I shared a few photos from our new Sacramento area house early this month and in that post I alluded to the fact that yes, it's a very different style from our previous homes. I also mentioned that this "new-to-me style" is making me so excited. (If you want to see more of the house & property, here is a 9 minute walk-through video.)
If you have been here awhile (or followed along on Instagram) you know I tend toward "mid-century minimal" (although once I got a DM that my style was "Crate and Barrel circa 2010, and I mean that as a compliment"). This is because for the past nine years we have lived in two homes that were built in the 1960s. The first had a lot of actual mid-century details with the fireplace and ceiling (see a tour here) and the second one probably could have gone a different direction but coming from the first home, it made sense to just sort of lean into that minimal clean style (but with more blue. I loved blue in this house). See photos of our current home here.
The images above are clearly a kitchen, living room and then a primary bedroom and bathroom (that slanted ceiling over a tub should work for our new house! I am going to borrow square footage from the closet and add a skylight). They fit the "feeling" I think I am looking for but they also seem realistic for the house. They have a lot of things in common: wood, green, layers, beams, arches, paneling, paned windows, light. In a lot of ways it feels like "me" but with more texture.
You can see photo sources and more images on this Pinterest board.
I find that it's easiest to look for inspiration for the whole house first, before starting in any one room. In addition to Pinterest and Instagram, I am looking in books for ideas (and colors and patterns and products and mixes of all four). The library is an awesome resource for decor books and I have been making my way through the stacks these past few weeks. But I also ordered a used copy of The Tudor Home (which focuses on the American Tudor Revival period from the early 1900s) to see what sort of ideas I could find. So much of it doesn't translate directly to our built-in-the-1980s home, but that's normal! It's just about seeing new details and trying to figure out what might make sense for us.
Above is an example with a photo from The Tudor Home, page 191. I love the curved archway and think something like this could be replicated for the little hall that leads into our bedroom (on the right).
And here is an example of a dining room from the same book, page 196. The ceiling in that room is similar to the beamed ceiling in our bedroom (on the right). It could be fun to add texture like this.
We are years away from renovating these features but for my process, this whole house brainstorm method helps me get an overall feeling/style in my head. It will change a million times, but it's still a "framework" to go off and I find that building a framework is important for me to start a new project. (More on building a framework in this podcast episode if you're interested).
Part of my "beginning" process is also ordering samples. The above mix feels pretty right, right now! Lots of greens, some florals and warmth.
But what comes next? An idea framework is exciting! But how to actually start? What's first?
First, I have to say that we are so lucky because my parents live in Sacramento and are retired and "fixing up the house" is my dad's favorite hobby. This means so much of what we have planned for this next year will be DIY and it's a huge gift to have him able to make changes before we move in. He started two weeks ago by painting the garage white and he is also going to epoxy the floors (more on this soon).
And next we have a few things happening! We are going to have the (what we think are) white oak floors upstairs refinished. I am meeting a flooring pro up there next week to talk plans. I am not sure yet if we want to go lighter or darker but you can see that over the years they have gone a bit yellow. It will be nice to have them done before we move in furniture.
Also this fall I would like to do surfaces makeovers to the downstairs powder room (left) and laundry room (right). Both of these spaces feel like good places to start because they are small and don't require any new electrical or plumbing changes. They also feel like a good test spot to try this new style on! For the powder room I am going to be using wallpaper for the very first time. And for the flooring in the laundry room I hope to do something like this.
In the spring we plan to get the girls' bedrooms set up completely and I am sure at some point I will paint most of the walls white for a fresh slate, but other than that we do not have plans for major renovation. We would like to live in the house first to see how we use the space.
So... ha! That's it. That's the rough idea. We are getting started this next week on the powder room! More soon.
