If you’re just tuning in, here’s a little bit of what we’ve been taking on. It might be a lot to chew so stay with me. I think we get lost in our day jobs and then come back to this and I’m like, oh yeah! And then this happened!
We are so close, y’all. As in, the next post you see on this topic, will be the reveal. Basically because I refuse to ramble about it anymore until it’s done. I know you’re all breathing a gigantic collective sigh of relief. We’re in the nitty gritty, try not to lose your everlovingcrap and move to Tahiti, phase.
When we took possession of our house, a 1976 fixer upper, it looked like this on the back. Lovely, yes? It actually served us well in entertaining for a few years, and before the inside was done that summer, we loved it out here. We made it work.
And this is where we are, this week.
Ahhh, the thrill of living in Nashville. Will the permit guy show up today? How about the other permit guy? The electrician? The siding guy? It’s like design roulette. We’re still waiting on a few things, as you can see. Wheeee.
P.S. I adore this light but I think he’s going to live somewhere else a bit better suited for his size.
We need something just a leeeettle bigger.
And the pool looked like this, but that’s another story for another day. The old owner was all, not my problem anymore, suckas. {If you’re ready to get lost in a roller coaster, you can check out our entire moneypit series, here.}
Our last post focused on inside and outside progress!
But backing up, here are all our posts from the addition so far, if you have absolutely no idea what I’ve been rambling about in sharing this process:
• the framing
• windows + door choices
• mantel plans
• insulation and drywall
• why we’re doing it – a great question answered
• inside plans – all the sources
• so close so far away – the tiling process where you can see more of the space all cleaned up.
• let there be wallpaper – the inside
• inside and outside progress
• plus check out our fireplace sneak peek + how to paint a house with this awesome wagner sprayer!
And here we are.
Renovating an entire house and then building an addition, {because after this, we will be starting on the approval process for our master addition} is like one big exercise in mental sanity. Thus our new series.
These glorious lights from Kichler have been installed. I really can’t wait to show these off in the space because I don’t think my lame photography does them justice. They are beautiful.
Obsessed. With these lights. They’ve literally been a bright spot in the last few weeks we’ve had. PUN not intended.
And these glorious little guys {also Kichler} are all on dimmer switches, all around the room.
We love the ambience at night! We went back and forth about the sconces for a while, but ultimately settled on these.
Also the {affiliate link} wallpaper is from here and we love the glorious fun it brings to the space.
Can’t wait to show you the whole shebang.
We gave you a sneaky peeky of the mantel with our fall mantel a-la balsam hill a few weeks ago – it has turned out beautifully and we’re so excited!
And the tile from Jeffrey Court and Jeffrey Court HD are absolutely amazing. They make the space effortless in terms of flooring. Our one regret is not having it throughout our house with two giant dogs. {Plus a sneak peek of that old Vogue cover and what I’ll be sharing later in the week.}
The blinds are in a-la Select Blinds, and we love the way they look while giving us some privacy. They’re perfect!
So As you can see we’re in the polishing it all up, touch-up phase. But about the hanging bed…
The mattress looks wonky because the slats aren’t underneath the bed in this shot, and I was just dying to put it all together as soon as it was painted {by another fabulous wagner sprayer which will have more coming up – perfect for smaller jobs! If you’ve been following along on our stories then you know we’ve tackled all the things.}
But I was playing house prematurely, because I wanted to see how it all came together. All the fabrics. All the color and planning. Came down to this moment. ;} Yes, I should get out more. This was the piece I was oh so excited about in the space. Okay that’s a lie. Because there’s the mantel and the La-Z-Boy furniture and the banquette with the storage and the barn door… calm down Ash. But I got a little carried away.
Because then it was time to hang it. This is one of those things that happen in marriage. You know the kind I’m talking about. Where I’m bound and creatively determined to make something happen, and he keeps telling me he can do it, but it will be a little bit of a challenge. And by he can do it, he also says he doesn’t really want to do it and he’s not so sure this is such a great idea.
And the closer we got to the process, the more I realized how a few different elements are coming into play.
Hanging a handmade swinging bed on a slanted ceiling, a PLANKED ceiling is no small feat. We even had an incredible friend weld these hooks up for us, and planned to balance them in a clever way. We had the ceiling blocked off and everything planned. But then something happened.
We tried to move the bed out, but realized how close it would come to that wallpaper. It’s like I was so bound and determined to have a hanging bed inside my house, I was ignoring the practicality of it all.
Gee, that’s never happened to me before. I don’t even know what my deal is, y’all. Here’s another factor that came into play:
See this space right here to the left of the fridge? Where the china cabinet currently sits? This will eventually become an opening into our master suite.
And see this window to the left of the fireplace? {And the window not shown on the right} This is the same side of the house, just off the kitchen.
The windows on each side of the fireplace will be our additional entry points into our master. Think beautiful antique double doors on each side. Makeshift doorways.
The Swinging bed was blocking it and I’d been blinded by possibility. I thought… it doesn’t matter. But it kind of did. We need the ability to move this, later. And we would have, but all this effort right now, just didn’t feel right.
The space and the rafters dictated it stay there. I realized how stubborn I’d been. I don’t know about you guys, but I don’t really want to babysit something in my home. One bump and the wallpaper I love so much was gone. One person sitting on it carelessly, and despite our best efforts, it could be ripped out of the ceiling. And repairing the wall behind said swing, it isn’t as simple as patching the drywall. How about a broken window? It’s not my kids I’m worried about. It’s the dogs and my kids with friends and one person sitting down carelessly… you know how things get. And I thought toddlers were wild… try seven teenage boys over for an afternoon of fun…
I realized in the middle of the process how stressed this was making us. And I can have the very same effects by adding feet to this fabulous bed. By revising it a little. I mean, as far as I’m concerned, we can revisit hanging it later. It’s just not happening right now.
See: stubbornness. See: denial. See: an enneagram 4 being a total drama queen with a penchant for bereaved planking. If you’ve been with us since 2012, then you know this leads to happy endings, despite my drama. This was sad and stuff because I’d waited for the perfect sofa FOR.EV.VER. Then I got a chesterfield so yolo.
This isn’t the first time I was blinded by creativity and the possibilities of things and my own romantical notions. I’m not saying my journey for a hanging bed is over, I’m just saying it wasn’t worth it in this space.
Poolhouse, 2020, SUCKAS! — No really. Stay tuned.
So here’s to taking lemons and making them into lemonade AGAIN. Because life’s too short to babysit a hanging bed. We’ll have the tutorial for both coming up. No matter which version you want to do!
And here’s why I didn’t actually do the bereaved planking thing. Because there are bigger problems in the world, and perspective. Three years to the day in 2016, my memories popped up on my Mac when I was editing. We just wanted to get our children settled and per usual because of codes, our house still looked like this:
The great room:
The basement:
Our master bedroom:
My point? It all works out in the end.
Usually, in its own timing. Even if we have been delayed for three more weeks by electricians and codes alone. #gottaloveNashville
So in the meantime, I’ve been distracting myself with client work, and a little pom pom/ furniture therapy. AKA the pretty little touches that make me happy.
This guy was in our old master, and is probably the first ever piece we purchased for our new home. He was damaged in the move so we touched him up and gave him a new face this last week. The inside still smells weird because we got him from the flea market and then purchased another piece from the same place which was for our kids nursery. So now I open it and it reminds me of our first house and babies. Yes, that was a lot of detail and a really odd journey into my olfactory memories, but it’s the little things. It makes me smile every time I open it and it’s going to give us some awesome storage in this room!
{Awesome fun baskets that didn’t cost one million dollars from anthro, are going on top.}
I feel like this post was completely reflective of what it feels like to start pulling everything together at the end of a space. All the squirreling. Stay tuned because this space is coming soon… We’re so close.
Let us know as always if you have any questions.
Have an inspired day!
Anna says
Thank you for sharing this! I love hearing all about your little changes and think you’re so smart for looking ahead. Great perspective!
Janet says
Omg bereaved planking!!!! That post just took me back! Hysterics! Good for you for finding a great solution for your home! Love it.