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{Redecorating & Reorganizing} And so it goes…

by | Jun 25, 2012 | Decorating Inspiration, my house, My Life

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{Redecorating & Reorganizing} And so it goes...

{redecorate and organize}

 

We are very much in a whirlwind of “house project” activity at my house! Our goal is to redecorate and organize our home in the process of getting new hardwood floors! If you follow me on Instagram (theinspiredroom) or Facebook or Twitter, you probably have seen photos going out at all hours documenting the activity going on at my house! CRAZY, I tell ya. I’m sure that is what you are thinking about us, too.

In preparation for Lowe’s coming to take out our carpet for the new hardwoods (squeeeee!), we decided to repaint a few rooms. Because, you know, as long as the carpet is coming out, you might as well paint walls.

I wanted to do that anyway.

{My new bedroom paint color, above, is Glidden Polished Grey (ADORE!!) and the Family Room ceiling (below) is Glidden Wood Smoke (SUPER LOVE!). Many more photo updates on each project will be coming soon, so you’ll get to see more of the rooms and the plans for them as we go, and of course once the rooms are finished.}

{Redecorating & Reorganizing} And so it goes...

And as long as you are repainting walls and new floors are coming in, you might as well paint ceilings too, before the new floors are in.

Of course. It all makes sense to a crazed redecorating mind.

But first, in order to paint and remove carpet and the other projects you have now deemed to go hand in hand with the need for new carpet, you’ve got to clear out pretty much everything in your house.

{Redecorating & Reorganizing} And so it goes...

So you empty pantries, cupboards, dressers and shelves to be ready for the new floors and paint. Things start to get more and more chaotic. That is how it goes when you organize and redecorate all at once. Good times. But it is strangely efficient and motivating to do a big overhaul like this.

{Redecorating & Reorganizing} And so it goes...

As long as you are removing everything, you’ll of course only put back what you really love, use and want to keep.

And that means you’ll have more room for the things you may or may not have just fallen in love with and brought home from the Seattle HomeGoods grand opening preview event this weekend.

{Redecorating & Reorganizing} And so it goes...

Love how this is working out. {grin}

{Redecorating & Reorganizing} And so it goes...

Once you start getting the vision for how things will come together, you feel really empowered to rid yourself of the old and no longer beautiful or functioning  items from the far recesses of your home!

You are getting RUTHLESS.

You even start to throw away spices that expired in 1999 (interesting side note: we moved in this house only three years ago). Things are getting serious.

You are on a roll, cleaning, tearing out and organizing everything in sight.

{Redecorating & Reorganizing} And so it goes...

You mean business.

Nothing is safe or sacred when you are in full on redecorate and organize your home mode.

Before you know what has come over you, you are hauling a giant 5,000 ton 1980’s style TV down your old carpeted staircase NOW because you might as well get that dinosaur out before you have lovely new wood stairs.  You might as well, you wouldn’t want to drop that monster down your new wood staircase. Am I right?

Now is the obvious time to say good-bye to anything you just don’t want or need any more. It is time to rid your home of things you once thought you needed, but now just take up too much space. It is the perfect opportunity to let go of things that do not contribute to the order or peaceful well-being of your home and family.

And so it goes.

Good-bye, everything.

{Redecorating & Reorganizing} And so it goes...

Stay tuned for the continuing saga of our projects, as well as some fun seasonal ideas, decorating & organizing tips and cool summer giveaways!

PS. My blog was moved to its own server this weekend so things should be running much smoother and faster now! Be prepared for lots more posts this week, now that things are working again. I have lots to tell ya about!

Happy Monday, everyone! How was YOUR weekend?

Congrats to the HomeGoods giveaway winners:

Seattle winner: Susan, The Confident Mom
National winner: Amanda Gray

Both have been notified and their cards will go out this week! Have fun shopping!

Thanks to everyone who entered the giveaway and shared their love for HomeGoods! HomeGoods is so awesome, you really must go check it out!

42 Comments

  1. Jojo

    Oh how I need to do some purging and want some hardwood floors! Maybe I should start the purging process so that I’m ready for new flooring. Honestly, we’ve only been in our house six years. Where does all the surplus stuff come from?

    Reply
  2. kelly at Talk of the House

    I laughed all the way through this! But new floors ARE a major major motivator. I forgot that they would go in the pantry and it would need to be emptied too..whoa….good luck – hope your energy level holds out through all of this. How lucky you are that Homegoods opened near you – just for your major redo, right? ha ha.

    Reply
  3. Christy

    I can’t wait to see what you’re doing in the pantry. That’s on my Summer To-Do List, too.

    Reply
  4. Meaningful Nest

    Melissa! I can literally feel your excitement coming through the screen. I am envious of all of your changes, not only new floors and paint, but that you are going through everything…that is the best feeling! Lots of work, yes, but so worth it. Getting new floors or furniture or painting a room makes us only want to put the best of the best stuff back in and often makes us move things around to different rooms. Before you know it, your house takes on this different vibe and feels fresh, clean, and new. I can’t wait to see your end result!!!

    Reply
  5. {darlene}

    Oh girl. You speaketh the gospel truth. I usually need a HUGE motivator to put life on pause and OVERHAUL. You especially cracked me up… I am just SURE I have some “party like it’s 1999” spices in my drawer!
    love, hugs, missed you last week!!!
    – {darlene} @fieldstonehilldesign.com

    Reply
  6. carol jane

    Wow. You are Soooooo busy. Love all the paint colors. That sweet dog Jack is so adorable. Dont you evah get rid of him. Ha ! Just kidding. I know you wont. He is the cutest! I want to smooch his face so bad.

    Reply
  7. Deanna

    Exciting times! I have been in purging mode….I took a break and need to get back to it!

    Less clutter and stuff gives me peace of mind!

    Deanna

    Reply
  8. maria and cameron who loves jack

    Looks like an exciting time over at your place; makes all the chaos worth it! Love seeing that Jack! Wink!

    Reply
    • maria and cameron who loves jack

      oh, can’t wait to see your “new” place!!! Looks like it will be fabulous! Your new office is just gorgeous! I love all this!!

      Reply
      • Melissa

        Thanks Maria and Cameron! xo & doggie smooches from Jack to Cameron

        Reply
  9. Cynthia

    I can’t wait to see it finished and what you do in the pantry. Organizing can be fun.

    Cynthia

    Reply
  10. Rachel

    So excited for you! You are so right about organizing and only keeping things that are needed or bring beauty to our lives. Organize. Toss. Donate. Clutter steals from our peace.

    Reply
  11. Cheryl Thornton

    oh how I love painting a room and all the purging that goes along with it – and all the buying that goes along with it – cause you know nothing you already have will go with the new colour scheme…so jealous, wish some of that was going on at my house!

    Cheryl from Ontario

    Reply
  12. Debi Bolocofsky

    I always live reading what you are doing, but I must tell you, everytime I see your dog I laugh. We are huge pet lovers, and our dogs are similar. Thanks for the chuckle this morning.
    Debi

    Reply
    • Melissa

      You are welcome, Jack brings a lot of chuckles into our life too!

      Reply
  13. Lisa

    I am so excited for you, Melissa! Farewell to Swine, once and for all!! How motivating to get 10,000 other things done in the process. You make me want to go tackle my pantry or something. Almost :)

    Reply
  14. Garden, Home and Party

    Melissa,
    This is so helpful, it fuels my need to purge, organize and pare down. In addition, it’s so fun to see what you’re doing to you home, always gives me inspiration.
    Karen

    Reply
  15. Laura

    This little piggy left Melissa’s house. This little piggy turned gray……
    I love your energy! Unfortunately for me, sometimes in the middle of my crazy projects, the PMS ends and so does my will to do anything! (Sorry! TMI?!) Can’t wait to see all of the fabulousness that will result from your hard work.

    Reply
  16. Sharon

    Ha ha! Loved this post. We did the same thing 2 years ago… Love love love my beautiful hardwood floors! And of couse once everything was out of the closets, laying bare paint and shelving installed 30 years ago, all of that ended up being trashed, holes patched, closets and ceilings painted, and elfa shelving installed. (a little like “if you give a mouse a cookie… ”
    It took me 6 months to do 13 spaces but probably the biggest game changer in our home! Worth every penny. I’m not particularly handy but if you can use a level and drill a hole it’s just about the easiest do it yourself project out there.

    Reply
  17. Brittany

    We’ve also been in the process of remodeling and redecorating our entire house. We started back this weekend – we took a 2 month break! I know – terrible! I’m excited to see how everything turns out, though!

    You keep me inspired to keep pushing forward and get it done! You’re home is looking wonderful – can’t wait to see it when it’s finished.

    Reply
  18. joan

    Oh, I am “laughing out loud” (more impact if I spell out the words. It is so true that one thing leads to another and before you know it… the whole place is beyond wonderful! Wall color, and purging stuff are really important and it is such a small price to pay for the benefits received. I give myself a pat on the back when I purge just one drawer.. but to tackle the whole house at once? You have tenacity!

    Soon you will be walking through your rooms saying “I am so glad I (we) took on all of these projects at once”. Looking forward to seeing the reveals.

    Reply
    • Melissa

      That is what keeps me going, knowing this fall I’ll be SO GLAD I just got this whole mess over with! :-)

      Reply
  19. amber Peters

    HAHA, i had to laugh about the spice. Not too long ago I was making a recipe that called for molasses. I knew I had some in the cupboard. When I looked at the expiration date I found that the Best If Used By date was 1998!! My husband said please do not use that! I was too scared and dumped the black liquid down the drain. I was surprised it wasn’t crystallized!

    Reply
  20. teresa

    I so understand this post!…..Love the paint color you have chosen!….I may need to copy =)
    Happy remodeling!

    Reply
    • Melissa

      Copy away, I couldn’t be more pleased with the colors!

      Reply
  21. teresa

    PS…love the yellow pillows in the top picture….I have a side chair with the same fabric….it came from Target on line.
    Happy Day

    Reply
  22. Carol S

    Jack goes … I go. Just sayin’

    Reply
    • Melissa

      Ha! I’ll keep that in mind.

      Reply
  23. Bernice

    How coincidental! We JUST DID THIS ourselves! 2 weeks ago, just finished ! Hubs gave me about a 4 day notice that we “should ” do the carpets and floors! And 2 of those days we were gone to the ocean, came back on Sunday night 2 weeks ago and started moving stuff . Monday morning , 8 am there was Joe ready to start pulling and putting.We just moved stuff from room to room like gerbils in a cage! It could have been funny to watch, but we were too tired to. We did not get a chance to paint ceilings, but what could I do. I was afraid if i said ..but wait!…it wouldnt have happened. I took advantage of the moment with hubs! Sold some furniture on Craig’s list. We cleaned every closet, took a van load to thrift store to donate, it feels really good. I have vinyl planking, “wood” look, and EVERYTHING shows. I had a white vinyl with speckles in kitchen and entry way before and hardly anything showed. I will have to get used to this. but to get rid of so much “stuff”! Priceless!
    Enjoy the process! I did even tho I was wiped out!

    Reply
  24. Jen

    HaHa – I think we all have a super-outdated spice hiding in our pantry somewhere :~) I bet the chaos of prepping & painting is exhilarating … especially knowing something so fab is on the way! Can’t wait to see the end result {I’m desperately trying to decide on paint colors…do the grays feel cold at all? I have always been a beige girl but really want to do something different in our new home}

    Reply
    • Melissa

      No, they don’t feel cold to me. I’m trying to stick to warmer muted grays and balancing out the neutral walls with lots of textures and colors and warmth in the rest of the room. My wood floors (new and existing) are a very warm yellowy wood (Hickory) so I can’t go with beiges or yellows on the wall or it all looks too much the same. White drywall is too stark against my floors and don’t create the warm feeling I’m after. The grays are the perfect contrast and complement for my floors and are really a lovely warm backdrop for accessories and furniture (both white and colors). I love that I can have both a cozy house and a light beachy feel to my home, the grays just seem to work well for me! :-)

      Reply
      • Jen

        Thanks for the input Melissa! I am trying to go with a coastal feel and love the look of white rooms but worry they will feel “unfinished” and that our white trim will be lost. I love so many of the gray rooms I see but every time I put a paint chip up on the wall I feel so unsure. It’s absolutely horrible indecision LOL I just need to rip that bandaid off – thanks for the inspiration!

        Reply
  25. Gerri

    Love those pillows. Can you tell me where you purchased them?

    Reply
    • Melissa

      HomeGoods! Love that store!

      Reply
  26. Franki Parde

    It’s like the “proverbial” “new pillow” for the old couch…. Good luck… franki

    Reply
  27. Diane

    Okay….what’s the secret to saying goodbye to stuffl? There’s just two of us and we live in a small house. But…the WHOLE gigantuous moving van got filled when we moved here. Seriously more than 8 hrs for the movers to load that thing. Ugh! My friend said, “You’ve a basement full of cool stuff.” That’s the problem. Where do I start? Maybe you need to come for a visit with your new mean and lean attitude and get me moving down that path! LOL!!!

    Reply
  28. Sarah

    LOL… that reminded me of that old children’s book, “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie.” Best of luck with the project!

    Reply
  29. Jan

    Oh yes….starting a project – you don’t see any end in sight. I remember when we had carpeting put in our Master Bedroom & walk-in closet, Great Room and Den a while back…so much stuff to get out of the way, we actually ended up doing the 3 rooms on 2 separate days! I didn’t have anymore room to put stuff and still be able to get to anything!! And hubby was working so many hours…he wasn’t of any help at all.

    Hope you are able to keep up with it all.

    Jan

    Reply
  30. Lori

    So excited to follow all of the upcoming changes.
    Btw, so glad I’m not the only one with expired seasonings in my cabinet. :)

    Reply
  31. how2home

    I’m really loving the new color you chose! What is the name of the color and what type of finish did you choose for the wall? Do you prefer matte color walls or with a bit of a shine?

    Reply
  32. Lisa

    Hi Melissa-I noticed that you’ve painted a lot of your rooms gray. I’ve been loathe to use gray in Seattle because we have so much gray going on outside. How do keep your rooms from feeling too depressing? I think it would be fun to try this color in my home, but these are my concerns.

    Reply

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