Hi Friend!
So, we did it again. Our second downsize.
Were we crazy? Maybe, but maybe not.
After looking at condos, HOA fees, tiny homes, in city, out of city, we finally landed on a cute little bungalow-type country home with about half an acre in a terrific location. It has some great features, and things we will upgrade over time.
Why did we decide this?
The kids are all grown, we had extra space we were heating and cooling, and having the pool was great, but due to multiple factors and unreliable services, it had become too much.
So, we landed on a 2 bedroom, 100 year old, 1 bath home. We will eventually eek out a half bath over time, or a full bath, but we were excited. Less to maintain, more financial freedom, and honestly, creating even more function and love in a small home was what we were after! And this area is very special- everyone knows each other, even the Fe Ex guy introduced himself! Some people even drive their little golf carts around the neighborhood!
This was one of the hardest, yet most rewarding moves - emotionally letting go of some pieces, and trying to get settled in quickly before a vacation that had been on the calendar for some time - but we did it!
My philosophy in life and living is to simplify as much as I can (we can), therefore making living in our space a little easier, and this allows us to give more to others. After cleaning out my mom’s stuff when we placed her in assisted living, I knew I didn’t want my kids to go through so much stress down the road for us, plus this being a big downsize for us, it really made us keep only the things that were really important.
I started with a few lists. What to keep (this was tough), and what home priorities came first for upgrades.
We started a FIRST priority list:
New roof and gutters
Paint the living and dining rooms, and remove the popcorn ceiling in the dining room.
Get a quote on a full kitchen remodel
Get a quote on a larger water heater and move it OUT from under the kitchen cabinet area - this is prime real estate for us! Goldilocks needed more hot water for her bath 🙂
Find some new artwork and create a small gallery wall (below inspiration).
When we were in Holland recently, this gorgeous gallery wall was in the dining part of a hotel. It was very inspiring to see! Can you spy the dutch girl?
The dining room in our new home was a terrific size considering the home size, and it now doubles as my office. It also came with a great built in buffet with shelving and a lower storage unit area. I picked a few things I knew I would splurge on such as new curtains, and I will eventually get a new table, and will likely paint a china cabinet I that I brought from my previous house.
We checked off our first priorities and we will go on from there.
The beautiful paint colors selected for the living and dining room were:
Dining Room: SW 9056 French Moire - LRV 49 - a beautiful medium toned, slightly muted blue.
Living Room: SE Serenely 9632 - from the Designer's Emerald Collection - LRV 66 - a subtle lighter blue with a teensy bit of green in it (much prettier than paint blob shown).
These two pics were SW 9632 Serenely
Blue pillows are SAME color - weird with the velvet they showed differently
My grandmas quilt placed by the window for a pup perch
Ugly flooring - soon to be gone! I need a new office chair!
This sweet built in shelving unit has such character.
I may place peel and stick (like a sticker) wallpaper on the back of it.
The previous colors were much darker (not shown) and were a gloss paint, and the lighting in both rooms was insufficient. SO many people don’t realize how much
good lighting can transform a space. I had my painter install the chandelier brought over from the old house, and between the lighter color and the chandelier, the room was transformed.
Chandelier was a gift from a client who was flipping a house
The living room had a ceiling fan with amber colored globes and we replaced the entire unit to brighten the home with a more updated one. The SW 9056 - French Moire added a little bit of class to the dining room with it's medium moody blue. The living room was painted a Sherwin Williams Designer Emerald collection color - SW 9632 - Serenely. Both of these colors look even better in person!
We also are in the process of a 2ND PRIORITY LIST:
Replace washer and dryer which are in a hallway off the kitchen with a stackable unit to free up space for some pantry storage.
Upgrade some kitchen appliances.
Replace primary bath vanity, repaint, and update bathroom floors. The vanity is too chunky in size and it is wasting space without adequate storage.
Re-do some of the floors. Both the kitchen and dining room have builder grade tile. We are gathering more info on redoing the floor.
Eventually get a 2nd bath installed.
Pressure wash and paint the front porch and brick foundation a new color.
Create a back patio area with a firepit.
Paint the free standing china cabinet.
Current Situation: Bathroom Vanity
I call her "Madame" from Beauty and the Beast - but she's too big!
Below is an inspirational dresser but I may find one and convert it!
Bathroom vanity inspiration: https://styylish.com/
Love the warm wood look, but not the price tag!
There are so many other projects which I will likely continue to share with you in my blog, but I wanted to encourage you that when you feel overwhelmed, make sure you make an immediate priority list, then a secondary one, and work on them as the priorities get checked off.
It is always best to look at inspirational pictures, but also think about price point and if you can’t get upgrades done all at one time, think of the order they need to be done in and also, don't rush into projects too quickly.
I help people all the time with their space and room overwhelm, but as we navigate on this journey, it can be a fine line between prioritizing spending, and when to wait.
So, I get you! I get that the process can be overwhelming. And priority lists keep you in check!
Let me know when you are ready to start your project, whether big or small, ….I’m here to help you!
Warmly,
