A little New House Update

Happy New Year Everyone!  Well, I've been kind of bad about posting house updates. So I'm trying to give you a big update. For smaller progress updates, please follow me on instagram (@jessdnest).

Since we closed on the new house in mid December, it's been a whirlwind of infrastructure updates, holidays, other random surprises and generally trying to keep up with life with two small children.  So here is a list of everything we have done so far - admittedly most of it is not very sexy:

- Painted the interior
- Installed new light fixtures (in the living, entry, family and master)
- Rebuilt main chimney from the roof up (and fixed some flashing and slates on the roof)
- Did some structural work under the house, replacing beams and jacking up our solarium
- Repaired a leaking toilet drain
- Serviced the radiators and steam heat
- Hung some of our existing artwork

I'm excited to move on to some of the more fun parts of the project.  The lighting and paint has been fun, and hanging artwork has made the house feel more like a home, but digging into some DIY's and furnishings will really make the place more alive.  Here are some photos of where we are so far from my instagram feed:

New light fixtures up in the dining and family rooms

New light fixture, art and salvaged window frame mirror in the entry.

 Me hanging crystals on the living room chandelier (it took forever but was so worth it)

Vintage modern style fans in the kids rooms (I am not a fan person but these were nice looking and practical) and a mid-century light fixture in the master - plus our new oriental rug and king bed.

 Thinking about ideas for how to make the powder room cool. And a gallery wall started on the landing.

Most of these are very much half finished, but they give you an idea of progress and hopefully you can kind of see where we are going.  But that said, it's always good to see concept images are our jumping off points. I've been doing a lot of pinterest concepting as well. You can follow my boards here but here is a medley of images that I am taking queues from.

    

In most of the rooms (except for the kitchen and baths), decorating will be the name of the game. I am trying to go for an eclectic airy feel with a mix of vintage and modern. Unlike my last house I want this to feel more undone and like something gathered and evolved over time.  I'm looking for a few rugs and additional pieces to fill stuff out, but of course it's always hard to balance furnishings and renovations budgets.  I also hope to do a DIY wallcovering on the powder room walls (more on that later).  The kitchen will need a larger renovation down the road. In the meantime, I plan to switch out the lighting, paint the cabinets, do some painted pattern on the floors (concept above) and get some sort of rustic kitchen table to serve as an island (also per the concept above).

As far as Other projects in the near future I hope to:

- Put in a picket fence to create a play space in the yard
- Create a (possibly DIY) stone patio outside
- Put in a Victorian shed / playhouse to store our yard care equipment and serve as a fun kids space
- Paint the exterior (see my color post here - plan to give a few updates soon on this)
- Fix the stained glass windows
- Move laundry room upstairs

I want to say these projects are all no more than a year out but as the budget comes into focus and things get ticked off the list, of course projects get pushed further and further back in the timeline. I am thinking 2-3 years for most of these and then another 3 or so before a real kitchen reno.

Our biggest impending project and something I hinted at a while back is that we will be creating an Airbnb Suite in our back bedroom with its own bath and separate entrance.  This is part of our laundry room relocation project. I can't wait to share those plans with you and our ideas for making an inviting guest space for our own guests and visitors to the neighborhood. Stay tuned.

What do you have planned for 2016?  It's gonna be an exciting year.