Friday, May 21, 2010

Great Expectations

I am sooo happy and excited that many of you readers are excited to see what I do with our new space. But I have to put out this small PSA.

Buying a house is very expensive. Fixing this house up is also very expensive. Because of this, I will not be able to decorate everything immediately.

I know, big unhappy face. But it's actually a good thing. I think spaces should breath and grow along with the homeowners. When I work with clients, I like to give them spaces that they can continuously add to (and subtract from). Because your home is a reflection of you, and you are always growing and evolving. Cheesy, eh? But true.

There will not be room reveals every month.. in fact many of the rooms I have no idea what I'm going to do with. (Like our master bedroom!!). And I'm pretty sure our formal living room will be empty for a long while. But what I WILL be doing is a lot of painting and upcycling things we already have. I'll also be acquiring unique and beautiful (and inexpensive) things from antique stores and Craigslist. There will be a lot of reupholstering. And when we are able to, I'll buy a new sofa and bed.

I'm also very busy with work (yay!), so finding time to decorate for myself is another challenge. But it's a very good thing that I'm very thankful for.

I hope I am not disappointing anyone! I just wanted to put it out there. :)

Although I don't know exactly what I want to do with our new spaces, I am looking out for inspiration pictures of how I want our space to feel. Here a couple of those images...








[ Canadian House & Home ]




[ Nest Interior Design ]









ps- do you ever wonder about my husband? See, he's probably my biggest fan and I'm very lucky that he is always approving of everything I do.. and tells me it looks great. As long as I don't spend too much money! :)

26 comments:

  1. Very heartfelt words Bryn. I'm glad you posted this. It always seems that we are in a rush to get things "perfect", but it's the journey that is the most enjoyable!

    ~Rachel~

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  2. I love all these looks and I'm sure you'll do a great job. It's fabulous inspiration to help you out.
    Congrats on the new home!

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  3. take your time! i made the mistake of trying to do too much when I first moved in, and I wish I wouldn't have. I think it's important to get a feel of how you guys are really going to live in the house and go from there. your formal living room might end up being something else!

    happy to see things are going so well for your business--keep up the good work!

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  4. I love your blog and look forward to readingit and looking at your photos everyday :) That is so exciting about your new house, and you have tons of time to figure out what you want to do with each room. shoot, i live in a 750 sq. ft. apartment in chicago and DREAM of owning a multiple bedroom house! Have fun with everything and i cant wait to see how your place evolves over time :)

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  5. The greatest frustration of owning a new home is not being able to do everything at once! But, you are so right...it is all about allowing yourself to live and grow in the space, letting it change with you and your needs! Good luck!

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  6. anyone who doesn't understand this probably hasn't bought and decorated a house :) I agree, the house will tell you what it needs as you live in it. the journey's half the fun!

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  7. I think your going about your new house perfectly! Take your time and do what suits you on your budget - we all have budgets :)

    We are doing our house the same way: one room at a time painting - using what we already have, checking out thirft stores and bargin shopping.

    We know we going to be living in our home for a long time and look foward to our house changing with us over time!

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  8. I TOTALLY get you. I just wrote about this same thing in February: http://wadeupdate.blogspot.com/2010/02/dining-room.html. And we've been in our house two years! But I'm definitely a believer in being patient to find what you want and being able to afford it.

    Btw, I started following you back when you lived in CA and I'm so glad you're loving NC! It really is a great state. Congrats on the house and good luck!

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  9. I love your inspiration photos! It is frustrating how long it takes, but like you said, rewarding too. I love the process, although I have had a few break downs, I CAN'T LIVE WITH THIS ANYMORE has been uttered more than I like to admit! PS, good luck and have fun!

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  10. No disappointment here! I absolutely feel you. We purchased our first home a year and a half ago. We had lived with our parents until then (we got married the week before) and so we had nothing but bedroom furniture. So 1 1/2 years later I really can't say that any room in our house is finished. There's definitely been lots of furniture added and some decor items, but nothing is 'finished' in my eyes. It really is such a process and requires lots of money! So take your time and wait for the right things to come along - I'll still e here reading whatever you've got!

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  11. I like the way you are thinking.

    Also, nice to know that raw wood and lucite can go together. I've always liked both and thought that was a little weird.

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  12. No one here is expecting you to make your house perfect overnight. Lack of tons of disposable income and time are realities that almost everyone faces. I think we are just excited for you to be able to have such a great canvas with which to work. So when you do have something fun to show, please do. No pressure!

    jbhat

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  13. Don't feel any pressure. You'll get to it all when you can and I'll be happy to see what you share along the way.

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  14. Great post! I agree with you. No sense in rushing to fill rooms with pieces that aren't loved and don't mean much. Also, a home is a living, breathing thing (or at least I tell my husband that). It changes. You have to take your time with it. Can't wait to see your progress!!

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  15. awww! i love these...your style is so covetable. and sounds like your hubby rocks! happy weekend bryn. xo

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  16. Totally understandable! I do hope that you will show us the "in progress" rooms though... I hate it when people won't share until it's perfect! I love the "in betweens" and the "just making do" updates too. :) Would especially like to see how a designer like yourself handles those very realistic phases!

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  17. I liked this post. I've been brushing my teeth in my bathtub since we bought our house 6 months ago, because I haven't gotten around to the bathroom sink situation.

    It does take time, you spend your life savings on buying the house, and then you have to budget out your money with non-glamourous things, like fixing the furnace, etc.

    Take your time and you might give yourself breathing room to make better decisions. There are things you can only see after living in it for a while.

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  18. I know how you feel - it's so tempting to want it all to be done and perfect and really, very few people can afford to decorate a house all at once.

    I'm struggling with this myself, too!

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  19. Love this post. I bought my first home last winter and sometimes beat myself up for how little progress I've made. Realistically, it's been better for me to enjoy the spaces as they are and figure out how to improve them to fit with how I live and how I want them to look. No one other than me has pressured me to get things done, and I'm guessing your readers won't pressure you. enjoy the process!

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  20. You are totally right! There is not pressure! We moved into a wonderful house in March and as excited as I am you are right on every front - it takes time and money AND you want to let it evolve! Enjoy it! Don't feel pressure!
    I'm a NC girl transplanted to DC so I am enjoying your posts from NC!

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  21. Great post! I agree with you. No sense in rushing to fill rooms with pieces that aren't loved and don't mean much. Also, a home is a living, breathing thing (or at least I tell my husband that). It changes. You have to take your time with it. Can't wait to see your progress!!

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  22. I like the way you are thinking.

    Also, nice to know that raw wood and lucite can go together. I've always liked both and thought that was a little weird.

    ReplyDelete
  23. I love your inspiration photos! It is frustrating how long it takes, but like you said, rewarding too. I love the process, although I have had a few break downs, I CAN'T LIVE WITH THIS ANYMORE has been uttered more than I like to admit! PS, good luck and have fun!

    ReplyDelete
  24. I think your going about your new house perfectly! Take your time and do what suits you on your budget - we all have budgets :)

    We are doing our house the same way: one room at a time painting - using what we already have, checking out thirft stores and bargin shopping.

    We know we going to be living in our home for a long time and look foward to our house changing with us over time!

    ReplyDelete
  25. I love your blog and look forward to readingit and looking at your photos everyday :) That is so exciting about your new house, and you have tons of time to figure out what you want to do with each room. shoot, i live in a 750 sq. ft. apartment in chicago and DREAM of owning a multiple bedroom house! Have fun with everything and i cant wait to see how your place evolves over time :)

    ReplyDelete
  26. I love all these looks and I'm sure you'll do a great job. It's fabulous inspiration to help you out.
    Congrats on the new home!

    ReplyDelete

THANK YOU for taking the time to share your thoughts. I appreciate each and every comment.

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