THE OFFICE / GUESTROOM : THE PLAN

 
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Here we are at the homestretch of 2020 and we are preparing for Home Renovation No. 5: The Office / Guest Room!

I started working full time in here since the pandemic has required us to WFH. The windows in this room are the same as we replaced in our living room, but worse. It didn’t really bother me too much since weather was warming up and drying out but as soon as the rains came back with Fall it was clear: we need to replace these ASAP. The giant garden window not only let cold air in but also leaked creating a perfect storm for mold to grow. So, I am now working from the dining table, again.

Our only spare room in our tiny home was always meant to serve as a guest room. Danny and I used to love hosting our friends and family who would come up from LA quite frequently so having our extra queen bed set up in here was perfect for our parents and friends traveling in twos. But with travel and visitors being on hold and the need for a dedicated space for me to work until further notice, we started to re-evaluate the use of this room and having a giant bed in here just didn’t make sense anymore. So, we decided to lose the bed and invest in a nice sofa sleeper that will still be large and comfortable enough for our guests while also creating a more office-like feel.

Since Danny works out of the detached studio and uses our basement as his music space, this room is MINE. And though we typically always agree on how we decorate and curate our home, this is an opportunity to create a more fun and bold - colored space. With that - I am excited to announce that we have finally purchase the velvet-green sofa of my dreams!!! But since it’s still 2020 and everything is a dumpster fire, the delivery of it has been delayed until March. But, that’s okay - we have work to do….

This renovation stretches farther than this room… We have decided to replace ALL remaining windows in the house which include the two upstairs and the four in our kitchen. We will also be smoothing the ceilings, adding in crown moulding, and replacing the trim in both the office and hallway. And lastly: finishing our “new” closet under the staircase that we have put off for two year… but more on that in another post, soon.

Below is a photo of the room when we bought the house. Since then, we have and changed the lighting to a beautiful surface mount from Schoolhouse Electric. Little changes made a huge impact.

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I threw together a mood board for the room to get my vision in line. I will be using a lot of my existing furniture as can see above with adding in a few more accents to make the room both functional and styled. My color palette will be more rich than the rest of our house but still keeping in line with my heavy use of woods and neutrals (using the same paint colors as the living room) to keep my natural inside-outside vibe.

Work is due to kick off mid-to-late January (I hope) and will sharing updates as the project moves along!
Thanks for being here!

Inspiration Photos: 1 / 2 / 3 / 4

 

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OUR STAIRCASE : THE PLAN

 
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Our almost-100-year-old little bungalow was blessed with a death-trap of a staircase. It's steep, tight, low in areas, and even has carpet from I don't even know when. I've had my share of spills down it, and anyone who is over 5'4 is sure to hit their head on the way up or down. Worse yet, if you're trying to carry anything up, there's a point about half way where you have to lift the item above your head, otherwise you slam right into the stairs above you. They are terrible. The worst. I am not exaggerating. AND, again... they are carpeted! YUCK!

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So, we started to talk about how we can improve these stairs as-is and couldn't come up with any cost-effective way that would actually solve the issue. We had already been entertaining the idea of opening up the wall that separated our living room and the front bedroom. So, why not just move the direction of the stairs while we are it? Genius! 

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The idea is to have the new staircase follow up the side of the front bedroom wall (this room will later become part of our living room), beginning with a slight turn upward, and then continuing up in a straight path. This will give us a longer, more gradual stairway, and allow us to have more room to work with upstairs, eliminating a lot of dead space.

Our house also lacks quality closet space, and the current staircase intrudes into our bedroom closet at an angle, cutting off the otherwise usable top right corner and leaving us with an awkward, two-thirds of a closet. So, when we close it up during the new staircase build-out, we are also thinking of re-purposing the current staircase entryway into a walk-in closet, or into built-ins. 

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This major project will not only prevent injury or death to us and our guests, but open up the room, creating a very welcoming appearance (see inspiration photos above), and instantly adding major value to our home. Win-win! We are currently waiting for drawings to finalize with our engineer and are on the books for a mid-to-late April start! Can't wait to update with progress soon!

Inspiration photos 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 

Special THANKS to Bonney Johnson (aka prettygoodpdx) for letting me use her photos of her beautiful staircase - our major inspiration. 

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OUR BATHROOM : THE PLAN

 
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So we bought a house! 
In Portland, Oregon!
(oh yeah.. and we moved there.)

Danny and I made a giant leap this year and pulled the plug on moving to Portland, something we have been discussing for years. So what a better push than buying a house. We got serious about looking in August and by September 13 we put our first offer in on a 1920's bungalow located in NE Portland - sight unseen.

(Also, this is my excuse for taking six months to post about our honeymoon.)

Before we even stepped foot inside, we knew this house wasn't our style as-is. It's on the darker side, was possibly "updated" in the 80's or 90's, some walls are blue, some are purple, yada yada. But one thing we didn't know until we got there was really how much potential this home has. And THAT was exciting! We quickly started bouncing ideas off each other and for me, this really is a dream to finally be like Joanna Gaines and fix this house up! Minus the shiplap. 

So, of course, the first thing I focused on was wanting to gut the kitchen... and I wanted it done before we moved in... and I wanted it done now. But as life has it, we ended up having to move quicker than anticipated because we have to work, right? So, we accepted having to live in the house in it's current state for a while.

Now, people told me to "live in the house first" before you start any work, to really get "feel" for the home. And you know what? They were right. Because now we realize the bathroom is the first to go! So here we are.

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This bathroom... wait, let me rephrase that:  This toilet, is a nightmare. I am usually all for old things, but this pull-chain toilet has got to go - and fast! I can no longer pee in fear! I am creeped out by the older linoleum floors and counter tops, the un-centered mirror makes me cringe, the brown-blue combo is dated, and I swear the "lovely" oak vanity was made for really short folk because I am 5'4 and this thing hits the top of my legs. 

Soooo here's the plan!!

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We really want a minimal, clean, and somewhat modern bathroom, but since the house is old, we we want to restore its charm and vintage look while introducing a somewhat modern, updated style. Let's call it "vintage-modern".  

Aside from painting the walls white, we want to remove the stained glass window (and re-purpose it elsewhere) and install a casement window. We'll likely use the large round mirror we purchased from Ikea earlier this year and flank it with vintage-inspired brass sconces with matching brass fixtures (though we may stick with stainless to not be too trendy). We'd like to re-tile the shower with a matte subway tile, replace the floors with a white, hexagon tile and a light grey grout, and replace the ancient toilet with a Toto brand, because, as my Dad told me about his Toto toilet: "That mother-effer will flush anything." Lastly - and my FAVORITE part - we'll be re-purposing one of our many mid century credenzas (I don't have a problem... you have a problem) that I insisted we schlep up to Portland, transforming it into a vanity (this will be a HUGE money-saver), and placing a rectangular vessel sink on top!

If all goes as plan, I may never leave the bathroom!

 

Inspiration photos 1 / 2 / 3 / 4

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