Last look at the house before we move in!

Happy Friday! Things have happened so quick at the house, it's been hard to even keep you up to date. It's about done, but there is still a long list of items that need to get done -- inside and out. But because we're just about finished up, at least with the big stuff, I wanted to show you some semi-final photos. I probably won't share the house again until we move in so this may be it for a few weeks!

I've added a few before photos as well, so you can see how it's come together! Here's my favorite view in the house, even back then!:

I have learned through this build process that I have an ability to see things as they will look finished. I mean, I've always known that about myself, but I'm realizing a lot of people don't, because my husband and child both are even a little surprised at how well it's come together. They just couldn't see how it would turn out, no matter how much I explained it. 

But I did. :) Couldn't be happier with our new staircase: 

UGH I love it! It's exactly as it was in my head. I'm SO glad I went with white newel posts -- I changed that kind of late in the game and I'm thrilled with it all. I already know what I want for that wall. :) 

Our master is completely done -- I'm going to try to get in to hang our new light sometime soon. I am starting to develop a vision for this room and I think it's going to be really beautiful: 

I mentioned before how much I'm looking forward to our new shower, because our old one was tiny. Shaving my legs was always an event. Now...we have a bench. TO SIT ON: 

I am obsessed with the tile I picked for the floor. I have a feeling it's going to be a pain to clean and I don't even care. Nope. 

I have so many plans in mind for the mud room/laundry already. It's going to be a fun space! Here's what it looked like before: 

And here's a similar shot (window is to the right): 

The tile is ceramic and made to look like marble. I adore it. Many of you have asked about sources or brand names and I'm working on getting a list. All of this was sourced through the builder so I don't have a clue on most of them. But I will have them soon and will update these posts!

This next room is the one that I basically want to just throw a mattress on the floor and sleep in it because I love it so much. Our pantry was the size of a small closet in the old house (and I loved it!). But this is next level my friends: 

It goes around to the right too, and I'm SO GLAD we splurged on the melamine shelving in here. I have fun plans in here -- it's going to be a cute and functional space. I've said it before but it's these smaller spaces (closets, our shower, this pantry) that I'm most excited about. 

By the way, I've had so many people say to me, "What will you do now that you have a house with no projects?" And I just answer with do you even know me?? 😂😂 I have a million projects in my head. You KNOW I'm going to add my personal touch to everything. 

The hardware went up in the kitchen and it looks even better than I imagined: 

The glass went in the upper cabinets this week as well. The appliances are all in except for the stove hood. That's the story at this point -- exterior paint is done except for doors, tile is done except for about five tiles they were short, lights are mostly up except for the ones I'm literally DYING to see installed. Lots of almost there...so close!

I told you about the sexy fridge we were looking at a few weeks ago (yes, sexy), and our dishwasher is inside too. All sleek and pretty and functional with all kinds of drawers and doodads and you just open it up to look at it. At least I do.

I'm already dreaming up ideas for the powder room. I love small spaces like this because you can have so much fun with them. I adore the vanity (gotta find a basket for underneath) and the pretty countertop and sink:

I have to get a mirror for in there too and I can't wait to show you the light fixture! 😍

Here's a view of the fireplace months ago: 

And here it is with light gray subway tile: 

I wanted simple but classic, and the gray tile with white grout is so, so good. I can't wait to get this room put together!! 

I don't think I'll share the house again till we move in, but that could change. We think the cleaners will be out next week or the week after and I can't wait to see it all cleaned up and ready to move in! Being patient and mature while waiting is HARD. Our ten-year-old is more patient than I've been. 

Hope you enjoyed the update!! Have a great weekend my friends! 

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Fabulous fall home tour 2017

I’m joining seven other talented bloggers to share a bit of our homes today in the Fabulous Fall Home tour. We hope you are inspired with decorating ideas to bring a touch of fall into your home.

Welcome to my fabulous fall home tour, hosted by Pretty Handy Girl. Welcome to the readers coming over from the awesome home of In My Own Style!

Autumn has finally come to Chicago, and the temperature has finally started dropping. I noticed the yard covered in a fine blanket of crunchy leaves yesterday. It finally feels like a good time to pull out the boots and plaid shirts!

I shared my fall living room a few weeks ago.  This year I went with very simple natural touches around my home.

I used natural grasses from my yard, and pumpkins. Last year, I went a little more Halloweeny than this year. You can see more of my fall living room from this year here.

Decorating our fall kitchen meant adding touches such as fresh sunflowers, and whatever is abundant in the garden right now.

Which means tomatoes and basil, and some monster zucchini. I hope our last frost holds off so we can enjoy them as long as possible. You can see more of the kitchen tour here.

In our downstairs family room, I added some fun mini-pumpkins.

And I found a fun Joanna Gaines pillow at Homegoods that was perfect for my fall decor.

I just participated in a fall porch tour, and I shared my back deck.

It’s all”decked” out with pumpkins and lanterns, and mums. This is a great tutorial if you want to grow your own big, beautiful mums.

You can find the pumpkin pillows here in my shop, you can also find them in my retail store.

Thank you so much for joining me at a peek at my fall home! Looking for more fall decorating?You can see my guest bath here, my front porch from last year, and this fall home tour.

Make sure you head over to the next stop, and see the pretty fall home of One Project Closer!

Pretty Handy Girl

Addicted 2 DIY

The DIY Village

The Heathered Nest

In My Own Style

Jennifer Rizzo

One Project Closer

Ugly Duckling House

 

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I've been shopping for the new house!

Hey hey! Hope your week has gone great -- I'm pumped because our house is moving along at a quick pace. It should be pretty much done (except for touch ups and cleaning) by the end of this week. We got sod the other day -- never in my life has GRASS been so exciting.

Our move in date seemed so far away a couple weeks ago and now it feels like it's coming so fast. We have quite a few things to get before we move in -- a fridge is one (I have decided on one and will share it with you soon) and some mirrors in our bathrooms. I took most of them off the list because I knew I could get them for less.

I've been really good about not spending much on the new house (we really aren't going to need much new furniture) because I want to see how our old stuff will fit in first. But I have picked up a few things over the past few weeks -- mostly because they've been really great deals! I thought I would share what I've been shopping for because shopping through other people is always fun for me. ;)

I'm looking forward to my new office -- in the last house I finished up our loft office/craft space last year and we loved working up there. Often my hubby and I would work together on either side of our big table and I will miss that. We each have our own spaces in the new house so I knew I'd need a desk. So much in our old house was built in...that's the downside of doing so much DIY! 😂

I've had my eye on the Campaign Desk from World Market for years, I've always loved the look of it:

It's nice and long but still plenty wide. I got it on sale and then got another five percent off for picking it up at our local store. It's currently in a friend's garage -- we legit have our stuff spread out all over the city. 😳 

I have never shopped Magnolia Market online (at least I don't think so?) but I thought these Bunsen vases were CUTE: 

They're a little smaller than I thought they'd be but I just love them! I can see them lined up on a table, on a nightstand or bathroom vanity. They were out of stock when I found them so I entered my email to get notified when they came back in -- it was less than a week later and I snatched them up!

These are the Jordy jugs from Magnolia and I got all three: 

The colors are so me, so I think they'll work just about anywhere. Love them!

I was in Target a couple weeks ago snooping around the outdoor clearance and found two great deals on outdoor lanterns. I've shown you before how you can easily use their outdoor decor inside and that's just what I'll do with these. I got two sizes of this brass lantern: 

They're not showing at the clearance price online but I got them for six and seven bucks I believe? If you like them call your local store and see if they're on sale! 

And this lantern with the leather strap was on clearance for $6 too: 

This photo doesn't do that one justice but the strap on it is too cool. I love having lanterns on tables, bookcases and/or coffee tables. You can't go wrong, especially at that price! 

I was so sad to leave the brass men and women signs on our powder room door in the old house: 

Our doors weren't solid and I knew I wouldn't be able to patch up the holes well. I was bummed. I found them at a local shop years ago and we stopped by the other day on a whim. I couldn't believe it but they had a set in stock! They will go up on the new powder room door right away. :) 

I was browsing on Walmart's site for something the other day and these votive holders popped up. I LOVE the black and brass/copper look they have going on: 

I hope I love them in person as much as I do online! I bet they'll be really pretty with the candlelight. They didn't have measurements so they could been minuscule, ha! Crossing my fingers. They were $30 for the set of four. (You can search Benzara votive holder on their site to find them.) 

And finally, I grabbed this semi-flush light for our son's room: 

We had overhead lights installed in the bedrooms, unlike our old house. I'm SO looking forward to having more light in his room! It's the little things! We looked all over for a light he liked and settled on one from Lowe's, but I ended up taking it back and got this for less than half the price. It will allow for plenty of light and will go with whatever we do in there -- love it! 

There you go! It's been so fun to imagine how these items will look in the new house. Just can hardly, barely wait. Have you found any good deals lately? Anything good on clearance at Target? 

I really need to update you on the new house! SO much has happened since the last update, I can't wait to share how all of the details have come together! It's hard for me to get in and take pics with workers there (NOT complaining!), but I will make it happen. 

Affiliate links included for your convenience!

This content is property of Thrifty Decor Chick LLC. If you are reading this on any other site other than www.thriftydecorchick.com or one of her social media platforms, please contact her immediately (thriftydecorchick at gmail dot com). Any other use of this content is strictly forbidden.

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Pumpkins, lanterns and mums

I’ve been gathering pumpkins,lanterns and mums to decorate for the next portion of the Seasons of Home holiday series! This is one of my favorite seasons to decorate for! Even though on the day I was sprucing up my back deck, it was over 90 degrees, I can’t really complain because it wasn’t cold.

In past years, I’ve decorated my deck and porch and it’s been 30 degrees, so I will take the heat while it lasts. I planted bean seeds late this year, so I would love to get one more harvest in before a frost. For this week, we’ve partnered with Joss and Main in making our spaces warm and welcoming (All product links are at the end of the post, may contain affiliate links.)! In case you were wondering, I did leave some mums for everyone else at the store, I didn’t buy them all.

In getting my space ready,I decided it would be fun to use a hay bale as a side table with a metal tray on top. The pumpkins had just arrived at our local grocery store, so I grabbed some of the coolest ones I could find.

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I added some of my pumpkin pillows ( you can find those in our store!), and a pretty, striped linen and cotton blanket. I love getting up in the morning when it’s a little chilly, and wrapping myself  in a warm blanket outside, and reading.

The rug is from Joss and Main,I love that it’s an indoor / outdoor rug with such pretty colors.

I pulled pretty much every lantern I own, to make a nice, fall display. My front porch is missing them though,so I might have to put them back soon.

I loved this blue pumpkins, and the flat orange one. I need to find a way to keep the little squirrels and chipmunks from snacking on them.

The deck chairs are from Joss and Main too.They are so comfy!! I am looking forward to enjoying the cooler weather with them too, and rocking on them as I watch the birch leaves fall.

I  found a very fun, warty pumpkin at the store.

I really want to try to grow some next year. I say this every year, and every fall  I forget to save the seeds.

What I love most about fall, is the best decor is natural. A few pots of mums, and a hay bale and it looks good. Pumpkins, lanterns and mums are my go to!

I bought the little owl a few falls ago, and he’s made it this far. I pull him out every year when the weather gets cold!

Thank you so much for joining me for my back deck tour!

Rocking chairs/ tribal rug/ small owl garden statue / pumpkin pillows / tribal pillows /lanterns / striped blanket

Make sure you check out the other bloggers fall decks and porches! And Joss and Main is having a giveaway!

• With Joss and Main,you can design a seasonal & stylish outdoor space for less!
• To enter:
• Share how you #designtheoutdoors for a chance to win $500 to shop @jossandmain
• Tag @Jossandmain and #designtheoutdoors to enter
• Contest ends 10/26

 

Ella Claire | Rooms for Rent | Dear Lillie | Love Grows Wild

Nesting with Grace | Liz Marie Blog | Shades of Blue Interiors | My Sweet Savannah

Julie Blanner | City Farmhouse | French Country Cottage | Jeanne Oliver

Miss Mustard Seed | Craftberry Bush | and our lovely featured guest, Beneath My Heart

 

This post is sponsored by Joss and Main. Opinions are all my own.

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dig/s Very First SALE is ON! —Now 20 to 50% OFF — All Sale Items are In-stock (until sold out, of course) and will ship FREE!

The prices you see listed for an item are

BEFORE Your Discount

—At Checkout, use discount code digsxx ("digs20" "digs30" "digs40" or "digs50" depending on your item's Discount Collection)

—If you have items from more than one Discount Collection, to insure that you get your full savings, you will need to checkout separately for each different discount. It'll take you a minute or two extra, but you'll be happy you spent the time to save the MONEY!

Here are links to each Discount Collection. Check each for items you love at prices you will be glad to pay!:

20% OFF: use code at checkout: digs20

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50% OFF: use code at checkout: digs50

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Take it or leave it?

Hey there! Hope your weekend was wonderful! I think we visited the new house about four times...and nothing was even happening. I just like to be there. 😂 I mean, I did measure for a few things, so we did have a reason to be there...most of the time.

Because this whole moving thing wasn't planned and went so fast, and because we ended up buying a spec home and finishing it, I had to make some quick decisions on what to add. There were quite a few things I repeated from the old house and a few we didn't/won't. I always love reading about what people love in their homes so I thought I would share them with you!

What we're keeping:

The wood and white stairs. I tore the carpet off of our old ones and never looked back:

And they were an absolute must for me. They changed the way our whole main level looked and felt and I just love them. I did consider just having them install the wood and I was going to stain them...but I knew they'd get filthy in the process. We also mess with our warranty if we do stuff on our own during the build so I didn't want to chance that. 

And because I get asked this every time I mention our stairs -- we have found them to be less slippery than carpet by far. We slid down the carpeted stairs quite a bit, but not these. I'm crossing my fingers the old ones weren't some magical non-slip wood steps and the new ones are the same. ;)

Another item that was an absolute MUST for us was the trash compactor. Ours will be in the island like our old one: 

It will be next to the sink which makes me super happy. It was really convenient to have it right behind the sink at the old house and I think this will be even better. 

My husband insisted on this when we started the building process with the old house 14 years back -- and I wasn't familiar with them much so just went with it. Now I get it. You can see why we love the trash compactor so much in this post. ALL the heart eyes. 

Another item pictured above will show up in the new kitchen as well...any guesses?:

I've had a wood island countertop for seven years now and it was a priority when we were deciding on what to add to the list. This time it will be a little different because the sink will be in the island, but I think it will be just as beautiful! I used butcher block tons of places in our last house -- I can count five projects just off the top of my head. It doesn't matter if you stain it or leave it oiled, it always adds warmth to a space. 

One more item in the kitchen that I love and had to have again are my tiny hidden storage compartments behind the drawer fronts here: 

Otherwise known as the tip out tray. They keep clutter off the counter around the sink and are so convenient. I had two and used one for sink/washing stuff and the other for dishwasher tablets. These are under the new sink as well.

Another one that I don't have a photo of, because it's boring, (but awesome!) is the humidifier on our HVAC system. This was another one my husband insisted on and I'm so glad he did. It keeps the house from getting super dry in the winter -- no shocking each other after walking around! And we feel like it helps us health-wise too.

What we're not keeping:

I LOVE the look of a fireplace in a bedroom...love. But we won't have one in a new house. I think we'll survive? 😆

I absolutely loved having a warm fire on really cold nights...but 99 percent of the time our room would get too hot to have it on for any extended time. I like our room a little chilly at night so we rarely used it. It was such a lovely idea and again, I loved the look...but it heated the room a little too much. (Even the pilot light would make it warmer!)

The big items we won't be adding are outside. We will be adding a pergola or something similar one day:

But I don't want to do a deck. Again, love the look! But I want to simplify our lives a bit and if we can go without the upkeep of wood I'd rather do that. Having a wood deck wasn't as hard as I thought it would be to keep up with -- but we got full sun so it did need to be restained every few years. We had to replace a few of the boards this past summer too. 

This time, I want a HUGE patio. But not a paver patio like before: 

As beautiful as it is, I'm craving something with less upkeep. Simple, remember? The pavers themselves weren't bad at all...it's the weeds that grow between them (and seeds that land) that you have to keep up with. I WILL miss the pretty moss that grew between the pavers though -- that was one of my favorite things about our backyard!

This time? All concrete. We'll probably do stamped concrete, but I want easy maintenance. All one piece! Whoot! 

Is there something in your house that you would repeat in another home? Of course many of the design changes I made will show up again in the new house too...can't wait to get started! 

This content is property of Thrifty Decor Chick LLC. If you are reading this on any other site other than www.thriftydecorchick.com or one of her social media platforms, please contact her immediately (thriftydecorchick at gmail dot com). Any other use of this content is strictly forbidden.

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One sofa or two? Help me decide!

Well things are moving along quickly at the new house and all of a sudden I need to get serious about planning the spaces! I already have a good idea of what I'll be doing with most of the rooms but I still can't decide on the family room. 

I think the last photo I shared with you was this one: 

SO much has happened in here since! The floors went down this week -- be sure to follow along on my Instagram account (and the stories there) to see updates! I am SO thrilled with the hardwoods!! I'm pretty sure the tile surround will go up this week too. 

I have two ideas in mind for the layout in here. This is the only room in the house that we'll be getting a few new pieces of furniture. (We don't have a dining or living room in this house so we actually sold furniture from the last house.) I'm pretty sure I know what I'm doing on the sides of the fireplace but I have to decide on the furniture for the middle of the room. 

One thing I LOVE about this room is that everything will float in the middle. I think it will feel so open and airy and I'm super excited about figuring out this space. 

We'll be using this sofa from the old living room: 

And these chairs from the old family room: 

This is where I'm trying to decide on how to place them. Those of you that know me know that even though I try hard to fight it, I'm a symmetrical girl at heart. I mean, it hurts me when I can't do the same on both sides...of whatever.

So this fireplace is calling out for it, right? My immediate thought was that I wanted to try to get another one of our sofas and put them facing each other in front of the fireplace. It's just SO GOOD: 

SOURCE

Muskoka Living Interiors 

SOURCE

Better Homes and Gardens

SOURCE

Heather Bullard 

SOURCE

Country Living

I know, I know. That one photo has four chairs, but still...SYMMETRY. I love thee. 

We got the sofa for a GREAT price on sale at a local furniture store, but I'm not sure they still have it or if I could get it for that price again. 😬 I think I'm going to call to see if it's possible. 

Pros of the two sofa layout: 

• It's aesthetically pleasing. When I see two sofas it just calms me and feels "right." 
• Two sofas facing each other are more furniture but seem to keep the room more open. I love that the end of the room would be open to the rest of the great room.

Cons: 

• TV watching will be done sitting on one end of the sofa, for the most part. We tend to lay down when watching TV so I see us doing that on each sofa. But I can also see fights for those spots. ;) 
• It can go a little more formal -- but I think this depends on the sofa style too. 

There's another option that's a good one too -- to place the sofa directly in front of the TV and then put the two chairs facing each other on either side. I can't even find good photos of this option, buy you know what I'm saying, right? Maybe even get a couple more chairs so there would be a set on either side of the room. I got those on sale, so that wouldn't be too bad if I got them at the same price.

Pros of the one sofa layout: 

• Guests rarely sit on sofas. Have you ever noticed that? They sit in chairs or stand. I think it would be great for when we have company. (I think it makes it feel a little more intimate for that reason.)
• I love that we could just sit on the sofa anywhere and see the TV. 

Cons: 

• I think it could start to feel a little busy with four smaller furniture pieces. 
• Having the sofa at the "end" of the room kind of closes it off. 

Do you have either one of these family room layouts? How do you like them? I'd love to hear the good and the bad about both! I think I'll make a decision after we get in -- I'd like to see how the sofa looks in the room first, and then decide if it will feel too tight for two. 

Affiliate links included for your convenience!

This content is property of Thrifty Decor Chick LLC. If you are reading this on any other site other than www.thriftydecorchick.com or one of her social media platforms, please contact her immediately (thriftydecorchick at gmail dot com). Any other use of this content is strictly forbidden.

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