As we get to the end of our Schuberts go house-hunting feature for the forseeable future, I’d like to start a new (irregular) feature here …..

Schubert HQ

All about what we are doing to the house itself … the DIY projects, the decor, etc …. We’ll see. You’ll see…. .

First off: Home decor inspiration on Pinterest

Before we even move in, because we are having *some* work done right away we’ve had to think a bit about colors, floors, etc.

So, I caved and signed up for Pinterest.

You can find all my Pinterest boards and follow me if you like here: Amy T Schubert on Pinterest

Here’s just a look at what we are planning for the rooms …. You can click the image to go through to the full pinboard.

For the kitchen:

The kitchen pre-move is GROSS. Just revolting. We can’t afford to completely re-do it – we’ll likely just replace the cabinets with the cheapest option available. But someday, when we CAN re-do it …. We have stainless steel appliances, and I want to do a light gray backsplash, with a darker gray floor tile (maybe even just cement), and warm-wood cabinets…. With the pantry door painted with chalkboard paint.

For the living room:

We actually have a front-of-the-house living room and a back-of-the-house “family room” with a fireplace.

The front room will be in browns and greens – and that is where we will keep our couch and TV/entertainment unit, etc. I think we’ll get FLOR carpet tiles to make the rug in there (since the entire bottom floor is to be wood-laminate)

The back room (with the fireplace) we haven’t decided on colors, but we’ll keep the stereo there and a circle of reading armchairs. I think it might be my favorite room, eventually.

For the dining room:

Again, no colors specified. It will have a wood-laminate floor so I’ll probably find a rug of some kind. I also want to find a mid-century hutch to keep dishes in. The kitchen isn’t huge, so I think I’ll need a place for serving dishes and maybe mixing bowls or similar.

We have a dining room table, but no chairs. And I’m not even in love with the table, so we’ll see.

for the guest room:

There is one bedroom on the downstairs level, right next to a full bathroom so we thought it would be a perfect guest room (no stairs for grandparents to have to worry about). This room will ALSO have the wood-laminate flooring, and I am planning on getting FLOR carpet tiles in a dark gray to make a rug for under the bed (full size. the room isn’t large enough for a queen).

There’s also no closet in that room … so I think I’ll come up with something brilliant and creative for those occasional times when we have guests that need to hang up some clothes.

I want to paint the whole room in a light gray, and do black and white for the sheets/curtains/bedside tables/etc.

This may also be the room that we keep Andrew’s records in. …. we’ll see. Depends how much room is in there after we put in a bed.

for the master bedroom:

Upstairs will be all carpet. 3 bedrooms up there, with just a light, neutral carpet (the color we chose is called ‘aged linen’)

Our bedroom is HUGE. Much larger than we need – which is actually kind of awesome. If we ever wanted to, we’d have room for a little office or exercise equipment or something in there.

We’re going to do one wall in an accent color …. and I’m thinking something in a light-gray-teal….. Our comforter (that I love) has a ton of colors, so we have a lot of options.

We need bedside tables, for sure. As well as lighting in there …. and someday I want a ‘new’ mid-century dresser … rather than the boring dresser I bought at Target a few years ago.

I think we will also hang some BIG canvas portraits in here above the bed …. from our wedding and anniversary shoot.

for my office:

One of the extra bedrooms upstairs will be my office. I. Can’t. Wait!

The plan is to paint one whole wall with chalkboard paint ….. perfect for brainstorming and to do lists and photo shoots.

I also want to hang a BIG world map and other travel-style art. I want the concept of travel to be in front of me all the time as a reminder.

I will need to get a new desk, I think, that is more ergonomic – but that is sometime in the future. I think I’ll also set up my hand-me-down sewing machine in there and finally get to work.

for the front yard:

Actual landscaping is low-priority for now due to budget restrictions.

But *eventually* what I’d like to do is paint the exterior gray with white trim with a lovely RED front door. I think I’d like to make the space in front of the house and front window more of a porch-like area (wood or cement) rather than just dirt. The columns need to be replaced eventually too.

for the backyard:

The backyard is smaller than we would like, but it’ll do.

We want a garden (vegetables!) and I want to plant some kind of tall hedge to give us a little more privacy. It’s WAY too easy to look into our neighbor’s backyard. And *eventually* I would like some kind of terrace/overhang so there is shade back there. Right now it’s SUPER sunny.

Not mentioned:

The OTHER bedroom upstairs. Andrew will likely use for his workspace/office for audio mixing and such. I don’t think he’s even thought about it.

The three (3!!) bathrooms. I haven’t really seen anything online that strikes my fancy as far as what I want to do with any of those rooms. I figure as long as they are clean and have enough toilet paper and towels that is good enough for now.

The garage. We are getting a washer and dryer (hallelujah!) and a new garage door opener …. and Andrew might hang his dartboard in there….. Other than that – it’s just a garage for now.

I can’t wait to actually SHOW you all the house once we’ve moved in!

want to read more?

• Schubert HQ: choosing surfaces
• Schubert HQ: painting
• Murphy’s Law of buying a house
• Our first full day in the new house
• Moving day!