The original paint before we covered it! It looked great just felt a little dull to us. We love these floors, they are original which is so wonderful!

 

Since I’ve been receiving a lot of questions about the new house, the paint colors we chose and a few other things I figured it would be easiest to answer them here. I also snapped a few iPhone photos before we started painting so I thought I would share a few ‘before’ photos of what it looked like when we purchased it! The house is in great condition so all we really wanted to do before we moved in was paint the whole place and rip up the carpet in the master bedroom and refinish the floors. 

In our heads that didn’t seem like a ton but by the time we got estimates, found people we liked (that were available) and actually started the work it was almost a month. The floors are set to be finishing up this week and our tentative move date is this Saturday so let’s hope it all goes according to plan. 

I will say picking paint and finding vendors would have been so brutal without the help of Kari Ferris from Bittners. She’s been a friend forever (we grew up together) but I had never used an interior designer before and wasn’t really sure I needed one. When we bought this house Trevor and I talked it through ourselves and also chatted with some of our friends who had used a designer. Every single one recommended it so much! Each of them felt like they had actually saved money in the long run because designers know what they are doing and make the process so seamless. Although I have visions for our home and a strong sense of style it’s still hard for me to make everything look cohesive without help. 

Kari narrowed down paint colors as well as coordinated the vendors, placed paint orders, you name it. Honestly, without her we would have been lost and maybe gone through rounds of help. I’ll hopefully be sharing some after photos plus inspiration boards for what we are hoping to achieve in the next few weeks so stay tuned for that!

 

How old is the house and how big is it? 

Our house was built in 1905 and is in a historic preservation district. It has a century marker on the front and any changes we would want to make to the outside would have to be approved. In the beginning we were a bit hesitant about this but we have actually grown to love it. We love that no one will be buying and tearing down a house on our street and throwing up apartments or a modern home and it’s nice to know that the neighborhood feel we love so much will remain. After living in rentals for so long we really wanted something we knew we wouldn’t grow out of quickly. It’s 4 bedroom with 3 1/2 bathrooms and a little over 4200 square feet. It has a nice open floor plan which we loved and we plan on staying for a while!

 

What did you want to do before you moved in? 

We painted every single inch of the house to really freshen it up. You can see in the pictures that it was more of a beige color before and we thought some whites and grays would just brighten everything! We also ripped up the carpet in the master bedroom and repaired the original flooring as well as refinished the floors throughout. 

 

Are you doing any big renovations?

Yes! First on our list is the kitchen but we may not get to that till next year. We really want to just live in our place and get a feel for what we like where before we go demolishing anything. We would also like to eventually remodel the master and second bath but that’s about it for now!

 

What style do you see for this house? 

Our home is a bit traditional but has all the details I love in older homes. The paneling, original hardwood floors, door handles you name it—I love that stuff. We are really hoping to cherish all of that while making the home fresh, comfortable andl a great place for entertaining. I see the dining room as the place we will take the most risks and have fun with! 

 

What paint colors did you use? 

Everything we used was from Benjamin Moore’s “Ben” line and all Kari’s recommendations. It’s hard to know what a swatch will look like when covering a whole wall and it helps for someone to come into your home and help you with that. It was crazy how she knew what would change inside our home and what wouldn’t so do beware that colors look so different in different homes. I asked Kari and she does do remote consultations so if you don’t already have someone helping you out I can’t reccomend her enough! 

 

Foyer/Hallway/Stairwell/Kitchen/Bar/Den/Butler’s Pantry – Classic Gray #OC-23

Living Room – Simply White #OC-117

Master Bedroom – Shoreline #1471

Master Closet/Hall/Master Bathroom – Simply White #OC-55

Zain’s Bedroom/Office – Paper White

Second Floor Bath – Balboa Mist #1549

Playroom/Media Room – Classic Gray

3rd Floor Bedroom/Bathroom – Shoreline

Brick – White (High Gloss) #OC-151

 

We left the dining room and the half bath on the first floor alone because we are planning to wallpaper both! If you have any great wallpaper recommendations feel free to send them over. There are so many it’s overwhelming! 

 

Did your stairs have carpet on them? 

No. I actually debated using a stair runner but we love the original wood so much we plan on keeping it the way it is for now!

 

A peek into the formal living room! I love the fireplaces in our place and their detail. Hoping to make this a bit fancier of a space!

We have endless built in’s and I am going to be styling shelves for years 😉

The formal dining room we are hoping to wallpaper!

Our kitchen! It has a great butler’s pantry off the side but eventually we would like to blow out the front and make an island!

What we hope to be a cozy casual area for our family. Searching for new fabrics to cover this bench currently…

A peek at the third floor! Would have loved if the original brick had been left but it looks so fresh painted white! 

 

I think that covers most of it and again if you have any other questions feel free to leave them below! Wish us luck with the move this weekend and see more behind the scenes on Instagram!