All moved in
Sun, 13 Jul 2014I heard some rumblings on Instagram that people were waiting for me to take some photos of the new house so I have obliged. I must warn you, besides basic unpacking I only had Friday to do any sort of decorating and I have not bought anything for the new house aside from a new washing machine (the one that came with the house was old, tiny and filthy). This is how things are looking these days...
The front yard is a mess. Those 2 evergreens taking over the cheap concrete path have to go ASAP and everything else just looks terrible. We also need to make a parking pad because we have a single lane driveway, and live on a busy street right across from a hospital so there is rarely any parking anywhere. And the red/brown paint is gross.
We have a vestibule. :-) It is pretty tiny but a godsend - now when the pizza guy shows up we do not have to worry about cats sneaking out. We will put some hooks along the walls in here because we need the extra hanging space - the coat closet is TINY.
And we have an ENTRYWAY! No more walking into the house directly into the living room! We need a new light fixture - I am dreaming about this one. And you can see in this photo how the floor in the entrance has been sanded but then not stained like the rest of the floor. ???
Our grand entrance. This makes me smile every time I walk through the door. The mirrored door at the end is the minuscule coat closet. The dining room is to the left with the kitchen behind it, and the living room is to the right.
The living room is pretty big - about 11' wide and spans the length of the house (23'). The section at the front of the house is my desk area and the other corner will be for cat paraphernalia. My desk looks doll-sized in this house. I think I need an upgrade.
The other end is the TV watching zone. On the far wall are some pretty horrible columns with inset mirror, glass corner shelves and build-in storage below. I don't know what to do about all that. I think I might just get Jeff to build me thin shelves right across the mirrors to each column and then I will fill it with plants. A little diversion can work wonders.
My mantel has become my wunderkammer - my collection of air plants, nun dolls, shells from Jo, bottles, cameras, flower frogs, feathers etc. And of course, Cheeks' portrait (for now). We don't know if the fireplace works and because of the amount of poop inside (since cleaned up) there are likely squirrels living in the chimney, so for now it is home to a goose decoy and my collection of deer antlers from Alberta. Those lights on either side will be replaced with Jieldes.
The cats LOVE it here....probably because of the AC.
The most beautiful doors lead into the dining room. It is so strange living in a house with so many doors. We didn't have that many rooms in the old house, and most of the doors we got rid of anyway because they got in the way of the tiny spaces.
We did not have a dedicated dining room in the last house so this space is very foreign for us (and welcomed!). I am so over having mismatched chairs. I will either go with my favourite chair of all time and buy more Panton S or try something else. And we need a bigger table. Something that was not formerly a desk, and of normal width would be nice. Also, we clearly need a large buffet cabinet to fit in the alcove. We will be on the hunt for something vintage.
All of my gorgeous Wonkiware dishes from Green Light District are in this built-in cabinet along with a bunch of other randomness.
Those doors! *SWOON*
This cracks me up. It is one of those hinged, swinging doors you see in restaurants, or in houses build in the 30s when there may have been hired help that did the cooking and serving.
And our very small kitchen. This was all redone with Ikea cabinets, faucet, lighting, counters, dishwasher etc. etc. just before we bought it. So at least it is brand new. We put all the shelving from our previous pantry room down in the basement and are using it as we did before so this kitchen's size is not really a big deal. But it does need some new lights, maybe a new faucet (the sink is so goddamn small) and perhaps a bit of paint on the walls. And I am so sad to no longer have my amazing gas stove and counter deep, fancy fridge. UGH. In the future we would like to blow out this back wall and make a much larger kitchen, with eat-in area, a mudroom and a powder room (there is only a full bath in the basement and one upstairs).
Yes, there is a very large cat on the counter. The kitchen windows are awesome for bird watching apparently.
The kitchen is so small the former owners built an alcove for the fridge on the back porch. A great idea despite how annoying it is to get all my smoothie ingredients out of the fridge every morning. And there is Milo is guarding the back door (the basement stairs is opposite the back door).
I will show you the second floor and the backyard tomorrow. I would love to hear any thoughts, ideas, comments you guys may have. This whole house buying/selling process happened very quickly and has been an absolute nightmare where the bank is concerned so I have not really had time to think about what to do with this house. But I do have lots of time to figure it out. :)
Reader Comments (30)
Ahh, the lovely bones BUT, I really look forward to seeing the pics as you put KIM stamp on it!
Although, it must be damn tough to lose those amazing tansu styled kitchen cabinets!! At least it'd be easy to replicate your old living room wall mural (I loved that too).
I'm super excited to put my stamp on this place. :-)
And don't even talk to me about my old kitchen. I miss it alot. I went from 26 drawers to 4. AGH!
I'm thinking instead of the mural to do a huge framed photograph over the sofa.
The house looks beautiful! I'm really looking forward to seeing how you choose to furnish it, now that you have so much more space!
I was wondering about the positioning of the TV, fireplace and couch. Is that working out for you in terms of furniture layout? And the decorative elements on the fireplace surround... are those original or added on after? They don't seem very Arts & Craftsy (official architectamature term, because I'm smrt). I'm wondering if the fireplace surround would benefit from being reconsidered or rebuilt. The house is Arts & Crafts in style, so you could install something that's more classic Arts & Crafts and mount your TV over top of it while adding the gas fireplace you want.
I feel like the house would look good with more kilims. The walls could be touched up to an ideal warm white, and at least on my monitor the wood panelling seems to have a lot of red in it, so with more kilims on the floors to introduce pattern and would break up the endless wood. And then add in your art.
Love your blog. Congrats on your new house.
If you are getting a new dining set, can you use the old table as a desk ( you mentioned your current one is now too small). Looks like that table would look great in your living room and complement your end table. If the height is not right, you can always have the frame cut down a bit.
I would be dying to paint that woodwork white - with the doors and key elements left wood. Friends have a similar house and there is a collective gasp of horror when I say such things about their place. LOL.
As the owner of a tiny kitchen you might find it great for cooking (ignoring the fridge issue). I love my tiny kitchen for efficiency. Like you, I use my basement for overflow storage of rarely used items. :)
kim, it's looking good already... all of your comments make sense re: future furnishings for dining room, kitchen extension, front yard/porch paint etc...
when i saw those crystal sconces flanking the mantel i thought "no way those are kim's!" "where are her jieldes?!"
kind of agree with janine on the fireplace surround. it looks more ornate than arts & crafts. you could definitely switch it up with something more modern/classic and even smaller (which would allow you to move your flat screen above it if you felt so inclined - then you could display your things on a credenza or console to one side of the fireplace). also agree about desk up-sizing. you have so much space!
is the living room painted a kind of lilac colour or is it just the pictures? i noticed you said something about getting some paint on the walls; have you got colours in mind? i assume white/eggshell is a good bet, since you have so much going on already with all the wood and the stained glass, etc... not to mention your art. i kind of miss your mural. maybe you can use it in a different room?
how fun to be mulling over all these transformations. time will see lovely new home this evolve into something "kim-wonderful." i am certain of it. :)
@Janine Thx! The sofa is on the only wall it really fits on so the TV makes sense where it is now. And I loathe TVs over fireplaces.
I hadn't thought about rebuilding the fireplace. I thought the details on it were kind of cute as-is. I was thinking that it might look cool painted black or charcoal...
And I am totally with you on the kilims. I'd love one in the dining room and one in the foyer and one under my desk and.....
@Sheri Thx! We were talking about me using the current dining table as a desk (like it was meant for) but it may be too big. My husband is thinking about building a new larger top for the current base. I want a rustic wood top so the cats can stop scratching the shit out of it.
I was a little shocked at all the red toned woodwork but it has all been recently refinished (it appears) so that may be a project much further down the road when we really tire of the colour.
And were already enjoying our compact kitchen. Several of the cabinets are only half full in fact. It's just super boring and I'm excited to spruce it up.
"time will see lovely new home this evolve into something "kim-wonderful." something odd happened there. syntax is bizarre. too much coffee?? lol.
meant to say ...
time will see this lovely new home evolve into something "kim-wonderful."
p.s. thanks for the bday wishes on the other thread kim.
p.s.s. will you show pics of the basement? is the laundry down there?
p.s.s.s. can't wait to see more! and i too LOVE your grand entrance, btw
:-) The basement is a freaking disaster right now so pics to come when I get around to organizing it. The man cave and the man bathroom is down there too. :)
With the living room being so long and narrow would it be possible to pull the sofa away from the wall and turn it around to act as a partition to segment the area into two spaces, one for viewing TV and the other for relaxing in front of the fire? I just have an aversion to furniture placed around the perimeters of a room against the walls. You could use different rugs to emphasise the separate spaces too.
Great house with great potential! Keep us informed & inspired about it. Moving house soon myself, a rental, but still want to decorate. So thx again for your lovely blog. Have saved numerous pics :)
Wahoo! New photos. It's going to be a fabulous house ... well it is already but you know what I mean. I can see a big email coming your way soon with lots of ideas from moi. Call me pushy :) How wide is your couch? I'm doodling floor plans :)
@Amalia - I hear ya, but i think this room is too narrow to be able to do that. :(
@Rania - thanks! have fun with your new place!
@Jo - pls do! The couch is 90"x40"
oh, and folks, did I mention I have to replace every single light fixture in this house? :-) :-) :-)
Lame and dull.
This is like an actual 'real' house!. It's already looking fabulous. I absolutely love the things you have, and the juxtaposition of these with an art and crafts house. When we got a renovation (extensive = expensive) done, it took me about 3 years to finally get things how we wanted (apart from the lights which is an ongoing saga - oh for a bottomless wallet). I think the woodwork is beautiful - and look great against the colours and textures of your furnishings and accessories. All you need to finish it off is a dog! :).
Kim it looks amaaaaaaazing! I love it. It looks HUGE.
also. your kitties :)
May the gods of DIY speed you to owning a vibrant replica of that chandelier. Which I want hanging at my bedside as a reading lamp. I love how much opportunity you have for the living room -- have you considered a free standing desk/table facing out into the living room? With the window behind it, SOOO much gravitas and a nice way to zone in a vista. Although it would probably totally work if you put it in front of the columns, and gave them a 'marble' look. Good luck and have much fun!
I like your design idea of shelves in front of the mirrors, adding plants ... love adding plants, love garden rooms, which cleanse the air.... and your house has such great light, the plants will be very happy there. I can picture your current dining table as a desk on the other end of the LR with lots of large baskets underneath and it looks GREAT.
Gorgeous! Can't wait to see how it evolves!
Such a great home! It's really strange to see a newly bought home that is so clean and really doesn't need work. I think the laws in the U.S. must be very different from Canada (no surprise). I'm so happy for you! It's simply gorgeous! P.S. I love Felix. :)
I love the red woodwork.
I'd like to see the floors quite a bit darker.
I love the Arts and Crafts style. Passionately. I hope you add lots of period pieces and bring it out!
The current chandelier is ok, but the one you picked out will look great, definitely fits in with arts and crafts.
Matt - So. Are. You.
Annie - 3 years?!?! *GASP* and LOL - we live right by acres and acres of government land so I keep telling hubby we should get a dog.
Gabi - thanks!!!!! (it's not that huge...although it is compared to the last place)
oregonbird - wouldn't a desk facing out be weird because you'd see the back of my Mac? although then I'd be facing the TV :) tempting.... i was going to put it in front of the window between the columns but it seemed like that end needed to house the TV. Thx!
louise - thanks! the more I think about it the more i want the large dining table as my desk. this one i'm using is so small and wobbly. and then i could have a little cat bed on top so the kids could hang out right there with me while i work.
Chelsea - thanks!
Peggy - whatdoyamean? they only sell shitholes in the states? thanks! you need to come visit and share some Felix love. he's so awesome.
Inny - i'd love to see the floors darker too. or lighter. just not so yellow. but we have 5 cats so dealing with the floors is next to impossible. i would like to use period pieces but give them a funky new life with some glossy black paint or something along those lines. i would like to go big and bold.
Matt's a loser.
I can't wait to see the living room transformation most of all. And dibs on that desk for Gia's room.
Jen, you're lucky the guest room is too small to fit a desk.
I can't wait to figure out what I'm going to do with the living room :S
Personally, I would be painting all that woodwork WHITE!
I like Scandi-style blonde wood but am not a fan of red toned woodwork. Our Victorian terrace house had similar and, 7 years on, we have never regretted painting it white. It really freshens up everything & draws the light inside. It also allows a much wider palette of colours to draw on for accessories/walls.
It would only take a rough sand, an undercoat and two coats of white enamel and you could do it room by room. Not too hard really.
I think it would make a huge difference.
I would also paint all the woodwork, room after room, of course. White. Or grey.
Light scandinavian wood colour looks nice too and the black would go also, but redish is somehow....in need of getting used to it.
I like how the house looks from outside and find it interesting that the windows open to the outside. It this often the cases in the USA?
Do you maybe know how much m² the living room has?
Since this room is rather narrow, which room will you use for visits, long chats with guests? Or will you put some armchairs vis-avis sofa to create a conversational area?
I hope swinging door won't hurt any cat.
Youd didn't want to take your former fridge with you?
I like the last picture the most, all white nad crisp! :-)
Your home is already a cozy place, cats make it cozy :-)