Welcome August - A Quick Home Tour

Welcome August! I'm so grateful to be back east! So much has happened in the past year - In August last year, we were getting ready for Jeff to have back surgery. In September, just after Jeff's surgery /recovery, he got promoted - to a store here in North Carolina. In October, we had to house hunt, and lucked out finding a new home (within two weeks) in the Triad area. We purchased the home (basically via online from Arizona), and I began the purging and packing process - while Jeff had to report to his new job in North Carolina. In November, the movers arrived, loaded our Arizona rental home, and drove across the country (even in one of the early winter storms). We also closed on the house, and began the process of cleaning and painting (the common areas) before the movers arrived. A few days before Thanksgiving, the movers arrived, and (chaotically) unpacked the truck they unloaded the same day.

Since then, little by little, Jeff and I have transformed this house into our home - updating builder light fixtures, changing switches, refinishing furniture finds, organizing closets + garage, and still purging / donating items no longer fitting our new lifestyle + the energy of our new location, along with also updating the front yard and back deck.

Is the house perfect now? 
Not by any means, but together, we've done a lot, in a little bit of time, and without taking out a loan for any major renovations. How have we done this? By pacing ourselves - taking on projects in phases, a little at a time - and saving some of the larger projects for after living in the space, and living with what we really need, vs. overextending ourselves for what we want. 

Have there been hick-ups along the way? 
You betcha! The first shower Jeff took in this house created a leak downstairs to the (furnished) living room. In April, the dishwasher leaked - so badly, Jeff had to cut the ceiling open downstairs to allow the water to drain out - and aimed a small heater on a ladder to dry it out, before he repaired the ceiling. In May, the hot water heater died (thankfully no burst!), and had to be replaced. 

Best part of the move...
Thankfully, now that we're back east, we've been able to break away with road trips and even a trip down to Florida...

 

Catching up with long time friend, Diane, in Orlando, FL in June...

Yay! Made it to the east-coast beach - even better: in Florida!

 Jeff and Sammi - Graduation Day!

In between home repairs, we've been able to visit with family plus do more traveling: We drove to Atlanta in February - I attended DBC & Atlanta Market Day, while Jeff visited his mom. In March, my mom came up to visit us. In April, I attended High Point Market + the design showhouse. In June, we flew down to Florida for Jeff's niece's graduation, and we took a day trip over to Raleigh. We're planning on Jeff's mom coming up for Thanksgiving, plus my mom and aunt might be coming to visit in October (fingers crossed!) It's so good to be able to see family again...

 Historic Oakwood, Raleigh, NC

 Downtown K-ville, NC

 Architectural Salvage, Greensboro, NC

Living Local
Along with some major travel, I've also gotten to know a little more around my new area: Back in February, we went wine tasting at some local vineyards, and hope to visit more in the fall. I've also visited museums and farmers markets, the Reynolds Gardens in Winston-Salem, toured a historic district in Raleigh - plus check out a few local consignment shops such as the Red Collection in Greensboro, Furniture Emporium in Winston Salem, an architectural salvage shop in Greensboro, and a great Antique-Thrift shop down in High Point. I don't go thrifting here as much as I did in Phoenix - clothing consignment isn't as strong as it was in Scottsdale, so for fashion updates, I have had to turn to online sources such as Tradesy and ThredUp.

East Coast Style
Of course, the 'fun' part of moving, is having new spaces to create, organize, and personalize - pet friendly spaces to live in. I've shared some of the outdoor projects here on the blog, improvements and transformations - now it's time to take a peek inside. I've been sharing the transformations as they've happened over time on Facebook, but not everyone is on Facebook (like my mom or family!! lol) Here is a peek at some of the transformed and settled spaces for Harmon House...

Master Bedroom

 Dressing Room - Accessory Closet

Home Office

Guest Den

 

Entry Hall - Foyer 

Thrift Chair Makeover (Sephora's favorite spot!)

 Painted all doors black - Maintained existing brass hardware...

 

Dining Room

 Summer Style - Living Room

 There is still more we have done and still more to do - such as paint and set Jeff's mancave, a guest room downstairs, eventually remodel the master bathroom, and figure out where the Christmas tree will be this year - but for now (that my summer battle with bronchitis seems be be passing), I hope to inspire you in the next few posts, while sharing some of the details of the transformations that have happened! 

Good-bye July! Welcome August!

Grateful to be back east!

Stay tuned for inspiring transformation details and thanks for stopping by!

Getting Settled In Our New Home

It's hard to believe, but not only was May our eight year wedding anniversary, but it was also our six month anniversary since moving from Arizona to here in North Carolina! I can't express in words how thrilled both the hubs and I are to be back east - except to start sharing some of what we've been up to transforming the house into our home, especially outside, and hopefully inspire you along the way. One of the joys we had missed the most when we moved from Miami to AZ was outdoor living. Slowly but surely, we've been able to bring that way of living back into our lifestyle -- after waiting for the snow and freezing temps from winter to pass. Although it had started to warm up a bit in April, it rained often, and I was attending High Point Market - but afterwards, we have been spending every Sunday outside - rain or shine (I even had gotten sick, but thankfully after a week, it passed). Jeff is happy he is able to grill on the deck, without having to walk down stairs and through the garage to get to the yard (like he had to do in AZ). Even Sephora isn't as frightened as she was in AZ to be outside - here on the deck only - and she especially loves watching all the birds in the trees, and occasional squirrel...

With Summer approaching, the deck space has been wonderful, especially to watch the fireflies light up the forest behind us!

There is so much we would like to do to the house, both inside and out, but we have to pace ourselves - to avoid burnout (and burning through our budget). We've gotten a great deal done inside though we've paused a bit on the inside, now that the weather has been so beautiful. Since outdoor living now has a shorter time frame (vs. FL or AZ), we've focused our energy & time outside. (I'll share inside shortly - stay tuned!!) Between watching local plant sales, cleaning up - pulling weeds, changing out mulch, fertilizer, watering, seeding, plus adding a few new plants, small changes are helping to make a big difference. And Monday, the shutters getting painted, should also help to make for a more crisp looking curb appeal out front. For the back yard, the (double) deck is scheduled to be getting repaired and stained (charcoal grey) later in June - but just cleaning it up last November and adding some plants now for Spring has made a big difference from the day we closed...

 Sneak Peek at lower deck (before it gets stained next month)... 

And what the deck was, the day we closed back in November...

It was actually MUCH worse the day before we closed - I don't know how they cleared it, but they did (more car parts, an old bike, and a Nautilus weight lifting machine (NOT a bench) got cleared... This is the loveliness left behind...

 

Thankfully, I was able to schedule a donation pick-up from Goodwill to come haul this "stuff" away...

One of the big clean-ups first happened before the movers arrived with our truck, back on November 22 - We had to clear-out the junk-yard left behind from the previous owners (which was actually worse the day before we closed - thankfully, they cleared out most of their belongings, but still left behind remnants of their auto repairs they used to do here (and from what we've heard, the neighbors just loved - insert sarcasm here). But that's in the past, and we're moving forward...

 

Outdoor Shed Organizing

 

 

Outdoor Shed Organizing

Winter came and so did snow (Jeff's first!!) So we really couldn't do much outside, except get the now Potting Shed organized with gardening tools, containers, and outdoor decor  I've collected from gardening in Florida -- plus baskets I collected in Arizona. It's a great storage space, giving  more space to the garage (for Jeff's truck), and I couldn't wait to start pulling out pots from the shed after the winter passed to start planting... 

First Day of Spring - Lowe's - 38 degrees and raining!!

In mid-March, my mom came to visit which prompted me to start sourcing the local Lowe's and Home Depot nurseries for some Spring greens + flowering plants. I started with two large Boston ferns for the deck and two potted flowering plants for the front door, to pair with two small arborvitae (conifer) I had picked up back in December. While my mom was visiting in March, I also lucked out and found triple tier topiaries at Home Depot, but since another cold front was coming, they needed to stay inside. 

 

Topiaries from Home Depot - High Point

 

Orchid Pavilion - Inspiration from the Greensboro Ideal Home Show

After mom's visit, Jeff and I attended a Home Show in Greensboro, where we were able to get information and promotion specials on deck refinishing, pest control, and lawn care (treatment). Thankfully, our neighbor was also able to give us the name of a reliable / affordable lawn cutting service to hire. The places we've lived before were maintained by the community - the lawn care (cutting) is new for us. And to invest in all the right tools to care for ourselves takes time to learn, so at least for this first year, someone else is cutting & edging the lawn. Jeff did find a good Spring deal on an edger / weed-whacker, so he has been able to help in between cuttings (especially on the grade change sloped in the back) - and it fits great in the shed along with bags of garden soil,  potting soil, fertilizer, a spade, rakes - and eventually: a lawn mower!

In April, the Home Improvement centers were all having their Black Friday sales, which Jeff and I both took full advantage of - from new black mulch, soil and rocks, to ground cover, small shrubs, and flowering plants. One of the best gardening tips I ever learned was from HGTV's Paul the Gardening Guy who shared how much of a savings it is to buy smaller plants of the larger species you're wanting -- Since this planting zone is new to me (as is gardening with these seasonal changes), I thought this was wise advice. I only bought smaller shrubs plus I also kept an eye out for the 4 for $10 specials (again, a huge help when you're trying to do a lot with a little). Eventually, I'd like to change the front walk-way, and line it with a low sculpted boxwood leading to the door, but right now, we need to get the grass growth, weeds, and even a pesky mole under control. Sadly, the previous owners didn't really care for the property, and the little bit of TLC we've been giving it has already been appreciated by the neighbors.

 Our deck in early March (left), the day we returned from Atlanta (Design Bloggers Conference) - and the deck now in May, before getting repaired + stained this coming June. (And a sneak peek at a former water garden we transformed into a rock garden).

These two wicker chairs I had scored at Goodwill back in AZ (they were white), and I refreshed them here with a new coat of matte black. The peek at the Greek Key rug (5x7) you see here is a NC score I made at a local consignment shop.

 

When I was first learning about where to shop thrift and consignment shops back in December, I had found 2 small Greek Key concrete planters. Later in Spring, we attended the Liberty Antiques Show and I found two more, medium sized planters, for the deck. Inside it is a plant called a Hot Head (another arborvitae).

 Our back yard view - When we moved in Fall, November 2014 and now for Spring May 2015

   
This Memorial Weekend, we were able too actually enjoy some of the fruits, or rather herbs, of our labor. Jeff started his first vegetable / herb garden in a raised bed, just off an underused side of our deck. No tomatoes (yet!) but with the parsley and basil Jeff picked yesterday, I was able to make us a delicious pesto sauce we've used as a spread, and I'd like to use to make my mom's tortellini salad...

Jeff's first garden - Raised bed from Home Depot.

Homemade pesto from homegrown basil & parsley.

As I mentioned, I'll share more of the projects we've done together and some refinishing projects I've done too, but while the weather is great outside, I'll be sharing some of our outdoor living projects, and also hopefully getting back my 'blog voice' that seems have gotten a little lost lately. 

Here is a sneak peek at the foyer, plus a list of projects we've done over the past 6 months, I'll be writing about...

During painting process (dining room already painted here) - November 2014

 Foyer - After painted, styled, and builder basic light fixture changed.

Although this isn't a new house (since it was built in 2005), some of the interior projects we've been able to complete since moving in six months ago have included:

Picking Paint Colors

Move-in & Closet Organizing

Installing Window Treatments

Refinishing & Updating Brass Hardware

Painting All Interior Doors Black

Painting Master Bedroom Doors Charcoal

Refinishing 2 Oak Bathroom Cabinets to Grey

Setting up a New Home Office

Refinishing a L-Shaped Consignment Desk

Creating A Stairway Gallery

Creating a Welcoming Small Foyer 

Updating Builder Light Fixtures

Setting a Guest Den

Decorating A Master Bedroom

Restyling the Dining Room

Refinishing Chairs & Tables

Secondhand Style Sourcing Furniture Finds 

Another sneak peek, here at the master bedroom...

 

Master Bedroom BEFORE

 Master Bedroom After

The only project we hired someone to complete, (besides painting the common areas & bathrooms when we moved in) was having someone install a pair of wood French Doors I refinished, to create a new accessory walk-in closet in the master bedroom, which I'm sure the next homeowner will greatly appreciate!

 This house was built in 2005, so it's already 10 years old - but it is a terrific layout + location for us. I love the symmetrical and classic look of the exterior front, we both love the relaxed outdoor deck space, overlooking a (now) rich green forest, plus the house is  comfortable for guests (according to mom!) and the neighborhood is quiet and friendly too. The deck will be great for entertaining with a few more tweaks - but again, we're pacing ourselves, doing a little at a time.

Happy 6 Month Anniversary of Harmon House and Happy 8 years (married, but 12 together!) of The Davids!

 Bye for now from Harmon House!

Thanks for stopping by and stay tuned for easy home project updates!

Relocation & Home Organization: 3 Months After Move

As exciting as moving to a new location and a new home can be, it can also be very exhausting - both physically and mentally. Just as important as it is to get, be, and stay organized throughout the moving process, the importance of pacing yourself is crucial. Pacing yourself during and after a move can help keep you sane by not getting frustrated with yourself when things aren't necessarily going as fast or as planned as you'd like them to be. As excited as I was to be moving back east, the move has definitely had its highs and lows. The lows being a mess behind closed doors that is out of sight, isn't necessarily out of mind, plus dealing with all the damage claims from the movers unpacking the same day they unloaded. The highs though have been cutting through the clutter, purging and donating - but pacing myself - one space at a time - and by no means going for perfectly decorated spaces, but rather comfort zones we can live with until tackling larger scale plans such as adding crown molding in the master or remodeling a bathroom. With this move, some spaces I've knocked out on my own while Jeff is at the store, such as organizing kitchen cupboards, the home office plus closet, bathrooms, our bedroom plus clothing closets, and continuing to paint doors and trim. Some tasks we've tackled together, either at night or on a Sunday, such as installing drapery rods, a new dining room chandelier (from my mom) and putting together a desk I scored at a local consignment shop and I refinished. here is a peek at some of the house transformations completed this January, our third month in North Carolina since moving from Arizona...

 

We lived through the holidays with the existing Tiffany-style chandelier, but I ordered this 5-lite drum chandelier from NY Lighting. it was on back-order, but still arrived at expected time (mid-January).

 

Jeff has been great about installing those projects requiring the drill and electrical...

 Although the space may still need an area rug, it's a little softer now since reusing some of my existing curtain rods and these burnout sheers (I actually had scored thrifting back in AZ, and had used in our living room, here.)

 

Found a fantastic pedestal table for a more casual eating area between kitchen and living room...

 

It just needed a little TLC with Magic Erase + touch-up wood stain pens and polish...

This weekend I found a great circular lantern light fixture to hang over the pedestal table - A great deal at the habitat for Humanity ReStore: only $35 vs. $350 for new.

 After Christmas, I neutralized our living room, removing the reds, and layering in my 'go-to' favorite pairing: Black & White. Along with the touch of pattern layering, I also brought up two black & white framed pictures I had gotten last Summer at HomeGoods, and used them as the focal point behind the sofa en lieu of the gold painted mirror...

 I wanted to get the round mirror back up above the wall unit, since I removed the AZ cow skull, but I didn't want to keep it gold (I painted it gold back in 2013). Since I do have some touches of gold, (the brass hardware on the black doors), I just painted the outer rim of the mirror with the same paint as the doors - but it actually came through as a charcoal (because it's on the gold) and I really like it!

 Although no major changes in the Study (my office), I have started to layer in some white flowers (a friend lovingly calls 'forever flowers') and picked up a pair of more graphic, navy pillows from Target, to pair with my organic print blue & white panels plus sea-fan wall art I found at HomeGoods back in Phoenix.

 

 But now the home office, is definitely where most of the months focus was on, from paint, to refinishing a desk and organizing the space...

 

Painted the home office with a splurge: Ralph Lauren Paint from Home Depot...

I found a great deal on a solid wood, L-shaped desk for our home office, and finally donated the old 90's particle-board desk -- Next will be to update the bookcases, but like I said before, gotta pace yourself (or you'll get into a financial hole).

 

The home office is still a mix of old and new (to us) - The small table, I used to have in Sephora's room in AZ, has come in handy to hold the new printer, just under the TV Jeff mounted with a tilting wall mount - so the TV can also be watched from the small sofa - a great little "After Christmas Clearance" find at the store "At Home" (formally Garden Ridge).

 

Sephora is enjoying the new home office too...

Along with hanging the light fixture downstairs, painting and organizing the home office upstairs, the bedroom also got a little attention -- I had been looking for crystal finial hardware for the 4 windows, which was a little hard to come by (without breaking the bank) but I finally found 4 of the same rods in HomeGoods!

The rods pair great with the gunmetal grey jacquard window panels I found online at jcpenney.com. Together, both are creating much needed winter warmth on the bare windows we lived with through the holidays - and the room is also much darker now, for a much better nights sleep!

Along with the panels in the bedroom, I also added a pair in the bathroom, along with some floating shelves for toiletries storage. The black shelves I had used in AZ are in the powder room now, and the black just didn't look or feel right in this bathroom (which needs to be remodeled, but we're planning that now and budgeting to happen in 2016) in the meantime, I had the space painted grey when we moved in, and I picked up some white floating shelves from Target, along with a few new pretty glass containers from HomeGoods - for cotton balls, q-tips, and bath salts... and even the white garden stool I had gotten at HomeGoods back in Phoenix, has come in handy for extra towels next to the tub...

 This month, I'm planning on painting the oak cabinet a darker grey, which can temporarily help to update the bathroom until we remodel.

Besides the bathroom and the bedroom getting some love (ha ha), the closets did too. We have a (small) walk-in, U-shaped closet, which is tight for two (especially a fashionista!) but since we also have a small area adjacent to the bedroom, which could be used for exercise, a small office or a small nursery, we turned it into an accessory closet. This is a HUGE help with clothing storage space, because now all the clothing fits in the walk-in, and all my accessories (bags, shoes, boots, jewelry, perfume, cosmetics, and mani-pedi things) are ALL in this space -converting it into more of a dressing room area...

Now I can't add a lovely hanging chandelier in here since the attic pull-down access is right here, but I was able to maximize the space with the ClosetMaid untis from Home Depot, Jeff built for me one Sunday, and I couldn't wait to empty the guest room closet to fill it up!

Talk about utilizing every square inch of space!

 I kept the top shelf  'light', so if we need to access the attic, things can easily shift - and to layer in some glamour into the space, I repurposed the gold gallery wall of mirrors, I previously had as the focal point in the living room for two years in AZ, you can read about here.) now in the dressing room - along with a fun framed vintage print. Keeping the clear storage totes helps to keep dust off seasonal shoes plus maximize space (think NY vertical - within that one shoebox space, 2-3 additional totes fit, giving more shelf space for other items, like bags.

For breaks from getting the house in order, I've been scouting out the new areas, using my exploration time to learn the area, traffic patterns, new routes, and remember landmarks - some of which, I must admit, has been a little frustrating at times. What's frustrating is not having some of the regular "go-to" shops as close as I'd like them to be (such as Home Depot vs. Lowes), and of the probably six actual thrift stores I've been in... they have all been strike outs. Thankfully, learning some of the area's consignment shops has been the bright spot, definitely to help save money when purchasing some of the new needs for the new spaces. I'm looking forward to the weather warming up to also explore some of the local farmers markets, historic sites, art walks, and wineries!

After moving - Donate + Recycle + Purge to get organized! Thankfully, Goodwill does pick-ups!

 

On one of the more warmer days, outside got cleaned up and I organized the potters shed - can't wait to get in there and start planting come Spring!

And somewhere in the mix, I went had got my hair cut & colored, my eyes checked and getting use to bi-focals (which is frustrating!!), got my new drivers license, the car registered, and a new personalized tag on the way!

Along with getting the house in order, especially now that the holidays have passed (mind you - everything featured above has all happened since after Christmas!) , I've also helped Jeff with updating some 'behind the scenes' areas in his new store (such as updating the reception area, hallways, and break-room), I registered to attend Design Blogger Conference coming up in Atlanta at the end of February, I've continued my weekly writing contributions for the Hadley Court interior design blog, I'm making arrangements for my mom to fly up and visit at the end of March, and most recently I accepted an invite to be one of this Spring's High Point Market sponsored bloggers coming up in April - which I'm super thrilled about! I'm so grateful for all that has happened these past three months - both the highs and the lows. In all, I'd have to say, 2015 is looking to be a pretty awesome year ahead!

 One Sunday evening, I went with Jeff, and met a team of 4 of his associates and they painted while I helped purge and organize the reception area, hallways, and break-room. The break-room is still a work in progress - because Jeff too needs to pace himself (and the store's budget) but what has been updated, his new team loves and he's even inspired his District manager to update their hallway, since this is the District store...

Looking back through all these pictures, seeing what we've been able to accomplish the past month makes me proud... and also no wonder I wasn't blogging as much!! lol But If you're friends with me on Facebook, you know I've been sharing many of these photos, projects and details along the way this past month - It's just now in the "Pinterest Era", it's more important to not only to select those "pinworthy" images, they also need to be watermarked, which all takes time to do - but I will get back into the blogging swing of things - oh look a squirrel! lol - I say that because Jeff jokes about how distracted I get, trying to do too much at once :)

Thanks for stopping by!