Feathering Our New Nest

We closed on our townhouse on the 10th, but haven't moved in yet. First Jack spent a lot of time finding a fridge that would fit in the space without sticking out into the kitchen too much. Good job, Jack!

We got a quote of $930 from Stanley Steemer  to clean the tile and grout, and re-whiten and seal it. WHAT? I spent several days with an old toothbrush and a bucket of water, and it cleaned up real nice. For free.

While I was being the tile lady, Jack painted what we called "the dungeon" or "the prison cell". A friend of the seller had painted this large bedroom as though it were constructed of cement blocks. Really, it had to have been a very laborious process, but it didn't appeal to us at all. Jack wanted a dark blue, but after trying 3 samples he gave up and painted the room yellow like the rest of the house. I think he gave up too easily.

We didn't realize the carpet was in questionable condition until the seller moved her furniture out, so we've ordered new carpet, which will take about 2 weeks. Jack wasn't crazy about my chosen color (kind of a mushroom? too "cold" he thought) but he insisted we get it anyway. I wasn't crazy about his  first choice either (too "warm" with all our yellow walls). I hope it turns out OK.

All our married lives, we have bought furniture pretty much one piece at a time as needed, and that was usually the least expensive thing we could find. This time we are bringing only a few pieces of our existing furniture, and buying quite a bit of new. We also decided to buy better furniture, since it's undoubtedly the last we'll ever buy. You would think it would be fun, but it's been mind boggling! Colors, patterns, woods, what to fit where, what pieces to start with -- EEK! 

Did you know that many furniture stores offer free design services? We invited a nice lady from Ethan Allen to our house to measure and make a plan for us after she had shown us around the store to get an idea of our likes and dislikes. Wanna see the downstairs plan?

                

Then we met with her again at the store so she could show us the pieces she had in mind for us, most of which we like. It was fun to see her table full of wood and fabric samples put together just for us. These are just a few of the ideas she put together.

So far we've ordered an entertainment center, coffee and end tables, living room chair, and a bed, dresser and night table for me. There's a buffet and mirror I hope we can acquire later as well as an area rug. Jack couldn't find a dining chair comfortable for him at Ethan Allen, so we'll probably buy a set tomorrow from Bassett. The leather sample above is actually for the sofa we bought from LaZ Boy. With Jack's bad back, he must have sat in 100 different sofas in every store in town until he found one comfortable for him. The original plan had to be modified as the high sofa back won't look good with the proposed sofa table (with ottomans under it!). Bummer -- I really liked that piece! But now we have one piece of furniture in the house, not counting the plastic chairs the seller left!

As for my bedroom, I've ordered a sleigh bed, dresser and night stand in this pretty mushroom wood:

I fell in love with the turquoise and beige patterned fabric, and I'm planning on a bedroom chair in it sometime in the future. Lynn (the designer) helped me match up paint chips and the bedroom walls are now painted a beautiful dusty aqua. She suggested cream and taupe bed linens. Love it!

It will be around Christmas before the furniture is delivered, so as soon as the carpet can be installed, we'll move our beds, two chairs, one set of bedroom furniture, and the TV stand, and actually move in. Then we'll bust our you-know-whats shining up this house to get it on the market. I'm thinking I can have my buffet when we sell! And maybe the downstairs area rug and my bedroom chair.

It's coming together!