL2lmLXRoZS1ibG9nZ2Vzcy13YXMtYXdrd2FyZC1saWtlLW1lLw&frame=1&click=0&user=0">recently posted </a>about a hilarious Craigslist-related incident that happened to her recently and it reminded me of the near-heart-attack-inducing incident that Craigslist caused for us this weekend.<br />
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We had planned a Moving Sale for last Saturday and posted it on Craigslist. I was watching the weather and basically the whole week was looking like this:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeNEaky9RM1OD_ewfGVATsHG0ECNPGK5ungG_7fYR4uUBrhl8J9AXJUB96P3uhXp6FTT3aE45rDHUmxXkIXNAcRV0wPvqfswwpnnjnevAyBJI66CnbM4QrRwo6qLOErwavWrAtE3bFJIYK/s960/992994_10100735894643194_703690550_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeNEaky9RM1OD_ewfGVATsHG0ECNPGK5ungG_7fYR4uUBrhl8J9AXJUB96P3uhXp6FTT3aE45rDHUmxXkIXNAcRV0wPvqfswwpnnjnevAyBJI66CnbM4QrRwo6qLOErwavWrAtE3bFJIYK/s400/992994_10100735894643194_703690550_n.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
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On Friday, I decided to call it and updated the Craigslist Ad to say that the Moving Sale would be postponed to the following Sunday due to the weather.</div>
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That same day, someone rang our doorbell, because they wanted to "preview" the items for sale. </div>
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*I was totally and completely unprepared for this. I had no idea that this might happen. All of the stuff for sale was in my basement. No way in HELL was I inviting someone into my home and INTO MY BASEMENT (where there is only one egress, I might add) to preview the junk I'm trying to get rid of. I almost died. Is this what people do? What did they think I was selling that they needed to "preview" it? But I digress.</div>
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I told him I was sorry, but we were postponing the sale to the following Sunday (and he acted like the new date was no good for him, but I mean, what am I supposed to do?!) and that I couldn't show him the items, because they were "in storage." He proceeded to <i>grill</i> me about the items I was selling; "How old are the chairs?" "What are they made of?" "What kind of wood?" At one point, I couldn't believe I was still engaging in conversation with him about this.</div>
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Finally, I told him I had to get back to work and maybe I'd see him the following Sunday.</div>
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I decided I should lock my door and put up a sign on it in case any one else wanted a "preview" (I still can't believe this is a <i>thing</i>). The sign was very clear and blatantly said, "Moving Sale Postponed to Sunday, 7/7, due to weather."</div>
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The next morning, which would have been the morning of the sale, we went grocery shopping and got back home around 10:30 am. We were bringing bags into the house from the car and left our front door open (but the storm door was closed). I was sitting on the living room sofa on my laptop with my feet up on the coffee table with my husband in the next room and I hear someone just open my front door and walk in. </div>
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Now, we have a functioning doorbell. Why this individual chose not to ring it or even use his hand to make a sound on the door (which people typically refer to as KNOCKING) I may never know. We have a mirror hanging in the foyer, so I was basically able to watch him walking into my house from where I was sitting. </div>
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Apparently, this is what came out of my mouth:</div>
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"Umm...what is going on right now?...Uh...omg, someone is...HELLO?...wait. NO, NO, NO, NO, get out of here... right now!"</div>
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In retrospect, at the point when I said, "Hello?" I think this individual thought I was inviting him into my Living Room. I don't know. Nothing about my expression or tone was welcoming. But I also didn't get up off my butt, which is very interesting to me. It basically means that I don't have a fight OR flight reaction. I basically just become paralyzed with fear, where the only thing that works is my mouth. Great.</div>
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So, this guy is standing in my Living Room and I'm still sitting on the sofa (with my feet up on the coffee table). I did sit up straighter, like I was more alert, but I simply was frozen in place. What's weird is, it never occurred to me, even for a second, that this guy was here for the sale. The thoughts that ran through my head went something like this:</div>
<ol>
<li>Why is this man here?</li>
<li>Why did this man walk into my house?</li>
<li>Why is he ignoring everything I'm saying?</li>
<li>Is he mentally ill?</li>
<li>Does he think he lives here?</li>
<li>Is he lost?</li>
<li>Does he have a gun?</li>
<li>Is he going to attack me?</li>
<li>WHY HAVEN'T I MOVED YET?!</li>
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Right in between mental questions #4 and #5, I started to panic internally a little. I realized he wasn't responding to any of my comments - he was just kind of standing there in my entry way looking at me. I was SO CONFUSED. It wasn't until my Husband came out of the side room and said, very calmly and sternly, "Sorry, sale is postponed to next week," that I put two and two together. Up until then, I really thought for some reason that we were the unfortunate subjects of a visit from the latest mental asylum escapee. </div>
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I also kind of put together that maybe there was a language barrier issue. I'm still not really sure on that, but I don't understand how anyone from any culture could just walk into someone's home without knocking or anything. I mean, he walked into my living room and caught me completely off-guard. I'm just glad I wasn't sitting there in my underwear (which I've been known to do). If I were in his shoes, I would have been MORTIFIED.</div>
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Anyway, he seemed to understand what was happening when my husband was sort of directing him out of the house. I guess the guy was confused by the fact that I never once got out of my seat. This is actually the most concerning thing to me. I still can't believe I just sat there. </div>
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I also don't understand why he thought the sale was INSIDE our house? Maybe because of the weather? I don't know - so little of it makes any sense to me.</div>
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The guy turned out to be harmless and everything was okay, but we locked our door for the rest of the weekend. </div>
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Moral of the story: I will not be advertising my address on Craigslist again any time soon - which one would think I'd already know not to do. I don't know why I ever thought this would be a good idea. </div>
Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08460862134077477457noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8673023856219086393.post-68506947259544066042013-07-02T06:10:00.001-07:002014-03-11T06:14:16.827-07:00Keeping It In the Family: A Furniture Restoration ProjectI mentioned in my <a href="http://practicaldecor.blogspot.com/2013/07/the-paint-plan.html">last post</a> how much my Husband hates white furniture. He's a "woodsy" kinda guy, which is fine by me. But I knew I had to incorporate white furniture into at least one room in our <a href="http://practicaldecor.blogspot.com/2013/06/my-first-post.html">new house.</a><br />
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When we moved into this house, there was some furniture left behind. We gave away most of it, but we kept a Bassett solid cherry wood dresser and bureau. We stored it in an empty bedroom that we intended to use as a Guest Room (but really only was used as such one time), and just kept our options open as to whether we'd eventually sell the set or bring it with us to our next place (depending where we would be living next). <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAE8ZCKavXThOl1DsJu_G2nfWfR7-K5-Zz4xg08GJMUeuIuJbGEqD3JEpDKLL42r3pl_x6f7x8ps4D4WbY7tGvs2XZqnjNjMuOpGXve6D_bhkBYX9xclvkhmFkkIdFNroIU43QOa5nWSmG/s500/dresser+before.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAE8ZCKavXThOl1DsJu_G2nfWfR7-K5-Zz4xg08GJMUeuIuJbGEqD3JEpDKLL42r3pl_x6f7x8ps4D4WbY7tGvs2XZqnjNjMuOpGXve6D_bhkBYX9xclvkhmFkkIdFNroIU43QOa5nWSmG/s640/dresser+before.JPG" height="425" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">Disclaimer: I'm so sorry, but I completed this project pre-blog, so I only had a "Before" picture of the dresser and not the bureau. In the future, I promise to be better about photographing everything for illustration purposes! :)</span></td></tr>
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Since the place we're currently living in is my Husband's Grandparents' home (both have since passed on), I had a feeling that the dresser set left behind belonged to a relative (it could have been my Husband's Aunt, Uncle, Father, Parents or Grandfather) as they had lived in this home for a number of years at one point or another. I confirmed that it belonged to my Husband's Grandparents, so I didn't want to get rid of it unless we had to. I thought it would be so nice to re-use the furniture for a Guest Room (or future Nursery).<br />
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I thought this set would be the perfect way to try my hand at painting furniture (and I campaigned hard for painting them white). My reasoning was actually quite practical: We already know that when we move into the new house, one of the first big purchases we're making is a new Queen-sized bed, as we've been sleeping on an Ikea platform bed for the past three years and we long for a "real" mattress (no offense to those who are comfortable sleeping on Ikea mattresses). The Ikea platform bed frame we currently use is a white one (I think it's been discontinued, but it looks just like this one):<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.ikea.com/us/en/images/products/malm-bed-frame__0159267_PE315705_S4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.ikea.com/us/en/images/products/malm-bed-frame__0159267_PE315705_S4.JPG" height="400" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">IKEA Malm Bed Frame</td></tr>
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We knew we'd be placing our current bed in a Guest Room when we upgrade to a new mattress, so the Guest Room was destined to have white furniture after all! :)<br />
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Side note: I actually really wanted mirrored furniture in there, as I was inspired by this photo (below) from Pinterest, but I decided it was best to re-use what we already have and maybe I can splurge on a mirrored-nightstand for this room to achieve the look I love so much (plus, I don't know how the husband would feel about me sleeping in the Guest Room so often, since it'd basically be my dream room).<br />
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<a href="http://media-cache-ec3.pinimg.com/736x/a2/16/fb/a216fb15dc7e393ff6ddaafd8f154941.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://media-cache-ec3.pinimg.com/736x/a2/16/fb/a216fb15dc7e393ff6ddaafd8f154941.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
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Due to the crazy amount of rain the East Coast has been receiving, I set up shop in my living room. I laid a tarp out on the carpet and used it as my work station for a couple of weeks (bless my husband's and kitty's hearts for putting up with sharing the living room with me and my projects for so long) (PS- It may or may not have also been blocking the TV, due to size).<br />
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Here's the dresser (with drawers removed) on the tarp, with the coffee table pushed back (rendering the Love Seat pretty much un-usable):<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV-7fIioTCJoT4571l5z7e6vFNHVSkleMWDza9aV912j2vaYNWn5YbqdxPL7ssahF7_o-UgFE8emJQJFNYePvOolFSFbmm_XIf7_CrQ6em2q9vcbTO5nAfexMOfQCKFmjie672NAuUxQ6F/s1600/dresser+during.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV-7fIioTCJoT4571l5z7e6vFNHVSkleMWDza9aV912j2vaYNWn5YbqdxPL7ssahF7_o-UgFE8emJQJFNYePvOolFSFbmm_XIf7_CrQ6em2q9vcbTO5nAfexMOfQCKFmjie672NAuUxQ6F/s640/dresser+during.JPG" height="640" width="478" /></a></div>
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Here are the steps I performed:</div>
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<ol>
<li>Removed the hardware from the drawer fronts</li>
<li>Cleaned each piece with Murphy's Oil Soap Wood Cleaner</li>
<li>Filled all of the holes (and any damage) with Wood Filler and let dry for two hours</li>
<li>Sanded the whole piece down with 60-grit and then again with 120 grit</li>
<li>Wiped both pieces down with tack cloth</li>
<li>Primed both pieces and drawer fronts with Kilz Latex 2 Primer, Sealer & Stainblocker (interior/exterior water-based)</li>
<li>Let dry overnight</li>
<li>Painted both pieces and drawer fronts with Clark + Kensington Paint + Primer In One, Semi-Gloss Enamel in 109A100 "Designer White."</li>
<li>Let dry overnight, painted a second coat.</li>
<li>Let dry overnight and then re-drilled new holes for the new hardware, which were:</li>
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GlideRite "Birdcage" 3.25-inch Cabinet Pulls from <a href="http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/GlideRite-3.25-inch-Oil-Rubbed-Bronze-Birdcage-Cabinet-Pulls-Pack-of-10/6808099/product.html">Overstock.com:</a><br />
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<a href="http://ak1.ostkcdn.com/images/products/P14341657.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://ak1.ostkcdn.com/images/products/P14341657.jpg" height="200" width="200" /></a></div>
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GlideRite "Birdcage" 2-inch Oval Cabinet Knobs from <a href="http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/GlideRite-2-inch-Oval-Oil-Rubbed-Bronze-Birdcage-Cabinet-Knobs-Set-of-10/6808102/product.html">Overstock.com:</a></div>
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<a href="http://ak1.ostkcdn.com/images/products/6808102/090ddaaf-e043-452b-9fa9-fc91b5acbb4f_600.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://ak1.ostkcdn.com/images/products/6808102/090ddaaf-e043-452b-9fa9-fc91b5acbb4f_600.jpg" height="200" width="200" /></a></div>
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Here are the results!</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit29ClnxVG6OUSQxbqfrqK3wx422UwMNO9fS5gjsbUijBPY9F9gYqVnq56eQK4JY_dm_E6bK8VKMnBfVqyZnxjqAsYhIQUKCn5I2vwfTmx9_PTLGQNshVwP_cAuHjK8p1om5JRJs0c62Lt/s1600/DSCN0367.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit29ClnxVG6OUSQxbqfrqK3wx422UwMNO9fS5gjsbUijBPY9F9gYqVnq56eQK4JY_dm_E6bK8VKMnBfVqyZnxjqAsYhIQUKCn5I2vwfTmx9_PTLGQNshVwP_cAuHjK8p1om5JRJs0c62Lt/s640/DSCN0367.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Painted with Clark + Kensington Paint + Primer In One, in 109A100 - "Designer White"</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh43bcss3UHoi77K1NJTHTt86hVN_aCD7BQkYbipRsxeZ8eJ5jFW3n9mtrXziukvmaMdQqCvuJpGo4_wcQ8l3-ghUpDKk0sLVEtRHc5ZgtHYerl3DQPVpl4Zz4TY_apHphOmGX8PXXEnNvy/s1600/DSCN0366.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh43bcss3UHoi77K1NJTHTt86hVN_aCD7BQkYbipRsxeZ8eJ5jFW3n9mtrXziukvmaMdQqCvuJpGo4_wcQ8l3-ghUpDKk0sLVEtRHc5ZgtHYerl3DQPVpl4Zz4TY_apHphOmGX8PXXEnNvy/s640/DSCN0366.JPG" height="640" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Painted with Clark + Kensington Paint + Primer In One, in 109A100 - "Designer White"</td></tr>
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As this was my first blog-able DIY project, so I figured I'd have some regrets or lessons learned. In this case, there was only one: I did the shorter dresser first and in retrospect, I wish I had installed the hardware differently for the top drawer (to match the top drawer of the Bureau). I wish I had done two knobs for each drawer at the top (in the larger side panels), rather than one (in the smaller middle panel), but you live and you learn!<br />
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<span style="text-align: center;">Before I bid you adieu, I will sum it all up with this final Before and After (because who doesn't like Before And After's?!):</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbBRM7U1i4nZ2sgA5D38EtxS79rNKFDizpPl_BTMB6oir4ep0-ck0nyGw3IpG99Q9VI-T30N42IDAzGOL23WresGNF_L9IelQnGhzS9JY7ZjFCCfjL3l8TNP1_HJJ82Tt0hVeMmSfw64PG/s851/dresser+before+after.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbBRM7U1i4nZ2sgA5D38EtxS79rNKFDizpPl_BTMB6oir4ep0-ck0nyGw3IpG99Q9VI-T30N42IDAzGOL23WresGNF_L9IelQnGhzS9JY7ZjFCCfjL3l8TNP1_HJJ82Tt0hVeMmSfw64PG/s640/dresser+before+after.jpg" height="236" width="640" /></a></div>
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<br />Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08460862134077477457noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8673023856219086393.post-8643873147791638542013-06-30T17:57:00.003-07:002013-07-03T04:40:32.369-07:00The "Disappointment" Pillows<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOpba9dPGtVXlregDrO4fpbXCEWUVBb8rlb_QjQNxBR3jKjOmrYmpjuWq0-7IN2DKMHcQCUGMJecudfskj2etZhMbiH_T7hRcZDbjBQiXVjWdIcBfPdhnLGkYLr6xPjRzDHSqmt7TFx0aI/s450/Findlay+Pillow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOpba9dPGtVXlregDrO4fpbXCEWUVBb8rlb_QjQNxBR3jKjOmrYmpjuWq0-7IN2DKMHcQCUGMJecudfskj2etZhMbiH_T7hRcZDbjBQiXVjWdIcBfPdhnLGkYLr6xPjRzDHSqmt7TFx0aI/s320/Findlay+Pillow.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'Seaglass' Findlay Pillows from Wayfair.com</td></tr>
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These Findlay pillows were my first (and only) purchase for our new home so far. I saw them on JossandMain.com and instantly fell in love with them, as they seemed to fit my vision for our new living room perfectly (light and dark blue, taupe and brown). They were a little on the pricey side (at $29.99 each), but it was the day after my 28th Birthday when I ordered them, so I used some birthday gift money to pay for the four pillows. I knew they were final sale when I bought them, but I wasn't worried, since they were so perfect. <br />
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Then, came the disappointment.<br />
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My first round of disappointment regarding these pillows wasn't even when I received them. I ordered them on June 3rd and a week and a half later, I got an email saying they were back-ordered and wouldn't ship until June 29th. I was afraid that by then, we might not even be living here anymore, but I decided to wait it out. As time went on, I started to have a little buyer's remorse - mostly over the fact that I hadn't seen the home we're moving into in over a month and I felt like I was "losing" my vision a little. I thought maybe it was pre-mature to be buying decorative pillows for the new house (ya think?!) when we'd need <a href="http://practicaldecor.blogspot.com/2013/06/the-not-so-pretty-improvements.html">so many other things</a> to get started. A couple of weeks ago, I emailed Joss and Main and asked if I could just cancel the order and have a refund. They said they couldn't because the pillows had already been shipped to me.<br />
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I thought, "No problem. I did really like the pillows." A couple of weeks went by and I checked up on the status of my Joss and Main order online and there was no real pertinent information, so I decided to email them and ask if there was any tracking information I could view.<br />
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They informed me that my package had been delivered to my doorstep five days prior - but I never got the package. I still have no idea what happened - my guess is that someone stole the package from my doorstep, but if that's the case, it would be the first time that's ever happened to us here.<br />
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Joss and Main was actually really good about it and offered to send another four pillows to us for free, which I graciously accepted. They were delivered to me yesterday and this time I was home to accept the package.<br />
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I quickly tore it open and was immediately disappointed all over again. The color was all wrong - the base color wasn't white like the photo online, but a sort of a pukey yellow, but it sets off the rest of the colors in a way that doesn't make as much sense for what I was hoping to accomplish with decor for the living room. Plus, the pillows are all deflated, but I'm hoping that's just due to shipping<br />
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Of course, since these were final sale I'm sort of stuck with them. I'm hoping that once I see them in the new house, I'll find a way to make them work, but I think I've definitely learned my lesson here. I need to work on planning a space better and making sure I'm committed to the item before purchasing it (especially if it's final sale).<br />
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Have you had any decor-purchase fails? Tell me about them to make me feel better! :)Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08460862134077477457noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8673023856219086393.post-43324956489577348692013-06-27T17:31:00.002-07:002013-07-03T04:39:27.772-07:00My Decorating Style Defined<div style="text-align: center;">
I've given this topic a lot of thought lately and I think the best label I can give my decorating style is: </div>
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"Cozy Casual." </h3>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://media-cache-ec4.pinimg.com/736x/45/5a/00/455a0073a03dd0654c2385283ceefb34.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://media-cache-ec4.pinimg.com/736x/45/5a/00/455a0073a03dd0654c2385283ceefb34.jpg" width="491" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My idea of "Cozy Casual" from <a href="http://spledidsass.blogspot.com/">Spledidsass.blogspot.com</a></td></tr>
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Let me explain. Aside from the practical aspect of decorating that I gravitate towards so much, I find that although I like rooms to look nice, what is almost always more important to me is how they make people <i>feel </i>when they're in them. </div>
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Above all else, I want to feel comfortable in my home. I don't ever want my family or guests to feel like they're in a museum and have to be <i>careful</i> when they're in my home. I don't want people to ask me, "Should I take off my shoes before I walk in?" I realize that not everyone will agree with me here - it's personal taste and I get that. I can't tell you how many rooms decorated in a style other than my own I've absolutely <i>drooled over</i>, but I just know it wouldn't be <i>me,</i> therefore, it doesn't belong in my home.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://apopofpretty.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Woodlawn-Blue-Living-Room-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="586" src="http://apopofpretty.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Woodlawn-Blue-Living-Room-2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My idea of "Cozy Casual" from <a href="http://apopofpretty.com/">apopofpretty.com</a></td></tr>
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When I think "Cozy Casual," plush upholstered furniture, natural fabrics in muted, non-or-lightly-patterned colors immediately come to mind. Textures and things that you want to touch, feel and wrap yourself in are absolutely what I'm drawn to. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://data.whicdn.com/images/43241121/tumblr_m9t2ctKqIy1r6i91do1_500_large.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://data.whicdn.com/images/43241121/tumblr_m9t2ctKqIy1r6i91do1_500_large.jpg" width="424" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My idea of "Cozy Casual" from Tumblr</td></tr>
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Don't get me wrong, I like things to be neat and tidy, but if a blanket is left out because it's a little chilly, that's a-okay by me. Mostly, it's just important to me that at the end of the day, we have a place we can go to where we can just relax. I want people to be able to congregate in a space, easily find themselves a seat and ultimately, I want it to be hard for them to leave, because they're so comfortable where they are. </div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://media-cache-ak1.pinimg.com/736x/ad/02/f2/ad02f290ed90cc34fc37949999df213b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://media-cache-ak1.pinimg.com/736x/ad/02/f2/ad02f290ed90cc34fc37949999df213b.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My idea of "Cozy Casual" from Tumblr.</td></tr>
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Another interesting tid-bit about my decorating style is that I <u>HATE</u> chotchkies (this is a universal term, yes?). I think this strong feeling comes from my disdain of dusting and the more little chotchkies you have hanging around, the harder it is to dust. </div>
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Now, I should clarify - I don't mind little trinkets that have strong significance or meaning to us. But if it doesn't have a purpose or sentimental value, it's difficult for me to want to buy it or decorate with it. All I can think of is how much dust it'll attract.</div>
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When Mr. Practicality and I go on vacation, we have a tradition that we bring home a Christmas Ornament from every location we visit. This was our compromise to wanting to bring home a souvenir from each destination, but not wanting to collect a ton of chotchkies. And the great thing about Christmas Tree Ornaments is that they're always available in gift shops no matter what time of year it is and they don't take up much room or collect dust! (These are the crazy thoughts that go through my head.)</div>
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As you can see from my above inspiration pictures, I gravitate towards light and dark colors alike. I think in rooms that receive a lot of natural light, it's okay to go a little darker for a cozier feel with the furniture/upholstery. But in a room where little natural light exists, I might opt for a lighter palette to try to bring more light into the space. </div>
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How about you? I'd love it if you would share your decorating style with me!</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8673023856219086393.post-48172768764086256592013-06-25T06:44:00.000-07:002013-07-03T04:33:59.164-07:00What's The Plan?In addition to the only known <a href="http://practicaldecor.blogspot.com/2013/06/my-first-post.html" target="_blank">photos I have of our new house</a> that I posted a few days ago, I decided to make a floor plan of the home, to better depict what it looks like. Now, this floor plan is not to-scale and it was done strictly from memory, so I may have to update the proportions a bit when we actually get the keys.<br />
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First Floor</h2>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyJY59e5gbx65ycuUJ25oE6hfKU-luicfhVSLg36D1G_H7MJunNvNSXGgG4EWynIyNP0L8VwHmzUtgEhUJwC6x9H5qkxM_mpfCUYyYsYlahnI789rgoBtphitXBT4rpwtp3gtiN35DXyI/s1600/2013-06-25_0932.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="450" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyJY59e5gbx65ycuUJ25oE6hfKU-luicfhVSLg36D1G_H7MJunNvNSXGgG4EWynIyNP0L8VwHmzUtgEhUJwC6x9H5qkxM_mpfCUYyYsYlahnI789rgoBtphitXBT4rpwtp3gtiN35DXyI/s640/2013-06-25_0932.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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Second Floor</h2>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqrLCjzwApBiYCSzWrWn5YLhUYkYzmVf6DVQNaoQXS1OrQsgOl9iaYdWy_FC00klAEXFmKtx66kavry2FWwv7Et9oMu91XGs05X7UL1m5QLA3_ke1U-DDVfLmNqgRQ1pRHRaZaACjeq-Y/s1600/layout2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="434" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqrLCjzwApBiYCSzWrWn5YLhUYkYzmVf6DVQNaoQXS1OrQsgOl9iaYdWy_FC00klAEXFmKtx66kavry2FWwv7Et9oMu91XGs05X7UL1m5QLA3_ke1U-DDVfLmNqgRQ1pRHRaZaACjeq-Y/s640/layout2.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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Did I mention it's not to-scale? :-P Especially the second floor, but it does represent the layout well. I promise to update everything as soon as we're able to get back into the house!</div>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8673023856219086393.post-40721100701731664992013-06-24T17:46:00.002-07:002013-07-03T04:33:30.114-07:00The Not-So-Pretty ImprovementsMuch to my dismay, not every aspect of home ownership consists of choosing paint colors and furniture pieces. Sometimes it requires repairing or replacing broken appliances, "winterizing" a home or simple maintenance and upkeep.<br />
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During our home inspection, a few minor issues were uncovered. They weren't deal-breakers, but they pretty much required immediate attention and take up a big chunk of our decorating budget. <br />
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Here are some of the items we'll need to tackle as soon as we close on the house:<br />
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<li>The oven needs to be replaced. The stove top works, but not the *oven itself. (*Funny story: The house we currently rent also has a broken oven. We never replaced it, because we figured that wherever we moved to next would have a working oven and then we'd be stuck with two. So, for the past three years, I've been living without a real oven and I didn't even have to. If only I had a crystal ball!)</li>
<li>The dishwasher is ancient (you'll see that "ancient" is a running theme here). We tested it during the inspection and it did work, but when I say it's ancient, I mean, it's ancient. We'd like to replace it at the same time that we replace the oven.</li>
<li>The electric service in the home needs to be upgraded. It's currently at 100 amps and we think we'd like to upgrade to 200 amps, because we heard that the difference in cost between upgrading to 150 and 200 amps is negligible.</li>
<li>The hot water heater is ancient (and leaking). It's original to the house and desperately needs to be replaced. We really don't want a flooded basement as soon as we move-in.</li>
<li>The oil burner is ancient (and very slow to respond). This is also original to the house and desperately needs to be replaced. Unfortunately, this is a big-ticket item. </li>
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The kicker here is that the house currently runs on oil. After extensive research, we decided to convert from oil to gas, since it usually winds up being cheaper in the long run to heat the home and we also prefer gas cooking. In our area, there is a 9-12 week waiting period for the gas conversion to be completed. This means that we have to wait until after the gas conversion is completed to purchase the new gas stove, furnace and hot water heater, which also means we'll likely hold off on replacing the dishwasher, too (matching appliances?). It looks like the only thing we can do as soon as we move in is upgrade the electrical service. <br />
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I'm sure we'll be plenty busy with painting and unpacking, so it won't be too bad, but it just looks like I'll have to go a few more months without a working oven!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8673023856219086393.post-26343955172125899122013-06-17T17:23:00.001-07:002013-07-03T04:35:25.511-07:00The Pre-Move-In Home Tour!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsgtZSzUJfc8bhj6bTfB1njLX6Ugk5kv4cHr4QCY4ook04HK3cddo6LBzeKhu-PydN_5fPqeCOQw-nbSDp8C6SzUXYya0cb7tIPMbDxFH_dgtOOhBBg4-TXulGHdG0iSQ7SYNXluMpPZbX/s1600/front+of+house.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="420" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsgtZSzUJfc8bhj6bTfB1njLX6Ugk5kv4cHr4QCY4ook04HK3cddo6LBzeKhu-PydN_5fPqeCOQw-nbSDp8C6SzUXYya0cb7tIPMbDxFH_dgtOOhBBg4-TXulGHdG0iSQ7SYNXluMpPZbX/s640/front+of+house.PNG" width="640" /></a></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The home buying process in New York (especially on Long Island), is kind of crazy. First of all, both the buyer and seller are required, by law, to hire a Real Estate Attorney and the Closing Date means almost nothing in terms of gauging when you might actually close. New York grants buyers and sellers a 30-day leeway period past the contracted closing date in case either the buyer or seller needs more time. What's more is that the seller can actually remain in the home for an additional five days (penalty-free) after those 30 days. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Basically, what I'm saying is that even though our Closing "On-or-around" Date is July 13th, 2013, we really don't have any idea when we'll actually close on the house. We *think* the seller is ready to vacate the home quickly and if that's the case, all we're really waiting on is our bank for the "clear-to-close." </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We haven't actually seen the house in over a month, since we were last there during the inspection. At the time, I didn't think to take any pictures of the interior (blame it on first-time-home-buyer's brain) and now, of course I regret it. I keep looking back at the MLS-listing pictures to remind myself of what it looks like, as I'm totally in full-on decorating mode in my head. The hard part is that I don't have any hard measurements of the interior, so all I know is how big our current furniture pieces are - not whether they will fit in the rooms we're thinking of placing them in.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">With all that said, here are the Pre-Move-In photos (seller's furniture) of the inside and outside of our first home. Since I didn't take these pictures, I find some crucial elements of each room missing and some rooms are not pictured at all, but they give a good general idea of what we're working with!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The home is approximately 1800 sq. ft. on a 7,000 sq. foot plot of land. It's a Cape Cod that was built in 1953 and it has 4 Bedrooms, 2 Full Bathrooms, hardwood floors throughout, a partially-finished basement and a 1-Car Garage. The upstairs rear has been dormered and the front has the "Dog House Dormers," which help add square footage to the upstairs bedrooms.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It's yellow aluminum siding with white trim. We'd love to one day upgrade to vinyl siding and we're not sure what color yet, but we have time to decide, since the aluminum siding is in good condition. In the meantime, we might like to paint the shutters a dark gray or navy blue to give some contrast to the front of the home. We'd also like to improve the landscaping with some flowers/color: </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsgtZSzUJfc8bhj6bTfB1njLX6Ugk5kv4cHr4QCY4ook04HK3cddo6LBzeKhu-PydN_5fPqeCOQw-nbSDp8C6SzUXYya0cb7tIPMbDxFH_dgtOOhBBg4-TXulGHdG0iSQ7SYNXluMpPZbX/s1600/front+of+house.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="420" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsgtZSzUJfc8bhj6bTfB1njLX6Ugk5kv4cHr4QCY4ook04HK3cddo6LBzeKhu-PydN_5fPqeCOQw-nbSDp8C6SzUXYya0cb7tIPMbDxFH_dgtOOhBBg4-TXulGHdG0iSQ7SYNXluMpPZbX/s640/front+of+house.PNG" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Exterior- Back</span></u></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The backyard features a bi-level deck (upper level pictured below), a small shed, a small patio area behind the garage and a fish pond (which we think we want to remove). It needs some work to clean it up and maximize the space, but we have some great ideas so far. We'd like to add some nice wrap-around seating on the upper level of the deck for nice, intimate meals under the stars or outdoor breakfasts. We think the lower level of the deck would be great for BBQs and a nice, big table with seating for when we entertain outside. We're also thinking of ripping up the patio area to plant a garden and the rest of the yard beyond the deck would be for playing and lounging (with a hammock, of course). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxtjSxomy4HXtNnNFR06MwBTk6uxtChpcVwMJG67MkPDC5KtZoohUwjJYYpeUiWAY2T8QyZT53AFDPAqJ_W3k1p8igHDaXY6Ddt7ZwZHRzRNNXfyMsxuIz5HqOIUHKIMAdGU0X8PixqQZF/s1600/upper+deck.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxtjSxomy4HXtNnNFR06MwBTk6uxtChpcVwMJG67MkPDC5KtZoohUwjJYYpeUiWAY2T8QyZT53AFDPAqJ_W3k1p8igHDaXY6Ddt7ZwZHRzRNNXfyMsxuIz5HqOIUHKIMAdGU0X8PixqQZF/s640/upper+deck.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Interior - Entry/Living Room</span></u></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The door on the right is the main entry door and when you first walk in, you are greeted by a staircase leading to the upstairs bedrooms. To the right when you walk in, is the formal living room. It's bright and airy, which we love and it has a small pass-through window on the back wall that is shared by the Kitchen. Our current furniture is dark chocolate brown and we'd love to paint this room a nice, pretty pale aqua to create contrast and make it even more welcoming. We're not sure yet if this will also be where we watch TV, as there is an additional room off the Kitchen (an expansion to the original home's layout) and we think that might be a better Family Room. We would like to maybe place some bookshelves on the wall to the left in the below picture and place lots of seating options for when we have guests.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjuJAtmZdE6ChI0cIV8DLCpFTID37SoBs3F3eDgKDGWTxWgAVN5NNzNvLTe-8R5mdUXaBjETrFBilccMtLwllCOPKXjgSNnZAE22oqP4k5aNcRvqHOJbn6aA2PF4Ox4vzZiyqCiTyYUbiL/s1600/living+room.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjuJAtmZdE6ChI0cIV8DLCpFTID37SoBs3F3eDgKDGWTxWgAVN5NNzNvLTe-8R5mdUXaBjETrFBilccMtLwllCOPKXjgSNnZAE22oqP4k5aNcRvqHOJbn6aA2PF4Ox4vzZiyqCiTyYUbiL/s640/living+room.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Alternate view (with staircase pictured): To the right in this photo is the doorway to the hallway and kitchen.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4_CKHoNnfS_Ihu5-M4wNOiLNL9zKXTLxntzW04mIQB79eDu-LoozjGQWS50KnYluY57gBr3M5E6EtHtMqV7ehxfGJYmCcHuh43cbkHLmkcDQEhSUOwjodHFBTNn5ICpQjrPreG5JWTLws/s1600/front+entry+and+living+room.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4_CKHoNnfS_Ihu5-M4wNOiLNL9zKXTLxntzW04mIQB79eDu-LoozjGQWS50KnYluY57gBr3M5E6EtHtMqV7ehxfGJYmCcHuh43cbkHLmkcDQEhSUOwjodHFBTNn5ICpQjrPreG5JWTLws/s640/front+entry+and+living+room.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Interior - Kitchen</span></u></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The kitchen, in its current state needs a little sprucing up, but it was actually one of the things that sold us on this house. Of all the Capes we saw, the kitchen in this one was, by far, the largest. We knew it had a ton of potential, just waiting to be tapped into.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Here, you can see the pass-through window into the Living Room (left) and the doorway. To the right, is the wall with most of the main appliances (Stove/Oven, microwave, sink, dishwasher(!) and some cabinet space. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We have big plans for this room in the future - we think we'd like to remove the wall between the kitchen and living room completely to open up that space and then shift the cabinets and refrigerators to the opposite wall (not pictured). Basically, it would be one big L-Shaped kitchen, but on a connected wall and not separated, like it is here, by the entrance to the living room and hallway (right). We've also thought about adding an island right down the center of this room, for additional seating and put a dining table to the left (sort of like how it's pictured here). Oh, and someone laid linoleum tile over the original hardwood floors in the Kitchen, so we're going to try to restore them.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_dJ2nx5WlH_OX796zU7_1hQ4Rl_98uJJZH-_29afvpfg0cbeRmEsyre04XZkPRvIzP5d7JDqLl2A2Zm7IChkmEhEp8IXZCGxXCDPQ9qfuoelxmaCs5T8fnY2Ksz7upfyN2gqO9a_jKqxu/s1600/front+of+kitchen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_dJ2nx5WlH_OX796zU7_1hQ4Rl_98uJJZH-_29afvpfg0cbeRmEsyre04XZkPRvIzP5d7JDqLl2A2Zm7IChkmEhEp8IXZCGxXCDPQ9qfuoelxmaCs5T8fnY2Ksz7upfyN2gqO9a_jKqxu/s640/front+of+kitchen.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Alternate view of same room - showing only window in the whole kitchen and entrance to additional room (extension).</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisnGQxSwffOKqv5toQzilQRpzkHpMKxzTdSsCaOsiQqrUQUVZMHHVLr6EEka1hSlm1zkMME0pRX12cjhVMvY8eQxqvja6j14dWkTOmXyOmcQazfth9J6Fyned_7_tiD4cAsGsz1NH7wmrc/s1600/eat+in+kitchen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisnGQxSwffOKqv5toQzilQRpzkHpMKxzTdSsCaOsiQqrUQUVZMHHVLr6EEka1hSlm1zkMME0pRX12cjhVMvY8eQxqvja6j14dWkTOmXyOmcQazfth9J6Fyned_7_tiD4cAsGsz1NH7wmrc/s640/eat+in+kitchen.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Interior - Additional Room</span></u></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This room wasn't original to the home, but it's actually my favorite. It's about double the size pictured here (on the other side of the french doors) and it's SO bright and airy. It has lots of windows, plus the skylights above! I think the owner was using this as a formal dining room, but I think it would make a great family room/office/den, whatever you might call it. I love the fact that right outside those doors is the upper level of our deck and I think it'd be a nice place to guests to hang out. The other option would be to use it as a formal dining room, but since the kitchen is so big, we could probably fit a nicely sized table in there, too. Lots of options! </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDTPYUnVjveEBpLad0rEWEd-vMgHjBbdIj9HEl8oLpMeMTa7vDIp89ktItdObE2t3nzm95HY14iBNwmtWOzGmCTQyRPv-SuC31FagN76qv-PAKwfdKoXAWHWImtLYbcJloV0t8f1JK20pr/s1600/extension.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDTPYUnVjveEBpLad0rEWEd-vMgHjBbdIj9HEl8oLpMeMTa7vDIp89ktItdObE2t3nzm95HY14iBNwmtWOzGmCTQyRPv-SuC31FagN76qv-PAKwfdKoXAWHWImtLYbcJloV0t8f1JK20pr/s640/extension.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Interior - Downstairs Bathroom</span></u></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This is one of the two full bathrooms in the house. It's out-dated for sure, but we know all it really needs is a face-lift and some smart storage. We can't wait to update this bathroom and say goodbye to the pepto-bismol pink toilet and tub.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFu1GVFOIlYRyPbxlv8w5QYeH_iPfJjhFDJd8lTBQ5gDW9Zty0x9OF4Rl9jlo6UBa4wF0R058MKnA28Kj3Ebzrw6DYkyraMymbqaLobXN0Lb4VxQiQAPjf37Pfp9haKLUi-c9qK39fmxX2/s1600/downstairs+bathroom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFu1GVFOIlYRyPbxlv8w5QYeH_iPfJjhFDJd8lTBQ5gDW9Zty0x9OF4Rl9jlo6UBa4wF0R058MKnA28Kj3Ebzrw6DYkyraMymbqaLobXN0Lb4VxQiQAPjf37Pfp9haKLUi-c9qK39fmxX2/s640/downstairs+bathroom.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Interior - Downstairs Bedroom (1)</span></u></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This is one of the four bedrooms in the house, but one of the two that are downstairs. It actually has two closets and it's an okay-size - we think it'll comfortably fit a queen-sized bed, dresser and bureau and two nightstands, but not much else. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">One of the first things we plan doing is ripping up the carpet and (hopefully!) revealing the beautiful hardwood floors underneath. Also, that unicorn picture isn't staying. :)</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifAmfc4WUOoDX887BcMeRxV0OghvX-cW6cU85oU2JwuZb-iJbqZGjpiPapOJL2EKV1MG3faQFFiMjaR-H4nRjFkMFmaRvaVNdVQLlm7qe7qlW_xqkBzxDt8kW1b_VLe17q6-uMPbOBYCGl/s1600/downstairs+bedroom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifAmfc4WUOoDX887BcMeRxV0OghvX-cW6cU85oU2JwuZb-iJbqZGjpiPapOJL2EKV1MG3faQFFiMjaR-H4nRjFkMFmaRvaVNdVQLlm7qe7qlW_xqkBzxDt8kW1b_VLe17q6-uMPbOBYCGl/s640/downstairs+bedroom.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Interior - Downstairs Bedroom (2)</span></u></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This is the smallest of the four bedrooms in the house and was being used as an office by the seller. We are contemplating doing the same since I work from home most of the time, but we're also toying with bringing the office area out into the additional room off the kitchen and making this small bedroom a designated guest bedroom.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Thinking down the line, we also think it would make a great Nursery, since it'd be right next to where we sleep. We'll have to see what makes the most sense!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4zZQ6lDZtTO4kki-exSKiJQBjKDmEpS_0GMUCVKin5ZMSlETZnJKwsDF28UVBhQ9FTPKnv413gdwv_WH_omMuZqk_97h26AUAKO3tI2hTvRzxwf-FPAKiqZRkPAiTsClqdBTGkSN-84OV/s1600/office.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4zZQ6lDZtTO4kki-exSKiJQBjKDmEpS_0GMUCVKin5ZMSlETZnJKwsDF28UVBhQ9FTPKnv413gdwv_WH_omMuZqk_97h26AUAKO3tI2hTvRzxwf-FPAKiqZRkPAiTsClqdBTGkSN-84OV/s640/office.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Interior - Upstairs Bathroom</span></u></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">When you get to the top of the steps, there's the second full bathroom in the house. This one is actually the better-looking bathroom of the two, with white fixtures and glass sliding doors for the shower. We don't have to do too much to it, except spruce it up a bit (walls and floors).</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii0gznpyPTEmtZ1VikGQO2Yiw2QWX8VL550AUASLLGN30RlvxR7aQ1cXeGA3fR3ntrBXxplX8fB0Qec6OaHodnaYA6POw_STk4yViun0NXGr3HUHOSiqP6zWLAySWtkE254DLhbPeC8ZIM/s1600/upstairs+bathroom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii0gznpyPTEmtZ1VikGQO2Yiw2QWX8VL550AUASLLGN30RlvxR7aQ1cXeGA3fR3ntrBXxplX8fB0Qec6OaHodnaYA6POw_STk4yViun0NXGr3HUHOSiqP6zWLAySWtkE254DLhbPeC8ZIM/s640/upstairs+bathroom.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Interior - Upstairs Bedroom (1)</span></u></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Here is the largest bedroom of all four. You can actually only see half of it in this picture, but it's simply a great-sized bedroom. We have big plans for the upper floor of this house - we'd like to extend the front to a full-dormer and split this big bedroom into two separate bedrooms, so that we'd have three bedrooms upstairs and two downstairs. We also think it's a great option as a Master Bedroom in its current state.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy_O_cxytagJqFcGK5LG4jUPYx0wnDBjnZGSXAfbpJCqMzmZ51IzlJDkuAjibBJi4g_1oxJC8MpFbVeaqHLqAnSMhjJgaB21azkRZqCMaxTlyw1WwVv0iHCuOIs1AC9XDZCrMuVrMlpJh4/s1600/upstairs+bedroom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy_O_cxytagJqFcGK5LG4jUPYx0wnDBjnZGSXAfbpJCqMzmZ51IzlJDkuAjibBJi4g_1oxJC8MpFbVeaqHLqAnSMhjJgaB21azkRZqCMaxTlyw1WwVv0iHCuOIs1AC9XDZCrMuVrMlpJh4/s640/upstairs+bedroom.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Interior - Upstairs Bedroom (2)</span></u></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Currently, there is no picture of this bedroom, but it's been painted BLUE (that will change), has two closets and the hardwood floors need to be re-finished. But it's another great-sized bedroom (similar to the one across the hall).</span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Interior - Basement</span></u></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">There is also no picture of the basement, but it's partially-finished and down the line, we'd like to fully-finish it. It has a huge bar down there and a decent amount of space that might make for a nice kids room or play room. We may not keep the bar area forever, but it's cool that it's there for now. There's also a corner down there that we think would make a wonderful wine cellar for us Oenophiles!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I can't even express how excited we are to move in. I can't wait to see it empty, ready for paint and furniture and to be lived in. It's going to be such an adventure and I hope you'll stick around to see it all unfold!</span></div>
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Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08460862134077477457noreply@blogger.com3