Occasionally I like to take a short stroll down memory lane and see or read about some of my ideas from a few months or years ago. This provides a snapshot of what I was thinking at the time, what I found important and what is trendy... well, trendy is a relative term - I'm more of a traditionalist with "fashion" and decor. Plus I've come to find that I want a trend before it's a trend (does anyone remember me searching for botanical prints like 8 months ago?) and then I give up on those searches about a week before its in every store.
Anyway, what I have noticed with our current house is that I am constantly changing my mind about remodeling, paint colors, furniture, etc. So I thought it might be fun (mostly for me... you're all just along for the ride) to take a minute to document my "remodel in a day" from time to time.
If I could remodel in a single day, without it costing me a penny - these are the things I would do today.
1. Add a chandelier to my dining room. It's really weird not having a light in there.... This is the "graham" from Pottery Barn. I actually ordered it yesterday after going to the site to find the picture below. So consider this first point as "hey, we are really doing this"
2. While we are on the subject of the dining room, I'd really like to build a custom farmhouse table. I have my eye on a few barn boards currently gathering dust in the "basement" of my Grandparent's barn in Maine. I love the look of worn wood, and I am really into chunky table legs right now so I think something like this table (Restoration Hardware) would be wonderful.
3. I really do think its silly to have two places to eat. A dining room and and breakfast nook seem redundant to me - and its a tremendous waste of space. So today, I am thinking it would be kinda cool to turn the eat-in space in the kitchen into some sort of sitting/hearth area. Because let's face it, there is no such thing as "too many fireplaces"
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| via BHG |
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| via BHG |
or maybe we could just have a seating area without the fireplace... It's really nice to sit on a comfy seat while someone is at work in the kitchen. Its great for talking AND working at the same time.
4. While we are talking about fireplaces, I think you should know that I NEED one on the back porch... and if we're doing work on the back porch, let's go ahead and screen that sucker in. Can you say "sanctuary"?
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| houzz.com |
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| This house was featured in the Wall Street Journal. It's valued at $2.5 mill - with that gorgeous porch, I believe it. |
5. Another thing I'm really into right now is the whole "separate but equal" vanity concept. I despise the big clunky vanities. Yes, they are useful when it comes to storage, but they remind me of a mini-van. Sometimes, you just can't sacrifice style for function. Sometimes, you just have to get rid of some of that junk under the sink so that you can have something cuter.
6. Maybe this is dumb, but I really don't like the exterior of the house. It just seems out of proportion to me.
Like maybe there should be more windows, or the door should be bigger? I'm also not a huge fan of the overhang, but this is the colonial garrison style. I've spent a lot of time thinking of ways to make it look more appeasing to the eye. This is something that I sincerely doubt will ever happen, but I honestly think about it all the time. Maybe we could add a big focal window upstairs? And a Big door with transom windows downstairs? What do you think?
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| houzz.com |
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| How about adding some sort of stoop like Molly Frey Design did on this Garrison? |
I did a little drawing below to see what it might look like if we added a stoop, a box-style window seat on the second floor, and painted the trim white. What do you think? Yes, I know its sloppy.
Who knows, maybe I will come to love the exterior just as it is? That's the point of remodel in a day, I get a chance to think about what I'd do right now so that five years down the road I can say, "I'm really glad I can't remodel in a day."
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