Ch-ch-changes!

I know it has been awhile since I've posted. So Sorry! My dad and older brother made a trip down with their trailer in tow and helped us move. We've been officially in the house for just over a week now. Still stepping over boxes and pushing things out of our way occasionally though. 

We're in that stage of unpacking where all (ok, most) of the necessities have been taken care of and it's just the things that are left. This house is so much larger than what I'm used to living in, and I have a decent amount of space to work with here. It is a little daunting trying to figure out the "right" place to put everything. 

Also, Nick and I have both been trying to be better about getting rid of excess stuff. Tossing it. Donating it. Whatever. I just want it out of the house. No extra clutter for this girl! I type that as I am sitting in a living room that is littered with STUFF. It is definitely a process, and a long one.

Since we have moved in we have been busy, busy, busy! Lots of little (and not so little) projects have been started. We have finally found a home services company (Shout out to Green Leaf Home Services!) that is helping us out with some of the things on our long list that need to be completed before we can reschedule our city inspection. (5 months and counting, people!) Nick has stepped up his DIY-game and is even familiarizing himself with the Home Depot that is only a few minutes away. (thanks free handy-dandy Home Depot App!)

I would like to dedicate a post to each of the changes that we've been making. Sadly, I am a terrible blogger and have spaced on taking that many pictures. Actually, it is less that I forgot to take them and more it is hard to stop a project to snap decent pictures when you only have a short time between dinner time and bath time with a toddler. So please forgive me! I will get around to posting actual pictures of the projects that we have gotten into so far, but for now I'll share list so you can see how much progress has already been made!

Living Room:

• Tear up carpeting
• Chip off and spackle peeling paint 
• Hang Curtains
• Paint walls
• Paint trim
• Build tripod lamp

Dining Room:

• Tear up carpeting
• Remove asbestos tiles
• Paint walls
• Paint trim
• Build dinner table

Office:

• Tear up carpeting
• Paint wood paneling
• Paint built ins
• Build a new work desk

Breakfast Nook:

• Remove wallpaper
• Spackle uneven surfaces
• Paint walls
• Replace blinds/hang curtains

Kitchen:

• Remove drop ceiling
• Get new oven installed
• Install light fixture/remove fluorescent light
• Replace faucet
• Repair garbage disposal
• Replace water cut off valves under sink
• Paint walls
• Paint ceiling

Wow. And that is only the list for the Entry Level not including any of the bathrooms or bedrooms! Also, it doesn't include any of the decorative things such as, "buy a new sectional" or "build a coffee table"! We also need to paint the hallway that connects all of those rooms and goes upstairs. Eventually we want to refinish all of the wood floors throughout, but I know that it is going to be quite a while before we can fit that into our budget so for now, it gets left off of the list.

Nick and I are going to sit down one of these nights and make an in depth list of what we want to get done and set little goals so that we don't get too far "off track". Here's hoping that we can tackle the Living Room trim sometime this week!  

XO!
Sam

YOLO! Colorhouse

I'm talking about the paint, of course. Haven't heard? 

"YOLO Colorhouse was born out of a need for healthier paint and better color. We like to think of ourselves as the “indie” paint company – we are dedicated to making paint that is better for us and the environment. We are dedicated to making beautiful color solutions simpler and we are dedicated to doing business in a more sustainable way."

Virginia Young and Janie Lowe (get it?) founded YOLO in 2005. 

Nick actually found this paint while creating our kitchen mood boards last week. While I wasn't super pumped when I heard the name, the fact that the paint has zero VOCs (or to sound more science-y, volatile organic compounds) got me a little excited. Then mix in the fact that they are a company committed to green practices? Sign me up! 
Choosing paint with low (or better yet NO) VOCs is an important thing to keep in mind when there will be kiddos running around, but for your own health as well. Many VOCs are known carcinogens.  "A typical bucket of paint contains chemicals, such as benzene, methylene chloride and others, that have been linked to cancer." The chemicals are released into the air not only while the paint is wet, but also for years after it dries. This puts you and your family at risk for other health problems such as allergies and asthma. 

YOLO has 128 beautiful colors to choose from on their website. You can also use their store locator to find a retailer near you. According to their website, for Michigan at least, you can purchase their colors online through Home Depot. 

I love their composition of the trend color palettes on their website!

Urban Farmer

Edge of Night

Rustic Modern

Natural Neutral 

Right now, my favorite would be a toss up between the last two. I love how the warmer white, it's really more of a beige, plays up against the distressed wood and sand tones. The 'Natural Neutral' has the deep charcoal grey that I'm thinking about for the living room couch but that greige color is a bit greener than I think I'd like, and, maybe, not quite blue enough. 

This whole choosing a house color palette has become a pretty daunting task. Especially for someone who has never been able to paint any of the rooms in my home (golly gee, thanks ex landlords!). 

Luckily we have yet to hear anything new back from our real estate agent or the lender, so we have quite a bit of time left. In the meantime, I'll continue to psych myself out about it, and try and read as much as I can.

We're pretty excited for the long weekend ahead! We'll be doing the weekly Eastern Market grocery trip and probably stopping by Belle Isle (maybe I'll even post about it). I had a cold last week, so, of course, Nick caught it too. So we'll probably just lay low for the most part and try to get our immune systems back in proper working order. 

Hope everyone enjoys the holiday weekend! 

Oh, and do you have any tips on how you coordinated paint colors throughout your home?

XO Sam