Plan B. No, Really.....

...welcome back to the continuing story (saga?!) of 'project HOMEWARD' !

You've seen this image of the plot plan, site plan, and floor plan of our new house in a past post:

I have an image file that's been filling up with photos of the build in progress,

from bare dirt to complete house and everything in between
(I'll create a slideshow and share it when it's all done!)
but with our walk through and delivery date just TWO WEEKS AWAY,

I thought I'd share a bit of the detail about our new house...

 This is our floor plan...
'Plan B', according to the builder's schematic: Lot 101. Plan 1-B.

(some of the options are noted there; more about them in the future...
and let me tell ya', selecting all of those options is daunting - but FUN!)

The house is wonderful and spacious,

 and there's one particular thing we love most: NO STAIRS!
There are days when we literally drag our poor selves up three levels to the bedrooms in the current house, groaning and wincing in pain, and we don't like that reminder that we are old. Not one bit.

So this one-level house is a dream! 

The layout of the house is more than perfect for the two of us and our lifestyle...
it's the SECOND reason we both fell in love with it.
(along with the 'no stairs' thing!)

There are two bedrooms located at the front of the house, 

and two more bedrooms (including the Master) located at the back.
This gives us both privacy and space for our own activities, offices, etc.
in addition to the main living spaces that we'll share.
The rooms at the front of the house will be my bedroom and 'sitting room/office'
where I run my business (and BLOG!), 

while Mom gets the luxurious master suite at the back.
The room is so huge that she plans to put her desk/office in there, as well.

The 'guest room' is also going to serve as our craft room...
We'll set up the sewing machine there, have the closet for storage, 

and I am going to build at least one work table on wheels
that can fit over the bed, but easily move out of the way for guests.
That way, it's not a room that is used only once a month... it's used a LOT!

We thought about making the laundry room 'multi purpose' and putting the craft table there,
but there's already gonna' be enough going on in that room on a daily basis.
The guest room is a more workable plan.
(We also have a workbench for the garage for heavy-duty projects.)

For us, this use of the space just makes sense.
We're re-thinking not just how our existing  furnishings and decor  will be re-used,
but also how the house's square footage can best be utilized for our every day life.

Even if you've lived in your house for YEARS, you can do this...
look at the space with a fresh eye and stop letting past use determine future use.

Is your big dining room a catch-all for junk, but never used as an eating space - 
while your tiny den is the gathering place during meals to watch TV?
Switch 'Em! 
Move the comfy sofas and the TV into the bigger room,
add a huge coffee table at a higher height, and eat in comfort while you watch the game.
Put the dining room table and chairs in the tiny den for homework or games.
Why NOT? There are no 'room police' who will report you.
There are no 'home decor rules' which CAN'T be broken
(even though hundreds of internet articles SAY there are)...
it's YOUR house. Use the space the way YOU want to!
Make your OWN Plan B!

Our other Fave Features in the new house?
*The laundry room is IN THE HOUSE, not the garage!
After 36 years of schlepping laundry to and from the garage, my Mom is THRILLED about this! 
*Speaking of garages.... it's a 3 car garage! BOTH of our cars will fit inside
(which is something that hasn't happened at either of our homes.... EVER....)

plus a one-car garage space that will house shelving for storage of all the party stuff. 
*There is a covered loggia / patio off the dining room,

which expands our entertaining space. Did I mention we LOVE throwing parties?!
*The main living spaces are big, wide, and open with lots of sunlight.
No more tiny kitchen shut off from the party!
*The kitchen has more than THREE TIMES the counter space and storage

as the one my Mom has had for the past 36 years (which was built in 1972).
She's excited about her 'Party-Planning Headquarters'!
*Off the kitchen, there's a hallway. In the hallway, there's a spot for a WINE BAR!
(We will be located in wine country, after all...
and having lots of parties. Did I mention that?)

There's a lot more to love, and you'll be hearing about that in my upcoming posts.
Next Post? Our choices for the surfaces!
(They are installing the flooring right now, as I type this, and we hope to see it TOMORROW!)

Out with the Old....

Everyone knows the golden rule of selling a house...

no, it's not 'location, location, location'.
It's 'neutralize, neutralize, neutralize'!

A construction crew came last week to remove the trellis wall treatments

and to paint over the mural in the downstairs powder room.

Years ago (90? 91?) I painted a mural of a vineyard scene in it,

and Mom had Dad install white trellising to the other walls and ceiling

then hung silk grapevines and grape clusters from it.
Her family room and patio had a 'wine country' theme, and this room played off of that.

In 2013, I redecorated the house to reflect my parent's love of Hawaii
(while they were vacationing in Hawaii!)

and painted a new beach scene on the powder room wall.

(you can see that project in my Thrifty Weekend Makeover series!)

When the contractor finished, it was beige. Just...... beige.

 But it's a small room and it needs to 'look bigger' (???) to prospective buyers

....so this is what we do. We 'neutralize'.
We remove every vestige of our personalities from the house 

so that prospective buyers can 'picture themselves living here' -
as opposed to them seeing exactly how WE have lived here.
This is what real estate agents tell clients now: Erase yourself from the property.

Meanwhile the encroaching stacks of empty folded boxes are dwindling
and the stacks of packed boxes is growing in every single room.
Surfaces are empty, spaces are starting to echo,
and it really looks like we are moving at last.
.
It's gonna' get harder.
Not just the physical work of lifting and hauling,

or the emotional work of sorting and purging,

but the emotional impact of finding hidden memories

in rooms once so filled with life.

As excited as Mom and I are about this move, the new house, 

the new opportunities and a bright shiny next chapter that this move brings,

there's a lot of history here in these rooms.
History that is happy and joyful, and history that is sad and heartbreaking.
Our family's happiness and sorrow soaks the atmosphere,

and as the rooms empty out, 

those memories echo in our hearts.

I can't look at the staircase without seeing generations of our family -
my parents, my siblings, our children, my children's children -
posed on it, year after year, for photos...

And that's just one memory.

HOME means so many things...
fortunately we carry home with us in our memories no matter where we go.

Sorting. Packing. Shopping? uh oh.

Project HOMEWARD  - our new house - continues to move forward, 

with lots of visible progress on the job site and also with our packing.
oh, Lord, the PACKING. Mom's been in this house 36 YEARS. I feel like this photo most days.

I promised you that I'd show you the FIRST thing we purchased for the new house...
Be patient... there's a story there!

I am totally into vintage industrial style. LOOOOVE it.
One day about seven years ago, I got a huge vintage scale FREE on Craigslist.
please don't hate me. she nearly broke my arms carrying her, if that helps!
She lived in my little seasonal store for awhile, and then we moved her into my kitchen:

Four years ago, I left my dream home and my island, and came back to SoCal.

 I've admired industrial style decor from afar since then,
because it's just not something I can do while living in my parent's home.

Well......... that's changing!
Mom has been watching HGTV's Fixer*Upper with me. And it's rubbing off on her!

Like so many of you, we love JoJo's style. 
It's very much like my own, and Mom has seen how I decorate my houses over the years...
 but honestly, when it comes to making design choices for the new house, 

Mom is amazing me by broadening her views to include a more industrial, farmhouse style!
We won't have a house that looks like Joanna decorated it, 

but similar components - like the white cabs and wood flooring and stainless appliances

and vintage accessories that tell OUR story - will certainly be part of it.
Shiplap? Maybe ;)

so...
Back in January, we were at a flea market (Trading Post 1908 here in Southern California)
and as we perused the vendor booths, we saw a few scales for sale...
we found a scale that was actually exactly like the one on Joanna's kitchen counter.

But we kept walking. I wasn't 'feeling it' and Mom wasn't, either.
We knew we WANTED a scale for our {{huge}} new kitchen island,

but it had to be the right scale and look.

Then we headed toward the last booth at the show
and all of a sudden Mom started walking faster.
She was makin' a beeline toward something, and I just tried to keep up.

She went to the far back corner of the booth and stopped, and then I saw it...
and I gasped. Really. Because I knew it was perfect. And so did Mom.
It was sitting there holding a ceramic bowl of bright yellow lemons
and had us at hello:

We can just picture it in our kitchen, 

holding a stack of vintage cookbooks and a jar of cookie cutters, 

or a terra cotta pot of basil - or a bowl of lemons.

Honestly, it's a smaller twin of the one that I used to have!

And the BEST part? the story.
 That's what homewardFOUNDdecor - and project homeward - is all about:
Telling our own stories through the way we decorate and celebrate!

Like what you see in my photos?

Learn about those FREE shelves made from upcycled cabinets !
Make your own giant chalkboard using my tutorial!

Movin' On!

Have you ever moved to a new (to you) house?
Have you scratched your head and wondered 'How am I gonna' make THIS work there?'?

Have you had nightmares about what you need to buy for the new place?
I have a plan to help you with that!

I hinted in my first post last month that there were some big things ahead this year...

things that spurred me to come out of my 'Blogging Break'. (missed that post? it's here ) 

Mom and I have been working on something since October

that will take a huge leap forward at the end of March.
So huge that EVERYTHING will change for us...
we're moving on into our future!


What's that? You wanna' know what this huge thing is?
Oh, okay, sure.... it's.....

After relocating from Orange County to the Temecula area at the end of March, 

we'll be taking on the utterly exciting task of decorating a brand.new.house!

We've got Pinterest boards and file folders and brains overflowing with ideas.
We've got color palettes and landscaping ideas and wall treatments inhabiting our dreams.

Our plans mix Mom's style with MY style, to create 'our' style...

which is a little bit farmhouse, and a little bit beach house,

a little bit contemporary, and a little bit industrial, a little bit rustic, and a little bit feminine!
 

Here's where homewardFOUNDdecor comes in:

I'm going to be sharing our process of
* making design choices for the house
and what inspires us as we mix our two styles

* deciding what furniture to KEEP and what to let go

* how to re-think, re-design, and re-use items in new spaces
* giving an empty, new builder home a vintage vibe with easy projects

 My goal is to inspire you and give you ideas for your OWN home - 
whether you move to a new location or you just rearrange what you have where you are!

Yes, we'll be buying a few new things...
but our plan is to re-use, re-purpose, and re-design as much as we can.
It's about inspiration, and ideas, and hands-on fun.
You've seen my Mom's house in the Thrifty Tropical Weekend Makeover series,

and now you'll be able to see how we totally change the look for the new house!

We're calling it 'Project HOMEward'...
and hope you'll join us here each week... we've got a lot to share with you!

(Yes, I'll still be sharing my seasonal decor ideas and projects, too!) 
Coming up next: the options/finishes we chose
and the first thing we bought for the house!