Moving can be a challenge, but making your new space feel like home can be an even bigger one! I have moved many times in my life….many, many, many times. I am 33 years old, and have never lived in a home for longer than 4 years. I recently got married and moved in with my husband! It is a beautiful old San Franciscan. My husband, who had been living there for 2 years had all the essentials….bed, sofa, giant TV. Now that the wedding is behind us we have started working on making the space more of a home. We may not live here forever, but we want it to be as great as possible while we do. As we move through the house, I thought I would write to you about the changes we made and how we transform the space.
Step 1: Start an idea book
Pinterest is great…but if you want to start putting your house together the only way to do it is to download the Houzz app and start an idea book!! Not only is it full of amazing inspirational photos that you can search for by room, color, style, etc, but you can also source the products used to create the space! It’s also great for you and your partner to have so that you know you are on the same page. You and your partner may be using different words, but mean the same thing. I thought I really like the whole Mediterranean style…turns out I really only like arched windows, tile roofs, cobalt blue and lots of white! Instead of trying to explain my style to my husband it is a lot easier for me to just show him pictures and vice versa so we can understand each other’s ideas.
Step 2: Paint Palette
Since we live in a beautiful old Victorian, all the rooms have beautiful moldings and coved ceilings that I would love to showcase. Choosing the right paint color is key. If you are looking to paint your entire home, like we are, it’s nice to choose all the paint colors at the same time. Even if you want all the rooms to be different colors, it’s nice if your whole home tells a cohesive story. We found a paint color that we really liked, but we didn’t know which room we wanted it in. We eventually decided we couldn’t find a better color for our kitchen so that eliminated it as a possibility for the other rooms in our home. The only color you will see throughout is a semi gloss bright white on all the molding and a flat white on the ceilings.
Instead of painting test patches on your wall, paint large pieces of cardboard. This way you can test the color on different walls and even different rooms to see how the lighting affects the color. From our living room we can see both the hallway and the dining room, so it’s important that the colors compliment one another.
Step 3: Windows
Having a lot of windows is great…but it can also get pretty pricey. Think about what types of window treatments you would like for each room. We will be doing drapes in both our living and dining rooms, but drapes may not be the best option everywhere. Our hallway and kitchen windows, for example, are great places to try roman shades. They keep the area feeling nice and open, but still soften and dress up the windows.
Step 4: Rugs
We have hardwood floors throughout, which I love, however we also want area rugs. Not only will this be helpful with keeping our rooms a little warmer, but it also helps ground the room. At the moment we are in midst of playing a little game of musical rugs. If you are going to invest in an area rug, make sure you love it. In this home it might work in our living room, perhaps the in the next it would be better in the guest room. Versatility is a great feature in a rug.
Step 5: Furniture
Luckily for me, my husband hadn’t purchased too much furniture prior to us getting married. Well…there may be a few other “antiques” but let’s see if they magically disappear. Now we are looking for pieces that offer us storage and can be used for years to come. This is also an area where we can try to merge our styles so that hopefully we can both look at the space and feel like it represents us.
Stayed tuned for our room by room changes! We'll be starting with our entryway...