Hellooooo!!!! I was going to call this post “moving scenes,” but realized I used that title in 2011, when I moved from our Craftsman rental to our first home in Cville.
This move went pretty well. We did run into a few issues (like a leaky fridge and a surprise with the induction stove) (see below for details), but overall we felt very calm a week later. We don’t have any art on the walls, but every drawer is organized!
I feel very grateful to be back here. It’s kind of amazing to me that we did it. And that the house looked like this not long ago:
Gus wasn’t sure what to think. “It’s the same… but different!” he said.
It’s very strange because some of the rooms ARE the same. Our living room didn’t change much other than all the finishes and lights. Sometimes I forget where the kitchen really ends! (I’m sure that feeling won’t last much longer.)
I am planning to write many blog posts with all the details!
Stay tuned for lots of before and afters, paint colors, finishes and more!
going back in
Came to Cville on a Sunday and heard the song “I’m Coming Home” 1000 times in a row haha (seriously!)
I couldn’t wait to see it finished as I had missed the last two weeks of the renovation!
Thomas built my closet until 9/10pm every night the week before. It’s lovely!! I will be doing a full tour of Home Neat Home soon. EasyClosets was fantastic to work with!
The first night
We had planned to sleep on the floor the night before the mover arrived, but then we thought if we could move the bed ourselves, we could sleep in it! So we took it up piece by piece and got Thomas’s brother to help us with the heaviest part. I vacuumed all the fabric!
Unfortunately, I discovered some black marks in the header, right in the first place. I used some Amodex stain remover and it got them off right away. But the water I used to rinse it left a horrible water ring!
Then I tried Folex, which left an even bigger, darker ring of water.
I tried more water, more folex, a home steamer, and the Stanley Steamer. Stanley told me to get a new bed 🙁 There were lots of helpful tips on Instagram, but what I found worked best was to keep lightly watering the edges. I guess I just brought up a lot of dirt! It’s still there, but much better now. We’ll keep the bed!
My friend came to tour the house and hadn’t been on Instagram. When I asked her if she had noticed anything “weird” in my bed, she couldn’t find it. Luckily it’s not too obvious!
How we showered without blinds :0)
We ordered Thai takeout for our first meal. The new stools get a 10/10!
moving day
The view from our bed was everything I hoped it would be!
daily harvest keeping us fed!
The movers came early and early to put all our furniture back into place. I walked six miles inside my house every day that week!!
I organized drawers with these sets!! Highly recommended.
Also highly recommended this new lightweight stepladder. It’s cute enough to leave outside but folds flat to store anywhere.
We hang the Frame TV!
Set up the new Mazen chest of drawers (I have it on sale and it’s already sold out)
AND rolled out the new carpet. Gus and I thought it would be blue but it was grey… but we’ll keep it!
Other than that it’s more gray than blue, we love it! It’s very padded! Gus says it’s good.
I made quite a dent by getting all my clothes out of the basement and unpacking them.
The boys came home on Tuesday.
They were excited!
In a nutshell, RVA
Thomas’s aunt, Layton, is a professional organizer and he came to stay with us on Wednesday and help me tackle the initial pantry setup. She is REALLY VERY good!!!!!
Here is the before:
The during:
She brings with her tons of containers that I was able to buy her on the spot. What a clever technique!
The after will be revealed soon!
She also helped me with our open shelves.
And stylize the shelves in the living room!
And while I was taking the kids to play, she organized the whole Birch room!
If you live in Richmond, Cville or nearby, Layton is your one call professional organizer. watch her in instagram too!
induction problems
While Layton was here we started cooking our first meal on our new induction cooktop and couldn’t get the pans hot. They were warm, but not hot. It took 30 minutes to bring water to a boil and our squash took forever to cook. We have since discovered that caraway is actually not induction compatible. Fortunately, our neighbors have loaned us some of their induction skillets to use until we decide our next move (hopefully not buy all new cookware, but probably buy all new cookware).
We ate delicious tomatoes with burrata while we waited!
Once we got the induction pans right, the oats cooked really well!
Ongoing projects
As with any renovation/new construction, there are still some projects that need finishing! You never know who will show up in a window haha.
Thomas is also finishing our side porch!
It took Thomas an entire day to power wash and clean all areas of the porch. He machine washed the cushions in the laundry. It seems fully habitable again!
The rear dormers look great! They were being painted when I left. So tall! Today there are gutters.
We had to get a new fridge on the spur of the moment when we realized ours was leaking everywhere. We found about a half gallon of water in the drawer on night 2 and condensation everywhere. I have no idea how or why this happened, but since it was almost 10 years old, we decided to buy a new one instead of trying to fix it. The new fridge is the version 10 years newer than the old one and it is STUNNING! This is the one we have.
I love all of our new lights at night! This is the chandelier we have. and these are the island lights. Under cabinet lights are my favorite!
The island’s paint color is Benjamin Moore Castle Walls!
I am also in love with the color of the front door! It’s Benjamin Moore Stratton Blue and it’s the perfect blue/green I’ve been looking for!
The kids have a new Lego studio complete with an old table that Nona and Grandpa gave us.
And the hall now has hooks! Here are the hooks we bought..
even our toilet paper It’s on the mark! Ha ha. with our new north fork towels.
I am very happy to have our family, toys and belongings under one roof! Cousin Nash came to play and he and Birch didn’t stop for 8 hours!
See you on the other side of this holiday weekend!
KERF will be back to normal soon 🙂
