The Finished Wall

I don't think I ever showed a picture of the finished wall job my husband completed. It's such a big difference- we actually have a usable front yard now. I'll have to get better pictures to show, but for now here's a few.

A New House, A New Start

Guess who's buying a new house? This girl. Well, technically my husband is, and I'm his realtor. And to be more technical, we're still in the negotiation process, so realistically I shouldn't be counting my eggs till they hatch (we don't close till around Christmas). But, I just figured I'd tell you because while I'm super excited about this particular opportunity, I know that even if this one falls through, there will be others. 

A lot of you who know us personally know that we've been talking about moving to Florida for a while now (I'm from Jacksonville, Fl, in case you didn't know). So why buy another house in Pittsburgh, you might ask? Well, we've decided to split our time in both places and see how it goes. I'll be getting my Realtors license down there, as well, and my husband will continue to run his landscaping business from afar. We figure we can rent the house here for nine months of the year (perfect for a student or young professional looking for something temporary), or list it on Airbnb. It's low in the South side slopes, so it's a great location for walking to say, The Cheesecake Factory on a Friday night, or the really cool garage coffee shop at the bottom of the hill. 

Our current house in Forest Hills, while we love it's character, we feel like it doesn't have the same appeal to renters as this other house. Plus, the mortgage would be too hard to carry if it didn't work out. So if you or someone else you know might be looking for a great house in Forest Hills, send em my way- it'll be hitting the market first thing this spring. 

Alright, enough talk... here's a pic and some ideas (because that's more exciting!). 

We like this house because it's simple. It has two large bedrooms plus an office, a living room, kitchen and bathroom, and that's it. It's very plain-Jane, but most of its issues are cosmetic, and that's my specialty. 

 You walk right into this ho-hum living room then into the kitchen, which right now is nothing short of a cave. They're both good sized rooms, but lighting is an issue so we're planning on opening that wall up between the two rooms to create one big space.

 The kitchen will get a fresh coat of paint on the cabinets, new countertops, and new appliances. I'm also planning on adding this antique apothecary-style medical exam table as an island with stools around it for seating. I've been saving this piece since my days as a shop owner, knowing it'd make the perfect kitchen island. I also recently purchased these two club chairs from an auction. They're covered in green velvet and I think having a crisp black and white color scheme will work great with them. Here's my inspiration below.

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via Elle Decor Magazine

And because I'm slightly psychotic about designing a new space, I create floor plans via homestyler to see where all my furniture will go. It's fun!

So there you have it- our plans for the next several months. This will keep us busy, I'm sure.