Sadly, the super tidy “after” living and dining room didn’t last very long!
Real life happened. Or should I say I happened.
I always have good intentions when it comes to cleaning up clutter, but often, more important things just get in the way. I’m trying to start a daily habit to tidy up clutter though. I’ll let you know how that one goes…
Here is a another angle from the other day when it was all tidy looking. Boy, that didn’t last long.
See the staircase to the basement? The basement is rented out to someone else and we don’t have any access (there is a fireproof door locked from both sides). It would be nice if we had it for storage, but I think we’ll be ok since we got rid of so many things before the move.
The hallway:
When we were staging our house before we put it on the market, we put long mirrors in hallways to make them look bright and big. It’s a fun trick that we carried over into this place.
By the way, if any of you are interested in a post on staging please let me know. We picked up several great tips from a stager that our realtor brought in. I also have lots of pictures (after staging) from the old house. If there is interest I will write a post on it, so please let me know!
Here’s peek at our old house’s entry way after staging:
The entry way was previously empty (and I mean empty!), so we added the sofa table, big mirror, faux flowers, rug, plant, and small accessories on the shelves. It made a huge difference.
Ok, back to the new place.
If you walk down the same hallway, you’ll come to a small powder room:
It needs some sprucing up…I might even paint it if it drives me crazy enough. Anyone have a good colour for a small bathroom?
At the bottom of the stairs you’ll find our cute little giraffes to greet you.
Now, we’ll go upstairs for a peek!
This is the view looking to the right from the top of the stairs:
We put another piece of art up and another mirror in this hallway.
The door to the right of the mirror is our bedroom and the door to the left is the bathroom.
The bathroom is quite modern looking and flooded with light. It’s definitely one of my favourite rooms.
This pic was from before we moved in. We have plans to put up art and pictures in there, so I will show you those when it’s finished. It also needs a bright pop of colour!
If you turn right out of the bathroom, you’ll come to the laundry:
I guess it’s more common these days for homes to have the laundry on the second floor and I must say it’s GENIUS. I’ve never had laundry on the second level and I’m loving the convenience. No more lugging baskets of dirty clothing down the stairs.
Here’s what you’ll find inside the doors…
One of the hardest things I parted with in the old house was our new front loading whirlpool washer and dryer. I cry at night for them. Ok, not really, but man do I miss them!
Eric had a vision for this laundry space.
Last weekend, he installed a shelf and he’s also putting a small one on the far left side a bit lower down.
It took us over an hour to pick the shelving, figure out the parts, and then find someone to cut the wire. Remind me again why I let him talk me into going to Home Depot on a Saturday? If it weren’t for those energy bites, a meltdown may have occurred.
We plan on putting our cleaning supplies, laundry soaps, toilet paper, paper towel, etc up there. The shelf is just low enough for me to reach on my tippy toes.
It also doubles as a clothes drying rack…which is why he put the shelf a bit higher up!
I originally wanted to purchase one of those free-standing clothing racks (the big clunky ones), but I like Eric’s idea much better. It’s a 2-in-1 laundry “room” now and takes up no extra space in the house. He’s a keeper.
Across from the laundry is a linen closet:
Something you may not know about me (but may not surprise you): I simply have no patience for folding. Don’t even get me started on those fitted elastic bed sheets! I know how to fold properly, I just don’t like spending time on folding and could care less what my linen closet looks like. That’s also why I hang up 95% of my clothing.
Immediately next to the laundry and linen closet is the 2nd bedroom, which we’ve turned into a shared office. Well, we will be turning into a shared office.
Right now, it’s a scary, scary place.
Oh and you know how I said I loved the central vac? Well, after using it for 2 weeks, I now have mixed feelings about lugging around the hose and having it take up all the closet space. I think someone needs to invent a retractable hose for a central vac…one that retracts right into the wall. Do they make those? That would be pretty fun, but only if the hose came out of the wall easily and it was on each level. Probably not the most practical idea.
Our desks are due to arrive in another week or so. Right now, we’re trying to do our personal and business taxes among this mess and it’s not working out so well, especially because we put one of our files in storage by mistake.
Our bedroom is also not finished, so those pics will have to wait for another time too.
By the way, I forgot to mention in my Kitchen before and after post that I’m challenging myself to stop using a microwave. Our microwave in the last house is staying with the new owners, so I took this opportunity not to buy a new one. It’s something I’ve wanted to do for a long time now, so I figure now is the time. I’ve missed it a few times already (mainly for reheating leftovers and melting chocolate), but it is nice having the extra counter space too. I’m sure I will get used to it after a while!
Staging – yes.
Also, am I the only person who doesn’t like front-load washers? You can’t add in the sock that you forgot once the cycle has started plus ours has a small hole so when the clothes are coming out, stuff always fall on the floor. I know they use less water and come in fun colours, but I miss top load.
I know what you mean about not being able to load things after the fact but I did it usually anyways (but I had to hit stop first) :) Just would have to deal with a bit of water pouring out!
I used to work in Real Estate, some of the biggest trouble my clients had with staging is that they could not get rid of enough personal things, clutter, nick-knacks, and family photos. The key with staging is all about emotion, personal things detract from allowing a potential buyer to envision themselves in your home. That being said, you look like you are all ready doing an amazing job! Your home looks beautiful and show ready! Oh and Ralph Lauren makes a color called Solomon’s Seal in the Greenhouse Collection that I think would be interesting in your powder room should you get the inclination to paint.
Totally agree…that’s what our stager said too. We took down every single photo in the entire house. How sad! But I can see how it works. Thanks for the tip about the paint colour.
You do have to be carefulmwhen the real estate agent wants to stage because their owns a staging company. I had done a lot of work on my house preparing it for sale itnwas de cluttered and no personal photos anywhere. The realmestate agent insisted on staging it and the junk they used was not to my liking at all. They took my real plants and removed them, put them outside and replaced with fake flowers, added a stained rug in the living room that did not enhance the harwood floors, hung cheap art and even put two mirrors in one room. Thye did not like my group of seven prints by AJ Casson and wanted to replace with modern canvases. Not only that my feshly painted walls were destroyed by the hardware used to hang this stuff, I was embaraced to leave the walls in that state for the new owners. Having said that I agree with decluttering and taking out the personal objects so that a new owner can envision their stuff in the house. I must say that your entryway was made to look very beautiful, and from pictures of the rest of your house, well lets just say I loved what you did to your old house.
Hey Angela! Your place is FABULOUS! And is soooo similar to my style! My apartment is about 1/16th of your house lol, but I am trying to make it look bigger with mirrors. I rent, so I don’t ant to damage my walls…but I was wondering, how did you get your hallway mirror up? I saw some great priced mirrors at Homegoods, but thy are just so darn heavy I’ve been intimidated!
Enjoy your new place! It looks so relaxing and inviting!
–Ashley
I think Eric used wall plugs but Ill have to check with him
I’d love to see a post on staging! My husband and I plan to sell our condo in Toronto this summer and any tips on how to increase the value would be great!
New place really looks great. So, since you guys are currently renting, do you have the right to paint it? We’re renting right now, and the agent would rather us not paint anything, which I understand, especially if we only end up staying there a year, but it looks SO bland. Not to mention, if you brush a bag on the wall going out the door, it marks it up!
Maybe I’ll just buy a bunch of BSB posters and start lining the walls with them ;) haha
Thank you!
I know what you mean…I’m not a fan of plain walls either. We can paint, but if I remember correctly, we need to clear it with the landlord first. Thankfully he’s very easy going so unless we want neon pink I don’t think it will be an issue. I would approach your landlord with the colour you have in mind…you might find it’s not an issue.
ps- lol @ BSB
I’d love to see a post about staging! My husband and I are considering selling our home here in the States and any tips would be helpful! Love the new place, btw. And I love that your hubby has some great ideas for it!
Good luck on your microwave-less challenge. I love mine for melting things, reheating tea or coffee, kids’ snacks, there would be no way I’d want to give mine up…but way to go if you can pull it off!
And that bathroom…if you ever need a really light place for food photography when all else fails, I am thinking that’s the spot. lol :) GORGEOUS light in there though!
I love my HE front loading washer and dryer. I understand the nostalgia for top-loaders, but I’m completely content with my front loading one. (and my baby loves to stand in front of it when it’s on and watches the clothes swish).
A retractable hose for the central vac would be beyond genius! Our inevitably ends up curled in the corner of one of our less frequently used rooms.
Hey Angela,
Just to let you know, they do have a central vacuum system where the hose retracts into the wall. My parents have it and it’s pretty awesome. They have a system for the upstairs and down stairs so all they have to do is carry the actual attachment up or down. Here’s a link that shows a video of how it works. http://www.hideahose.biz/
Thanks! Someone else linked to it too…crazy!
That bathroom is lovely! I especially like that bathtub…
Also, very cute giraffes :)
Looking good so far! I would definitely be interested in a post about staging – I used to watch home decorating shows all the time (back when I watched a lot of TV) so would love to see what tips you have.
Also – congrats on going microwave free! I don’t think I could do it… there are just too many times when it’s so convenient to heat something in a bowl rather than dirty a whole pot or pan. I’m a wuss, for sure. :P
We have lived without a microwave for over three years. It really isn’t that big of a deal. However, I do use my pots and pans much more often. As for the linen closet, try rolling your towels instead of folding. I fold my towels in half and then roll them up. They stack nicely in the closet and look good too. I keep all my extra sheets inside the matching pillow cases. This doesn’t take long, but looks more organized because there is only one item instead of three or four non-folded items. Thanks for the tour!
VERY cute- I love your style!!
Milk Pail by Martha Stewart – such a lovely color (although don’t look it up online, it doesn’t do it justice) we have it in our living room and a friend has it in her tiny bathroom and it’s gorgeous!!
Love what you’ve done with the place!
By the way, when my fiance and I moved into our first apartment together last summer, there was no microwave and we never bought one. Honestly it was a great move not buying one, because we get by just fine with the oven, stovetop, and toaster/convection oven. People are always a little incredulous when we tell them we don’t have a microwave — they must not realize how easy it is to live without one! ;) (Not to mention we really don’t have space for one!)
Your new place is looking awesome! You sound like me…folding is annoying and clutter…yeah. I just always have a million and 5 projects running at the same time. Which causes for stuff to get scattered. My mom always told me it only takes a moment to pick up after yourself. But that min can be pretty valuable most days.
Friday evenings are my week tidy ups. I work during the day and come home and evenings dedicated to my design business. So I honestly don’t see the clutter as much. But on the weekends…thats when it stresses me out.
BTW love the mirror idea. gonna pick one up this weekend. Please do a staging post. We live in a small condo while our house is being built and any tips to make it look bigger or prettier would be wonderful.
The house is definitely really coming together! It looks great!
I would definitely like to read all the tips on staging that you have to share. Thanks!
It looks great! I’m impressed that you’ve gotten that lived in feeling in such a short time! I’d love to hear about the professional staging tips!! And how’s Mr. Sketchy doing in his new digs? My car *loves* carpeted stairs. She makes me race her up them constantly!
I love these updates! I would be interested in the post on staging. I love all of the bright, natural light your new house has.
I stopped using our microwave a few months ago. The only thing I really miss it for is heating up casseroles, pasta, rice and things like that. Soups are easy to do on the stove and veggie burgers work well in the toaster, but if I put those other items on the stove or oven they have a tendency to dry out a bit (or else I’m just not patient enough to wait for them to heat). So I end up eating some of those things cold.