I shared this post the day we closed on our house, which seems like FOREVER ago!
"IT WAS LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT! At the end of April, we got a lead on a house we heard was going on the market. It was everything and much more than we could've ever dreamed of. We ended up purchasing the home before it hit the market and closed on it today! We won't be moving in for several more weeks but WE ARE SO EXCITED! Of course, there are a few remodeling projects we'll be doing beforehand so stay tuned as I share the behind the scenes on my insta stories."
I've had a lot of people ask me lately how the new house is going. I wish I had an exciting update, but unfortunately I don't have much of an update at all. We're still patiently (maybe a little un-patiently) waiting for a move-in date. The couple who we purchased the house from are building a new home, so we agreed for them to lease back the house until they finish construction. They were hoping their new home would be finished by August 1, but you know how that goes in the construction world.
Since I don't have an exciting update, I'm going to share all the 'exciting updates' we plan to do as soon as we get a move-in date! I don't typically share my design boards of projects, but since this is my personal home, I'm going to share all my design ideas as well as links to purchase!
Here's the front view of our house! J really wanted a 3-car garage and I'm not complaining. Garages aren't usually my thing, but the inside of these are so nice and pretty (if that's possible). Since Avery will have her own car in a year, having a space for her to pull inside will be very nice too!
There are only a few minor things we're going to change on the exterior. We're going to replace the exterior light fixtures, hang a flag, and plant some flowers in the beds. Eventually, I'd like to remove some of the trees/bushes that are covering the house.
The French Quarter Outdoor Lanterns we chose are from Home Depot and are super inexpensive! The oversized planter is from a wholesale vendor, but I found a similar one here. I saw this door mat on Wayfair and loved it but when I was at our storage unit the other day, I came across the one we already have and it is almost identical. Our belongings have been in storage for so long now that I don't even remember what we have anymore!
This flag caught my eye when I was driving past a house in our friends neighborhood. The exterior of our house gives me a Texas Hill Country vibe so this vintage-style flag is going to be perfect!
The entryway in our house is fairly long. Closest to the front door, I'm going to put a bench with a large piece of art above, and a Bombay chest at the opposite end of the entry. I love the mix of black, white, and gold combined with traditional furniture pieces and modern art. Of course, I'm adding a touch of animal print too!
This modern piece of art was done by Avery and is my very favorite piece! (Note: The pillow, lamps, decorative accessories, and mirror are things we've had for many years so I don't have links to purchase).
Off the entry, we have a formal living room and dining room. In our last house, we converted our dining room into a sitting room since we never used our dining room. I'm looking forward to having both of these rooms, and since these rooms are open to the entry, it feels very spacious and much more usable.
These are the chairs I plan to put in the formal living/sitting room, which are also from one of my wholesale vendors. You can purchase similar ones here.
The previous owners are leaving their dining table and chairs, which is perfect since we didn't have a dining room. Although I don't hate their chairs, I plan to replace the chairs with these tufted linen chairs to brighten things up!
These linen dining room chairs are also from a wholesale vendor, but here are some similar ones. I found this decorative antler centerpiece at Pier One during their 'Going out of Business Sale'. The Greek Key draperies will be custom made.
The family room in this house is so cozy! It's open to the kitchen just like our old house, but has a better layout and just feels so much more cozy!
We're purchasing a new sofa and chairs (same wholesaler as the dining room chairs). Here is a similar sofa and similar chairs. Everything else for the family room we already had!
The fireplace surround and build-in TV cabinet are currently stained wood, but will be painted off-white to match the existing trim/molding color.
Years ago, I purchased these vintage floral prints for a client of mine and loved them so much! This house has the perfect wall for them so I ordered my own set! I'm going to hang these above the sofa and use the narrow console table that used to be in our entry as a sofa table.
Next, is the heart of the home...THE KITCHEN! I'm so so so excited about this space!
The existing kitchen cabinets are also stained wood, but a different type of wood from the family room (which drives me crazy)! The kitchen cabinets will be painted...
I've never considered myself a "trendy" designer and this kitchen will be no exception! When designing any space, I think it is so important to design a space that reflects YOUR lifestyle and personality. If not, you'll never fully love and enjoy the space like you should. This kitchen is so ME!
The granite countertops (and tile backsplash) will be replaced with quartz. The name of our quartz is Zaso Oro and was purchased from Triton Stone Group in Dallas. We're still deciding on the specific sink but it will be matte black, without a divider. The faucet we chose is a commercial-style, also in black (LOVE IT)!
A new chandelier will be installed above the island with a matching chandelier above the breakfast table. We will have two counter height stools at the island and two matching barstools at the raised bar by the breakfast room. I CAN'T WAIT!!!
The laundry room is off the kitchen, and look at this fun wallpaper I found from Thibaut!
Now, I want to replace the cabinetry hardware in the laundry room with gold knobs after I found these hooks at Ikea. These hooks would be perfect for backpacks, etc. (in someone else's house, of course) because I know they would never get used for that in our house! However, our laundry room has a sink (which I'm SO excited about), so I could use these hooks to dry Talon's baseball pants, etc...I'm sold!
Lastly, we've never had a media room and have always said we'd never use one. Avery will probably use this room all the time, but I bet the rest of us use it more than we think.
We already had this oversized ottoman from Hemispheres and these leather chairs, which we still love! We're going to use these pieces in the media room for now, but if you have a media room I'd love to know if you prefer recliners or oversized sofa/sectional-type seating?
I hope to have a more exciting update very soon! Once we get a move-in date, I'll do before/after (and during construction) home tours on my Insta Stories. Until next time...
Live with what you Love,
Ashley