Is your house designed the way you want?

berryblondeboys

berryblondeboys

Member
Sep 30, 2007
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#1
I'm 39 years old and we are just NOW getting a house to the way we want it - within our budget constraints. We still have a lot of 'work' left to get it finished up and together, but I just realized it will be the first time in our married lives that I'm beginning to feel this is how we WANT it versus how it 'is'. I think part of it is that one of us was always in school and secondly because we kept moving and what furniture works well in one house, doesn't work in another.

But now I have 'almost' everything how I want it to be as far as color and design and it feels NICE. I didn't realize how much of the mismatched, half-working/functional pieces affected my mood. It's like it never looked good, you know?

Now, it's nothing fancy and it is a townhouse, but at least it's getting to our style... once we paint the dining room and living room, that is!
 
#2
There are still plenty of things I need or want to do in my house, but generally, its the way I want it. We had a house fire last year that ruined a lot of our stuff so we were able to replace furniture, decor, flooring, etc. with what we wanted from the insurance money.
Of course now if I didnt have a child or dogs, my decor would probably be a bit different lol but for a casual, family setting, its how I want it.
 
#3
My dh and I live in the home that has been in his family for over a century. Unfortunately, instead of being a big old Victorian or something like that, it is a modest farmhouse. My suggestion when we moved in was to save the woodwork and knock the rest down and build new, but he wouldn't. So we've spent years just making it acceptable for habitation, let alone having it the way we want it - new roof, new furnace and water heater, new insulation and siding, ripping up the old carpets and refinishing the wooden floors. Our next project is the kitchen, which desperately needs new flooring, countertops and at least re-facing on the cabinets.

Oh, and we will be purchasing new furniture and televisions this fall to update the living area.

We will likely live in this house forever, and I had a feeling that would be the case when we moved here. It is where he grew up, it is a good distance away from the road, has an enormous yard, a stream nearby and is an ideal place to raise children. So the house will never be what I want, but my dh and my family IS what I want, so I compromise. But when our sons inherit this land and home, I will encourage them to knock this house down and start again!
 
#4
LOL^^^ I would be with you on that one!

It's funny, I say this house is beginning to look the way I like it, but then I look at craigslist photos of people's home and I realize ours is still not (or will not be)' picture pretty".

It's like, I love the pieces we have now - the furniture and color is what I like, but the house layout? NOPE... There's no interesting architecture... our artwork is all small and 'hand me downs' or gifts and I still have to look at DHs electronics and deal with townhouse layout of three separate levels with very little connectivity. So while I love our dining set, and love our bedroom set and the boys' bedroom sets, I don't necessarily like the 'house' they are all housed in!
 
#5
A space, for me, has always been more important than what we put in it... I am obsessed with architecture, interior design, furniture.

We currently live in a loft with exposed concrete walls. It's fantastic, but pretty much empty. We have a leather couch in the living room and that's about it. Not even a coffee table or dining room table. I routinely cook dinner for friends here, and we all just sit on the floor.

We're over the phase of our lives where we just stocked up on Ikea. We want quality pieces and sadly our taste is expensive. So we'd just rather have empty space if we can't have the Barcelona chairs we want. I've tried finding second-hand pieces but have had zero luck on Craigslist (also I find it appalling how much people ask for their used furniture?!) and none at thrift stores. Our taste is modern, and we tend to like the Knoll/Kartell/B&B. Italia manufactured pieces. We have none, but we're willing to have a spartan existance until we can buy them!

ETA: I just realized a Chanel handbag is about the same price as a used Barcelona chair... when I look at it this way, it makes me never want to buy another Chanel bag again.
 
#6
I know... it puts it in perspective, doesn't it? When you realize you can buy a used piece of furniture that you love that will last a lifetime for the same price you buy for a purse that will be used for ???? I'm SOOOOO over the purse thing and when I have time, I'll just sell the couple I have or keep them for the couple of nice things I 'own' for me.

And CL can be a great place to find deals, but you have to be QUICK and vigilant. But yes, some things listed are RIDICULOUS high, but once in awhile you can catch a real bargain.

It's hard to say what our style is.. kind of eclectic, but everything has straight lines, no 'curly q' furniture and we tend to like darker, warm tone wood.
 
#7
In a word, yes. We wanted a home from the 1920s-1950s, and our home was built in 1958. It is furnished almost entirely with art deco and mid-century modern antiques of the period - all quality pieces. We do have a couple of older pieces from the 1910-1920 period, but not many. We have expensive tastes and demand good craftsmanship and quality (no particle board, please!), but we also prefer older homes and older furniture. It is easy to find good craftsmanship and good prices when you shop antiques! This past summer I *finally* finished painting the living room, and I feel like I am "done" at this point.

My only project is some outdoor landscaping work - I need to paint the shed and revamp my vegetable garden!
 
#8
Oh, and about house design and architecture. Man, I really wish we could buy a house that we LOVE, but when we bought (when we moved to the area), the only thing in our budget was a townhouse and it's RIDICULOUS how much we had to pay for it. We could have a mansion in much of the country for that price! But selling now would be long and arduous and we would lose money on the house almost for certain. So, we are just trying to make it as livable as possible.

It's funny now, but when we bought 5 years ago, we looked at 42 homes, put in offers on 6 to finally get this one!!! and the ASKING price was the starting price with houses being on the market for less than a day. What a stark contrast to today!
 
#9
For the most part i'm ok with my house, i would just like to change the paint color in my living room and make it a little more cozier. I'll change my curtains and just freshen things up. Some day i'll be able to pull the carpeting up and put hardwood down and it will be perfect.... always things to look forward too.
 
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