All 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!*

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.

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 I can buy we can place a console there.

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.

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.

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*

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 tear down the walls 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

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!

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 the TV them.  #TheresThatFridgeAgain

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.

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.

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!

My Decorating Style Defined

I've given this topic a lot of thought lately and I think the best label I can give my decorating style is: 

"Cozy Casual."  

My idea of "Cozy Casual" from Spledidsass.blogspot.com

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 feel when they're in them.  

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 careful 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 drooled over, but I just know it wouldn't be me, therefore, it doesn't belong in my home.

My idea of "Cozy Casual" from apopofpretty.com

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.  

My idea of "Cozy Casual" from Tumblr

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.  

My idea of "Cozy Casual" from Tumblr.

Another interesting tid-bit about my decorating style is that I HATE 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.  

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.

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.)

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.  

How about you?  I'd love it if you would share your decorating style with me!