This Whole House

Happy Monday! I hope you had a lovely weekend. Ours was full of packing up the house, birthday celebrations, and good wine. Not too bad, right? It’s hard to believe we’re moving out of this house! It feels like we just got here. But, as I packed up over past few weeks, I thought of my top 10 packing tips, and I’d love to share them with you! Anything that can make a stressful situation a little easier is good in my book.

Top 10 Packing Tips

1. Start Early – The thought of rushing and packing up an entire house in a week or two is beyond stressful. I like to take my time and pack over 4 or 5 weeks! Start in places like the attic and garage by organizing and labeling things in bins (like these) and purging a ton! Pack non essentials and stack boxes neatly out of the way. Pack a few boxes a day so it’s not overwhelming.
2. Order Supplies in Advance – Order packing tape, paper, sharpies, a tape dispenser, and boxes (you can also search for boxes on Facebook Marketplace or other local apps) so you’re ready to go.
3. Label Boxes Well – Label the top AND SIDE with the room and bullet points of what’s inside. That way when the movers stack boxes, you can easily scan and know what’s in each.
4. Label The Rooms – Label the actual rooms CLEARLY to match what the box label says. Movers can put boxes in the corresponding room which will help with the unpacking process.
5. Pack w/ the Future in Mind – Pack your storage unit or POD with your future in mind. By this I mean, pack the things you’ll need LAST, first and vice versa. For us, we’ll be moving in right before Christmas, so those boxes will be the last ones to go into the POD, so I can get my eager hands on them immediately!
6. Phone a Friend – I’m WAY too much of a control freak for this, but I’ve talked to people who have made packing fun by inviting a girlfriend or two and enjoying some snacks and wine! How bad could that be, right?
7. Pack For The Short Term – *this may not apply to everyone* If you are staying in a rental while you renovate, like us, pack and stack items that you need for your short term stay separately, so you can bring them straight to the rental.
8. Pack Essentials Last – This may be obvious, but the things you use everyday should be the last to get packed. The final week we go to paper plates/utensils and plan a super easy menu (sandwiches, chicken nuggets, etc) so that we can pack up pots & pans, utensils, etc.
9. Plan for Loner Than Expected – I hate to burst your bubble, but if you’re doing a reno, like us, it may take longer than expected. So if you’re staying in a rental, be prepared with MORE than you need rather than trying to rummage through your storage unit to find things. As they say, it’s better to be safe than sorry!
10. K.I.S.S – Keep It Simple (you’re not stupid so I will end it there). I’m a firm believer in “less is more”. I’ve seen tons of cute hacks on how to move on Pinterest. But it turns out I’m more of the Amazon Prime mom than the Pinterest mom ;o) The effort I would use to color code and buy special stickers is one more step and expense (it reminds me of those holiday classroom parties you see for toddlers that make you feel bad about yourself. Just give them Chick-fil-A and a cheese stick. I promise they’ll be happy)! A regular old sharpie will do just the trick.

No matter how you slice it, moving is stressful and there are a lot of pieces to the puzzle! Don’t overthink it, take your time, use my top 10 packing tips, and stock your pantry with good wine. You deserve it!

Greetings Friends! Can I just tell you, gaining an hour this weekend was absolutely magical. I felt like Superwoman knocking things out on my to-do list! But that’s not why I’m talking to you today. Today, I’m sharing the most gorgeous light fixtures in all the land!

As you may know, we recently closed on our “new” old house (read about it here) and have officially begun renovating it. Now, since this home was built in 1930, I’m decorating it a bit differently, which is very exciting!

Our last home was, hands down, Modern Farmhouse. This will be more of a, well, I don’t exactly know how to put it into words. But it will be a mixture of modern-meets-Victorian with lots of character throughout! So, now that I’ve given you some background on my style, take a look at the most gorgeous light fixtures that will be perfect in our home!

Gracie’s Room | Gracie’s Bath Sconce & Ceiling | Kitchen | Living Rm | Turner’s Bath

I’m carefully planning out each room before I order things. This is not a process to rush! But I am definitely sold on all of these! I’m sure you can see why.

Since this house is older, we have to re-wire all of the electrical. So I’m keeping in mind that the rooms will most likely have lights and lamps. We aren’t doing any canned lights, because that look doesn’t match my vibe. So finding the balance of light & style was the tricky part. But I feel like these will all fit perfectly and provide just enough light! Stay tuned and follow along here for more on this epic renovation! XOXO

A few months back, I got a call from a couple who wanted to renovate their kitchen. Stew and I set up an appointment to go meet with them and hear their dreams and visions of giving their townhouse new life. I was all for it!

I get giddy when I see an old space and immediately get a vision for what it could be. Honestly, the dumpier the better in my eyes! So, take a look at what this kitchen looked like before we got our hands on it…

Our clients wanted to open up the wall that their current fridge was on, so they would have bar seating in the dining room, they wanted to re-arrange their appliances for a better flow, and they wanted more storage! So I listened to their hopes and dreams and drew it out. They loved the proposal. So we got busy working!

It took about 4 weeks from start to finish. I am absolutely obsessed with how this turned out. It doesn’t even look like the same place! I’d say we were successful in giving their townhouse new life! What do you think?

Flooring | Range | Microwave | Refrigerator | Faucet | Cabinet Knobs | Countertops

Flooring | Range | Microwave | Refrigerator | Faucet | Cabinet Knobs | Countertops

I am thrilled with how this kitchen came out. And, what’s better, so are our clients! Another happy customer :o)

We finally made it! We closed on our “NEW” old house!!! The reason I’m putting “NEW” in quotes, is because it’s new to us, but it was actually built in 1930. It has charm for days! The kind of charm that only a 100 year old house could have. Check out the bones of this baby…

This house is not only gorgeous, but it has such history! It was built in 1930 as a winter home and hunting lodge for a man from New Jersey. The main quarters for the owner was downstairs where he had his own private entrance, library with custom gun cabinet, bathroom and closet. A second entrance to the home was for the staff. They even had a separate staircase that led upstairs to their bedrooms and provided easy access to the kitchen and laundry room. And to top off the charm of the house, it’s sitting on a super private 2.5 acre lot! So cool, right!?

Now, before you get TOOOOO excited, pictures make it look better than reality, of course. It needs some heavy duty work! That doesn’t scare us though! We are up for the challenge. Take a look at our ever-growing to-do list for our “new” old house!

To Do List:

• Re-wire entire house :o)
• Repair foundation (it may or may not fall over. But it’s fine!)
• Gut and remodel the kitchen
• Gut and combine current master bath with old library to create epic master suite!
• Re-finish the floors (done by yours truly)
• Seal and paint EVERY SURFACE… p.s did I mention it’s 4200 square feet?!
• Move in by Christmas!

No biggie, right? Except maybe for the “move in by Christmas” part.

So, we closed this past Monday, and it’s been game on ever since! We will be moving into a little cottage around the corner from the house so we can get the main stuff done before we move in. Stew has been working all day and then going to the house at night to get started on demo. I’ll repay him in steak…

I’m giddy with excitement over the potential of this house! I can’t wait to share our progress! I have my decor ideas already mapped out, so I’ll be sure to keep you updated on all of that.

If you are in the reno world yourself, I have some tips and tricks to share! First of all, check out my post on Top 5 Tips for Renovating on a Budget. Also, when it comes to planning out a house or room, I always use Pinterest as a tool. I create a house board with each room as its own sub-category. I like to pin exactly what I want, so when I’m ready to purchase, it’s all there!

Stay tuned for more updates as we go! I’ll be posting a TON on my instagram and stories, so be sure to follow me over there. And if you need to play catch-up, check out my Instagram highlight “New Old House” for the details! Much love xoxo

We are FINALLY getting to the point where our house is starting to look like a home! Stew has the floors down in the mud room and half the kitchen. He got far enough that we were able to install the kitchen cabinets last Friday. We were having our kitchen counters templated this past Tuesday, which is why we were under the gun. But everything got postponed because of Hurricane Florence. So, needless to say, we are at a standstill!

Florence is heading our way here in Charleston, so we evacuated a bit inland since we are a stone’s throw from the ocean! Of course, all I can think about is how we COULD be getting stuff done at the house since we were supposed to be out of our rental house by September 31st. Doesn’t look like that will work out for us at this rate. Dang super storms!

So, while I sit here awaiting the arrival of Flo, I figured I’d share the links to our kitchen, because I’ve had quite a few people asking! I am SO excited with the way things are shaping up. Here is the progress:

64″ Refrigerator Freezer | Cabinet Knobs  | 48″ Cooktop | Dacor Wall Oven | Farm Sink | Pull-Down Faucet | Second Faucet | Range Hood

Before I planned out the kitchen, I found a Dacor double wall oven at Habitat for $200!! So I bought it. Because, no matter what the layout was, for that price we would make it work! Because I spent so little on that, I was able to get a sweet cook top! I also wanted to splurge on the large fridge/freezer because I cook a ton and love planning and stocking our fridge! All are linked above!

Cabinets are from a local company called Seacoast Cabinets. We ordered them and installed ourselves. I linked to the knobs I’m going to put in above. They are beautiful, especially for the price!

I can’t wait for you to see the finished product! I have a post coming your way laying out my tips for renovating on a budget. This kitchen was a perfect example. Splurge on the things that matter and save on things that don’t! More on that topic to come!