Now that we’re wrapping things up at our current house and we’ve spilled the new house beans it’s like we’ve finally given ourselves permission to LOSE. OUR. MINDS. So yeah, this new house video tour is full of chirpy excitement that only a home in your dream neighborhood can produce. Forgive me. It’s not a good look. And watching it produces the same embarrassment that my way-too-enthusiastic mom elicited back in high school. Which confirms that I’m turning into her. Uh oh…
Woop, there it is. The first set of stairs we ever owned, and the house that’s attached to them.
A few notes:
- I’m not awkward at all in the beginning.
- We used John’s phone to “time stamp” this video thanks to Googling “today’s date” on Friday when we filmed it. We’re nothing if not high tech around here.
- Drinking game: count how many times I say love.
- Keep an eye out for John’s finger coming into frame to tell me which direction to walk (yes, he holds the camera and I walk next to him to chat since his description of the house would be three sentences mixed with long silences and if I held the camera you’d lose your lunch).
- Sorry about the audio getting odd in a few areas (empty rooms have weird echoes and it turns out the bathroom fan upstairs is crazy loud on film).
- I sing about stairs. My life is officially a musical.
- Ahhhhhhh! I can’t think of any more. Did I mention we’re crazy excited?!
Oh and please bear with us when it comes to questions about our plans and the ol’ to do list that we’re compiling. We promise we’ll whip up a floor plan post and share our new masterlist with all of our To-Dos on it as soon as we have those laid out (we’re still in that changing-our-minds-every-second phase). It might be a little while before we’ve fully segued into the full new house mindset since we still live in our current house and definitely have a lot of stuff on our plates with selling it, getting packed up, and moving.
And now, I’ll end this with a completely understated “AHHHHHHHHHHH!” and another big wet kiss for you guys. So excited to share this next chapter with you. Also if you’re my mom and you’re reading this, I’m not that scared of turning into you. Except that none of my shoes will fit anymore…
Very very exciting! Can’t wait till you show us that gorgeous backyard & deck one day too!!
Oh yes, we owe you an outdoor tour too!
xo
s
Oh, this looks so much like my childhood home. The country blue and mauve trim, the wet bar, the dark wood EVERYTHING, and the intercom system! I guess they built ’em pretty similar in Virginia and Texas in the eighties. I know you guys will do a lovely job with it.
Hahaha ! You guys are the funniest !!!!! Thank you for the tour! And good job with the camera and the talking! You make a good team :)
Iris
The {colored} Married Life
I just cannot wait for this remodel! I saw somebody write about white trim and it made me think about how much i love your style (truly – our house is like a replica of your guys’ style). However, I’m excited to see if you go with your same style or work out of the box and try something totally different. I’m guessing that’s hard since it’s your actual home and you have to look at it every day :)
You may not even know the answer yet, but are you going to replace the carpet or put in hardwood throughout? (Im 100% hardwood all day erryday) Just curious cause while hardwood would be a dream, it could also be quite expensive!
We’re still looking into options but can’t wait to get rid of that old holey and stained carpet!
xo
s
Wow, that’s A LOT of blue trim! haha
The house looks awesome! I can’t wait to see what you do with it! That tree growing in the middle of the deck is kind of cool!
Ooohhhh!! Love that you’ve got the old school 80’s monitor too! The house we just bought has one of those, and we were totally amused by the idea that we could hang out in the kitchen and snoop on our kids (or guests ;) upstairs. It’s like an old school baby monitor. Though I guess it means I have no excuse to not know what kind of trouble my kids are getting into…
That’s so funny! Ours is actually one of those radio and intercom things but it doesn’t work anymore. Which is sad because I love spying. Haha!
xo
s
I am SO EXCITED! Aaaahhhhh!!! I was telling my mom all about your new house over the weekend and she thought I was kinda crazy for being excited for people I don’t know in real life. Haha!
We owned this EXACT same house–complete with laminate and “brick” in the kitchen, groovy wet bar in the den, same slate-ish floor in foyer–in Morristown, NJ! Can’t wait to see how you transform it into the house of your dreams…congrats!
No way! I love Morristown! When I was on swim team we used your pool every day after school! Haha.
xo
s
Without a doubt you guys will shine that baby up. I’m happy for you guys and oh the exercise you guys are gonna get. I’m a fan of your current house and the first one as well. The thought of having everything on one floor sounds like heaven to me perhaps it’s cause we have a colonial and the constant up and down has worn off on us. Baby gates in the future for you guys! Congrats again!
Watching your journey through home ownership and renovations is so inspiring! I am just getting married, recieved my interior design degree, and oh so hoping that we will be able to own a home soon so we can start this journey as well. And I know where I’m going to get some tool-savvy advice!
Thanks for what you guys do!
You’ve got a big ‘ol tree “in” your deck! How cool! At least I hope it’s a nice tree and not something that needs taking out. Is that an intercom system on the walls? Good luck with all your projects!
Yes, it’s an old intercom system but it doesn’t work anymore. Well, you can faintly hear the radio if you stand there and hold a button down, but if you let go it stops. Haha!
xo
s
How Exciting! I can’t wait to see what you guys do to it. Does the new house have a basement? and p.s. your backyard looks amazing!
There’s no basement but a giant attic with steps (you walk up, so there’s not a pull down ladder) and an attached two car garage (we plan to use one side as a workshop/tool storage area).
xo
s
Oh, I think I would kill for that kitchen window. The house is definitely a diamond in the rough, but I see so much potential! Really looking forward to see what you do with it.
Woohoo! I can’t wait until the kiddos are playing contently and I can sneak a view at this video…exciting stuff right here!
~Sarah
I love it! I may be just as excited as you guys but probably more jealous that you have a complete clean slate to start from! I am so giddy to see where you guys take this house! The layout is awesome, I can see why you chose it. Congratulations and good luck on this new journey! (Did I use enough exclamation points?)
Xoxo
Soooo much to dream about ! Good luck and we’ll stick around to see what you come up with for this house :) Take care !
It’s just delicious. I bet you can’t wait to get started!
So excited to finally see it! I’ve been going insane since that instagram on Friday teasing us! I know this is your job, fixing up the house but…..if you could give one room to a superstar designer (Sarah Richardson, Candace Olsen) what would it be? I’m thinking it would be fabulous to have those ladies whip that master bath into shape!!
Sarah Richardson for sure. I’m obsessed with her rooms.
xo
s
roadtrip! we should totally run to Canada and kidnap her!
Looks like the eyeball cabinet knobs followed you here! ;)
So excited for you guys!
It’s true! They’re after us!
xo
s
This place has so much potential! How exciting for you guys (and us who get to watch all the magic happen)! Quick question: is there a basement? I noticed a door on the main floor across from the half bath and thought it might be to a basement.
Nope, that’s just a closet. No basement but we have a walk up attic (with stairs, not a pull down ladder) and a two car attached garage (since we just have one car we’ll use the other side as a workshop/tool storage :)
xo
s
Oh how exciting…. can’t wait to see what you start on first…. the office? BTW, where is the office going to be the dining room? (sorry if I missed it on the tape)
Congrats again!!
The dining room will stay the dining room (the one with the blue built-ins in the corner) and the office will be the old formal living room in the front (to the right of the front door when you walk in).
xo
s
AHHHHHHH!
I love it! The house has great bones, even if it needs a lot of TLC. That blue trim, the carpeting, the switch plates…oy. Where will you start?
No idea!!! Haha! Well, actually, the nasty carpet has to go, so that’s first on the agenda!
xo
s
Oh my, it’s like my dream home!
When I bought my old home (only foray into property ownership, back in rental now) and got the keys, the first time I went into the house it had this “OMG this is my house it’s awesome” feeling where I just went into every room and ran around saying “this is mine!” Nothing like a new home feeling :D
Haha, I totally feel like that!
xo
s
Yay! It’s so exciting to see all the potential in new houses – I can’t wait to see what you have planned! :)
Dang! That is a great house! So much potential there. I will be eagerly watching as you transform it into a beautiful swan.
love the videos…keep em coming!
Oh also, completely off topic but I know you guys are Game of Thrones fans, Have you ever seen Emilia Clarke (Daenerys) outside of the show? Totally Sherry’s twin.
http://www.beyondhollywood.com/uploads/2012/07/Emilia-Clarke.jpg
Just sayin.:)
I completely agree and I never see those things when people say I look like someone. But even my family and friends are like “um, that’s creepy – because you look the same and she’s naked on the show.” Haha!
xo
s
haha! That would be a bit awkward!
Hahahah I posted this on her FB too! And, Sherry, I have to look away when she’s naked now because it feels wrong to look at Clara/Burger’s mom naked vicariously through Emilia ahahahahahhahah
Haha, yes, the naked scenes get me all blushy and it’s not even me! Haha!
xo
s
Loved the tour of the new place! I’m so excited for all of you and can’t wait for the renovations to begin.
I LOOOOOVE IT! I am soooooo excited to see all the amazing new ideas :)
So so so so excited for you guys as you embark upon this new adventure. What fun! Can’t wait to see the projects as you get to work. Looking forward to incorporating some more of your creativity into my own home. :D
Soooo excited for you guys!
I saw John at the Carytown 10k yesterday and spoke to him briefly after the race to say congratulations on the new house. My husband was helping me warm up the first time I saw John and I said to him, “remember the bloggers I always tell you about? Well, one of them just ran by us!” HAHAHA.
Haha! He loved meeting you Chelsea! Came home and told me all about it :)
xo
s
I’d be lying if I said I didn’t scan the crowd at the start for you and Clara too!
Aw, we were there in spirit!
xo
s
Wow looks great! I can’t wait to see all the awesome things you guys come up with to make it you!
Sherry, now you and Katie are like the home decor version of Batman and Robin….ridding the world of awful trim colours one room at a time!
Seriously! She keeps telling us we need a sprayer now!
xo
s
I can totally see why you guys jumped on that house, what great bones! It is an amazing house and I can’t wait to see what you guys do. Congrats again!
I’m kind of loving that house. the kitchen has so much potential and the deck/backyard look like SO much fun! I hope you are able to move in by summer so we can see some outdoor projects!
Also, dying at all the blue trim. what in the world? haha!
congrats! The before and afters are going to be amazing!
Love the new house! I just wish we lived in Richmond so we could buy your old house.
It’s terrible! I love it!
Hahah!
xo
s
LOL! :)
Your new house makes me think of the Family Ties house – must be the woody trim and those floral curtains as i dont remember the Keatons having a wet bar…Very very excited for you guys – so much potential and fun to be had making this place sing!
Confession: I kinda like that hex tile in the master bath. Also, Clara totally knows what’s up. That closet is awesome!
This house is going to be amazing! So many big projects!!
I do too! Wish it was in better shape! It totally inspires me to hunt down some bold colored hex and use it when we renovate and knock down that wall!
xo
s
So exciting!!!! I can’t wait to see what you guys do with it! It’s going to be AMAZING! :)
Oh my goodness, I don’t know what to think! After all that blue/mauve/wallpaper, etc., the last shot I see is of your foyer tile, which is identical to OUR foyer tile (slate, in a pattern that is supposed to evoke a Monet painting – seriously). Please tell me you don’t hate it…we installed ours about 7 years ago, after pulling up lavender wall to wall carpet in that area. Thanks for the tour, guys!
We actually like the foyer tile! It’s a little rough looking in a few spots but we hope we can clean it up!
xo
s
Woohoo this made my morning! So excited for you guys–looks like it has lots of great bones.
That laundry room hallway is so awkward. You would think when they built the house they would push the bedroom back against that wall and have a small laundry “nook” between the bedroom/bath instead. Just seems like a waste of space, but I’m sure you guys will figure out something super awesome for it! :)
The new house looks awesome! Love the layout … and that deck is huge (that’s what she said). Can’t wait to see all you guys do with it.
oh the deck and sunroom are TO DIE FOR! and you’re going to loooove having the laundry upstairs! I can’t wait to see what you do with it all :)
LOVE your new house!!!…and I especially LOVE the sunroom with the wrap around deck behind it…LOVE!!! Eeek! Sooo excited to see what your plans are! =) Congratulations!
Wow. You guys will have plennnty of material to work with on this baby. I can see why people who are not into DIY would run for the hills. But, as they say, it has good bones, and you will make it beautiful. Again, congratulations! xo
Love the new house….such possibilities! Just a quick note about stairs from someone who has lived with a few different sets while having young kids: carpeted stairs are MUCH more forgiving for any falls. When we moved into our current house we thought we’d immediately rip out the carpeting, but before we got the chance our son had a scary tumble (despite baby gates, coordination,carefulness, they inevitably happen) and we rethought that plan. So, in our house the carpet stays until everyone is older, and THEN we can do something cool with painted wooden stairs. I know you all are prudent and whatnot, but I just wanted to share my two cents!
Thanks for the tip Kathy! That carpet is insanely gross and stained, so it has to go, but we’ll definitely consider putting down a fresh runner or something :)
xo
s
I completely disagree! We have a set of stairs that are wood and one that are carpet. My son (now 4.5 y.o.) has had a few scary falls down the carpeted stairs, but never so much as stumbled on the wood ones. I think kids realize that they are hard and are generally more careful. Also, it seems like it’s easier to trip on carpet. I should also mention that our carpeted stairs have a better railing for the kiddos to grab onto. Just be attentive that the polyurethane/finish isn’t too slippery on the wood stairs and it will be fine to have a handsome set of treads.
It depends upon the shine of the wood floor. I grew up in a house with an uncarpeted, steep back stair case painted in flat paint, and none of us ever fell because it wasn’t slippery and it was so steep we had to use the handrail. My house now had stairs where someone pulled off the runner to expose pretty, shiny wood — and my husband and 8-year-old both fell down the stairs before we installed a new runner.
My daughter, who is an adult, just fell on her wood steps (with rubber on the treads, it is a rental) and broke her “tailbone”. I don’t think it would have been so bad if the edge of the step had some padding, like a carpet. I know carpet gets dirty and worn quickly on steps, but if it is properly installed it can be safer than just wood.
Wow, I love the layout! And all of the interesting trim choices, hah. Maybe those funky dining built-ins will look better with a fresh coat of paint and less curvy tops?
As much as I love what you’ve done with your current home, the new one looks like an easier space to get large family gatherings in. I’m excited to see what you guys do with it (:
Yes! That’s what I wondered. Like maybe if we built them up to the ceiling and painted them? Although I don’t know if their triangle shape is our favorite but they might end up being our favorite thing (the old glass doors are amazing so no matter what I want to use those).
xo
s
What are the boxes on the walls in all of the rooms? Is it an intercom system?
Yup, old school (doesn’t really work) radio + intercom.
xo
s