Wednesday, January 17, 2018
Since we bought our Foursquare back in October 2014, we've been working to rid our home of outdated wallpaper.
In fact, the very first project that we started just a mere hours after closing on our home was when my mom and I launched into removing the floral on floral on floral wallpaper and curtain theme of our first floor bathroom.
The end result of our efforts on this small bathroom gave us a glimpse of what the rest of our home could eventually be, and it all started with wallpaper removal.
Oddly, this wasn't the first time my mom has taken to removing floral wallpaper from a room, but in the past it was actually in the home I grew up in.
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Friday, December 29, 2017
We've reached the end of 2017 and I can still hardly believe I've just written this.
As we look back on the last 12 months we can absolutely say that this year has been packed full of projects, adventures, milestones, and experiences. We've tried our best to keep everyone informed of our latest goings on throughout the year, but it has admittedly been difficult given the length of time it tends to take to write blog posts (on account of verbosity I tend to bring to writing blog posts...and the speed at which I execute the projects that I most enjoy writing about). We also haven't been recapping parties and vacations as we have in the past on the blog, instead giving most of those updates incrementally on Instagram, but in an effort to get you up to speed...
Let's get started on our Year in Review!
We kicked off the year by enjoying a fireworks display in Old Town Alexandria, plotting and planning for what we wanted to accomplish in the coming year. We knew it would be a busy one, but knew we'd also have a lot of fun along the way.
We started the year with a trip out of town to the west coast. It was both of our first times in Los Angeles (we stayed in Santa Monica), so we decided to really do it up tourist style and headed to Hollywood. One of the highlights of our time in southern California was enjoying the Warner Bros. studio tour.
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Thursday, December 21, 2017
As many head to their childhood homes for the Christmas holiday, there's a good chance you may stumble on some forgotten yet classic home accessory treasures in your parents' basement just begging to be rescued.
If you're a child of the '80s or '90s, there's a distinct possibility that one of these magical findings may be a beaten and battered set of wooden bowls, a holdover from the '60s and '70s.
These bowls were so popular in the '60s and '70s and have that classic retro look to them. Can't you just picture them sitting on the table with a pot of bubbling fondue nearby? Many swore by the use of wooden bowls to enhance the flavor of salad, and after use, abuse, and outright neglect, they were often tossed in a pile with other misfit dish ware, never to be seen or eaten off of again. But the thing about these bowls of a bygone era is that they just need a little bit of love to be revived. When a free set of wooden bowls in need of a little TLC presented themselves, Wendy could not pass up the opportunity. Wendy, as the fan of all things free, classic, and old that she is, wanted to give these worn bowls a good home.
They were dry, scratched, gouged in a few places, and clearly a little worse for the wear. But this was primarily on the exterior, while the interior of the bowls looked pretty good.
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Friday, December 15, 2017
If you're looking for a unique party theme for your next get together, I have a fun and creative idea for you. Bonus points if your house happens to support it.
It's fair to say I'm a huge fan of a well executed party theme, as you may have guessed from our annual Halloween costume parties or our Christmas whiskey tasting and dinner parties. And last weekend, our friends, Dave and Amy, threw a party that absolutely nailed the theme they were shooting for. (In fact, they hit such a home run with this party, I asked if they wouldn't mind me sharing some photos and details here on the blog.)
Simply put, the party theme was "Dinner at Grandma's House."
The idea for this festive affair came about due to the decor of our friends' new, old home. I recently worked with Dave and Amy to sell their 1900 Italianate home in Old Town, the sale of which was driven by their desire to tackle a new project. As consummate DIYers, when they laid eyes on this 1950s Cape Cod in Alexandria they had a vision. What didn't work for some folks is what really drew them in. Vintage bathrooms, floral wallpaper, wall-to-wall carpeting (over top of what appear to be beautiful original hardwood floors they plan to reveal), and a yellow hue called "Lemon Meringue" blanketing many of the walls made it just the project they were looking for. I have to say, working with clients that share a love of character you can only find in homes of another era is just one of the many things that makes me truly love my work as a Virginia and DC realtor.
One other, very notable detail that attracted them to the home was the fact that its previous owner had lived there since the 1960s. The previous owner cared so much for the home that she maintained everything carefully, and even kept meticulous notes in a ledger about every detail of the home and its maintenance over the years, even down to paint colors and who had performed each and every repair, service call, or upgrade. Even major appliances that many might be looking to replace are in perfect working order as they've been for decades.
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Tuesday, December 12, 2017
There are few things that feel as good as saying a project is complete.
Our dining room has taken quite a journey and has seen some major change over the years. When we bought the house in 2003 the previous owner had been using it as a pass through siting area.
Back in 2004 we had it set up as a weird hybrid dining room/living room extension with massive television and speakers. Looking back on it we have very fond memories of these days, but it was far from functional (or attractive, for that matter).
And after our initial renovation efforts we settled on a room that served as a formal dining room, and we absolutely loved it for many years.
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