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The Redecorating Season

by | Jun 11, 2012 | Decorating Inspiration, My Life

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The Redecorating Season

I‘m in a bit of a redecorating season here at my house, transforming it into a home I will love and that reflects the way I want to live in this house. Yes, I’m always on that journey to create a home, so there is nothing really new about my intentions! But yet, each season of life brings something new in how I go about creating a home I love.

We all have seasons when we can focus more on our homes and some seasons when we have other priorities. There are some seasons we have more time and money or the “right house”, and some where we just have to make the best of what we have. Some of us are still in the early phase of decorating and some of you have lovely finished homes! We all have to work with the season we are in and find contentment as we go.

You might remember we downsized a lot when we moved here three years ago, from a nearly 5,000 square foot home to our 2500 square foot place. That loss of space in itself has been a bit of an organizational feat, figuring out what worked, what didn’t, and how our life here functions!

We’ve also been ridiculously busy with church planting and concert house starting and all that related effort ever since we moved here. So, honestly, decorating or updating our house has really been close to our last priority for the past three years.

I would decorating things here and there, obviously, and I’ve been happy with what I’ve been able to do. I’ve made quite a bit of progress, but some of the things I did earlier on I’m needing to redo because of wear and tear (like painting our family room again!).

The time has finally come (dare I say it?) when I feel like a few changes would really improve the quality of our life at home and our ability to enjoy everything we need to do in our life.

Now I’m not talking about a complete tear out remodel or anything THAT extensive (although there may or may not be a little adjustment needed to our kitchen cabinets!). I’m mostly talking about redecorating and working with more of a purposeful “end” goal in mind for the house, rather than just tweaking minor elements here and there.

The Redecorating Season

There are many things I still have from my old house that are not working in this house or with the needs we currently have. Many of our things are simply worn out and need updating, and some of them are just ready to go on to be freshened up and loved by another family.

And honestly, Jack has done his fair share of rough-housing in his first year of life and we need to change a few things up thanks to his contributions. Eh hem.

As far as the foundational updates, I have six rooms in my house that need to be completely painted or repainted, and I have carpet in my living room, dining room, family room, staircase, upstairs hall and master bedroom that needs to be replaced.

So, I’ve got quite a list of projects to tackle!

My yet unrevealed office is my favorite room in the house right now because it is finally through what I call the “transitional chaos” to the pretty much finished room. I think it is important to have at least one room in your house DONE before you do more extensive work around the house. Otherwise, if you are like me, you might poke your eyes out. I really need a place to retreat from the upheaval, so I’m really glad I did my office first.

This is the season of life I’m in right now. Still very busy, still on a limited budget, but realizing we are ready to set the stage in our home for the live we really want to live.

And in order to create the home we want most effectively in this season of our life, we are going to start with the very foundational elements and work our way out to decorating and organizational needs. That means we’ll be focusing on removing yucky carpet, adding in new wood floors and painting every last SWINE wall in our house. SQUEEEEEEEEEL!

The Redecorating Season

So here are some of my next goals:

1. Take the AFTER photos of my home office.

SHEESH, YES! THIS WEEK I want to take photos so I feel like that room is really done and we can move on! Plus I really want you to see where I’m hanging out these days! I’ve been procrastinating on the photos so I’m setting a personal goal to do the “after post” by early next week. Mark my words.

2. Clear out the visual clutter.

I’ve already cleared out my living room (remember, it is much easier to get a new vision for a space when you clear it out first and give yourself a clean slate!) and I will be doing the same thing in other rooms (clearing out what I no longer what and only adding back in what I really love).

3. Create design boards.

This week I’ll be starting on a vision for my design boards.

The mood board for my office really helped me to visualize where I was headed in that room and helped in the process of making decorating decisions. You’ll see how the mood board compares to my actual office when the reveal finally happens.

The style board I created awhile back helped me to see where my home is right now and helped me to evaluate if it was headed in the direction I wanted and how to continue with what I’ve started.

And now, I’m going to evolve a bit further with my design plan and create mood boards for the two rooms I believe want to tackle next, the family room and master bedroom. I’m still evaluating our living room and exactly what I want there, but that design board will also be on my to do list.

The Redecorating Season

4. Gather paint and flooring samples.

Since I am already pretty sure of the new flooring I want (it will likely match my existing wood flooring since I love the character of that wood and it works really well for our home) and the general color range for my wall paint colors, I’m already starting to gather samples and test out paint options! This is happening!

5. Find me a handyman (and schedule my painter).

Yep. I’m looking for my own personal handyman to help me get jobs done that we just don’t want to tackle ourselves or don’t have time for. Admitting your limitations is the first step to success. Heh heh.

So, there we have it! Moving along!

I definitely am ready to pick up the pace and hope to see lots of results over the summer and into fall!

What phase of decorating are you in?
Is your house finished?
Are you just starting from scratch?
Are you in the ever-evolving decor stage?
Or are you entering into the transitional chaos like I am?
Let’s talk about where we are in our own decorating process!

29 Comments

  1. Jojo

    Melissa, I need to do some purging but for the time being I’m overwhelmed with guests! In addition we just inherited my granddaughter’s furry cat (very furry). While I hope to do some summer reading, I have the feeling I’ll be cleaning closets and fighting furballs.

    Reply
  2. kelly at Talk of the House

    I think your plan is wonderfully thought out. It makes a lot of sense to me to live somewhere awhile before you decorate it. You can avoid mistakes if you know how you use the space (or not),how the light hits it, how your PET treats it, etc. So you are so smart (again!). I am at a “add the unfinished details part” and tweak it a litle bit stage here. There are some pieces of wall trim that have never been added (oh in just 16 years!) that I am finally after my husband now to finish. And I am toying with the idea of painting some rooms gray…but question am I just doing it to follow a trend or will it actually look better than the khaki we’ve lived with (and works well) for the last 8 years. And I have 2 rooms that need the carpet removed and replaced with something (preferable wood). That job scares me more than anything for some reason.
    Happy Monday moning!

    Reply
  3. Linda Stoll

    Home-keeping, home-adjusting, home-decorating is never ending. Constantly, gently morphing, almost without notice. A subtle change here. A few things moved over there. Old treasures dug out from the bottom of a cupboard or a bin move front and center. And some stuff has sadly seen its day and moves off to a new home.

    I know that the day will come when we will move and we will be forced to start from scratch. But til then, the changes come gently, they come slow.

    And yes, making those lists and crossing off each and every small accomplishment makes the whole adventure just plain fun …
    http://creeksideministries.blogspot.com/2011/01/oodles-of-lists.html

    Reply
  4. Garden, Home and Party

    Melissa,
    The further I travel down life’s path, the more I realize that where my house is concerned there will always be changes and projects needed. I do think my house has changed at times as our children grew and the lives we lead in our home changed. But with each change I will say, I think I’ve finally focused my attention on what truly makes me happy, there are less errors due to a wild-hair idea I pursued. :-)
    As always, it will be fun to join you in your adventure of re-do for your home. You always provide great ideas and inspiration.
    Karen

    Reply
  5. Sandy

    Just had to “pin” Jack this morning! That picture is just too cute to pass up. Hope that’s OK.
    Still enjoying your wonderful decorating inspiration!
    Blessings~

    Reply
  6. Cindy Osborn

    I just moved into a house about 3 weeks ago. My first big project was to scrape the popcorn off the ceilings, patch and repaint them. Also, the clean-up. What a job! I managed to get the living room painted before moving in and after spending a small fortune on paint samples, I chose Wood Smoke which I see from the pic about you are also considering. It is a great warm gray with beige undertones. However, it didn’t work too well with my floors and lack of sunlight in the room. They have too much red in them and really, I just wasn’t happy with the way my stuff looked with the gray walls. I tried to do something different but ended up getting another color to repaint the walls, Universal Khaki from SW. I haven’t been able to unpack because I was waiting to have my living room ceilings patched and painted by a professional. Once the popcorn came off they were in really bad shape, a job beyond my skill level. Now that that is done I am seeing the light at the end of tunnel. I have already started with the re-paint and will soon be able to start putting stuff up in that room. Next big job is kitchen cabinet which I had already started but now on hold till living room is re-painted. After those 2 big projects, it will be one room at a time. I did use the Wood Smoke in my bedroom and really like it in there. I have a cream upholstered head board so the colors worked really well together. You just have to be careful with any wood with red in it, it gives the wall a lavender tint.

    Reply
  7. Jeannine

    We moved into our brand new home about a year and a half ago. Needless to say I’m in the throws of starting from scratch. I had my last house basically finished, but as per normal, my tastes have evolved and none of that stuff works any more. Oh well, this is the fun part, right?

    Reply
  8. Tara G.

    Packing, moving back to the States and house hunting…and selling the house in another state that we don’t want. :)

    Reply
  9. Laura

    Most of our house has been “done” at least once in our 19 years here, but the “I-hate-this-bathroom-who-chose-this-tile-color-in-1960” bathroom is scheduled for it’s extreme makeover in August! So we are in process of gathering samples and porcelain-type items for it. I thought we were going to do 2 pedestal sinks, but when I found a double-sink, black granite, custom countertop that had been returned to Lowe’s (original price $2500, now $100!!), we decided to go with that! It had been a contender in sink styles anyway, and we felt like the Lord had spoken! I am enjoying the puttering and moving and little project finishing and general refreshing (of home and spirit) that summer affords us around here. My hubby would just like to know if there are any big furniture changes before he gets home! And no- it will never be “done”, because I don’t want our home or our lives to become stagnant and unmoveable!

    Reply
  10. Isis

    Actually I think I prefere it keeps on the ever-evolving. I think that when I stop, I´ll get bored, and than I´ll have to move to another home! And that is much more expensive!! lol

    Reply
  11. Liz

    I am in chaos. I’ve finished with my Mom’s estate and decided to deal with my own stuff. So I am in the process of decluttering and trying to figure the most efficient way of storage. My house is very messy since I tend to pile like things together to decide what stays or goes. My current big pile is books – years of books. I need to be more brutal in the decluttering, but I’ll get there.

    I am working on redoing my back porch area, so I will also have a retreat area. Then, I’ll restart the decluttering. I’m looking forward to doing upgrades and repainting and new flooring, but only after the clutter is gone.

    Liz

    Reply
  12. KATHYSUE

    I think when we are homeowners the decorating bug is in perpetual motion. I just tweak here and there in my home at this stage. In the summer I take out items, add more white and fresh plants for a fresh look. I will be tweaking my master bedroom soon, because we have a new bed coming. Right now I am busy with the yard, and my summer wardrobe!!
    Happy Monday!!
    Kathysue

    Reply
  13. Jen

    I’m so excited to see everything you are going to be doing. My home is finished with constant tweaking always happening. I can’t help it. My home is also only 1300 sq feet so I need to be careful what I allow in, but also I feel like I am redecorating since we first moved in bc my style has changed. From a country cottage feel to a more eclectic mix of cottage/French/modern thing. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  14. Alisa

    We’ve been in our home almost a year. We lived with the 8 year old house ‘as is’ for the first few months, trying to get a feel for it. Everything was neutral/beige/boring, but livable! I thought I may go with a clean, perhaps mid-century mod feel, however the house has evolved into an eclectic cottage look which seems to really work for it! Not what I was expecting, but I’m really enjoying it. (And I think my husband even kind of likes it. :) I came across your blog a few weeks ago and it has seriously spurred me into action! We finally finished our kitchen/dining room and some of it was inspired by your site. (Took the upper cabinet doors off and lined the back with gorgeous, whimsical fabric.) We still need to finish our office and master bedroom, so I am very anxious to see what you have done, and will do! Thank you for your lovely site!

    Reply
  15. Rondina

    Well, the garage which hung in the air for three weeks, is back on the ground. The plumbing is in the ground for the guest bathroom that should come along in about three years. The joists and plywood floor goes down today. Then new sheathing, siding, a window, and moving the door between the mudroom and kitchen to the garage bedroom. Or should I call it a guest suite?. All this to get a garage door. Then a contemporary shed built like a deck (sturdy and well-anchored) based a contemporary chicken coop design. Sorry, Chez Poulet. Then the ‘stuff’ can be moved into the shed.

    In the house, I finished painting, only to find that the beautiful light gray wood floors are not going to be. After I replace all the door frames, I have to get carpet. Bone spurs don’t like hardwood.

    My yard is in ‘transition’ aka ‘no planning. Every time I dig up monkey grass in the back, I end up rearranging the monkey grass border in the front making the flower bed ever larger. I think I know where every bulb is buried, although I got a ‘poker’ come up out of no where this year. No yard guys in my garden ever again. They dug up a Lenten rose. Big mistake that I’m still mourning a year later.

    Reply
  16. Laura Jenkins

    I cannot wait for your home office reveal…we have an unused breakfast room that might foot the bill for repurposing…I need a home office space, but designed well enough to view from our front door! Anxiously awaiting your inspiration.

    Reply
  17. ginny

    Okay seriously, that picture of your dog is hilarious!! =D =D Can’t wait to see your new office. ;)

    Reply
  18. Rene

    I am in the midst of picking paint colors and floor finishes as well. Going with bamboo floors I think….my fiance promised the floors will be done before we are married in Nov. Can’t wait (for the wedding and/or for the floors:)) !

    Reply
  19. michelle

    Did I see “Swiss Coffee” in your paint swatches? I painted my kitchen cabinets that color about a year ago and I love the color. However, we are about to leave this kitchen. We will be moving to a new city and a rental house. One day when we buy a house again, I will paint my kitchen that color again. It is truely a beautiful shade of white.

    Reply
  20. maria and cameron who loves jack

    …hey, was that a Jack sighting we just saw in this post? We always enjoy your posts, but especially when there is a Jack sighting!! He is a big boy!! I am enjoying watching you redo things!

    Reply
  21. Lea Fry

    I am in the constant project mode. I have a full time job outside the home so projects only get worked on the weekend. It sure makes for some sit down and cry in frustration moments but do whatcha gotta do right? We have lived in this house for 2 years and have managed to paint/redecorate 2 rooms a year. So now into the 3 yr what we have done is 2 bedrooms, bathroom, hallway and dining room. Now we are on the living room and I am soooo tired!!. Its a never ending process but I’m getting old so I will have to slow down eventually :)

    Reply
  22. Chris

    I so hear ya. And…I might have to steal your dog! That picture is the cutest thing I’ve ever seen!

    Reply
  23. Fiona's Mosaic

    I am so ready to move forward with the house! Life has been too chaotic, and I need some down/homey time. I want to plant and paint and sew……

    And it’s time to “man up” my son’s room. He just graduated from high school. Little Bubba!

    Hugs!

    Reply
  24. Nelie

    Redecorating is actually one of the great ideas we need to apply to our houses and rooms whenever they are a mess and whenever we feel they are not nice already..

    Reply
  25. Diane

    Jack cracks me up. I’m sure he brings lots of joy. But, the photo also shows the other stuff he brings. You’re a good woman to put up with that for your boy.
    I love this new season you’re in. Enjoy the process.

    Reply
  26. how2home

    Really excited to see the finished office! We’ve been waiting for a while lol! Can’t wait :)

    Reply
  27. Meaningful Nest

    Hi Melissa! Have you seen Olioboard? AMAZING. This site allows you to make style/design boards for free–it is the coolest site I’ve seen in a long time. Once you start playing around with it-it’s addicting. It’s truly easy to do, I encourage all readers to go to this site if you haven’t already!

    Reply
  28. Bettsi

    Melissa, I am so excited to see the new changes you will be creating. I’ve been in my apartment now for a little over a year and like you, it’s been a very “transitional” period! I am finally feeling like I’m on the right path (my authentic path) for my home. My bedroom is finished and you’re right, you need one finished, happy room that you can retreat to (so you don’t poke your eyes out!).

    Reply
  29. joan

    Melissa, I am looking forward to the office reveal… but I can wait til you are ready.

    14 years ago my husband and I moved to our (Lord willing) “forever house”. It is fabulous for us. I feel our home is “ever-changing”. I think this keeps our environment fresh and interesting. We have made many changes; some minor, some major, but each has given us satisfaction… Paint, electrical, furniture, landscaping, etc. But we choose to do projects in small segments so as not to feel too overwhelmed with clutter. One of my favorite projects was to set up several reading “nooks” in our home.

    Thanks for your fabulous posts

    The one project that seems to always be put on the “back burner” is a family photo area at the build-in buffet. I don’t want clutter but I do want to represent our family. If a stranger came over they would think I didn’t have a family. : – ( Maybe I will tackle this in the fall because it is so beautiful outside now and I don’t want to miss summer.

    Reply

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