New house: Living room planning

Plans for the living room and dining room are coming along nicely. My daughter and SIL are ready to start ordering furniture, fixtures, rugs and accessories. Fun, fun!

Sputnik light from Lowes, West Elm dining table, vintage Cathrineholm bowl, Joybird dining chair,
vintage Laurel arc lamp by Harvey Guzzini, Ligne Roset coat rack, Joybird sectional sofa,
West Elm pillows, vintage Paul McCobb coffee tables, Crate and Barrel vase,
vintage Bitossi vase, Joybird chairs, West Elm rug, ponytail palm

The arc lamp is a keep-your-fingers-crossed piece. We sold one exactly like it at the store several years ago, and we're hoping to luck into another one at a good price. Till then, there will probably be a chrome one as a place-holder.

Here are the pillows that pulled the whole look together:

West Elm Crewel Modern Stripes Pillow Cover
in Pale Harbor

West Elm Modern Blocks Pillow Cover
in Pale Harbor

House-buying saga: Done deal

After an arduous house search, we found the perfect house for us, which proves that things really do have a way of working out the way they should. We had a couple of disappointments, but now we're actually glad the other deals fell through, because this is a much nicer house in a much better location for us. 

Since our house had sold very quickly, we were afraid we'd have to rent an apartment for a while, but the owners of the new house graciously agreed to lease it to us till we closed...which was yesterday. We've been stalled for a while, unable to start making the interior our own, but we can finally begin decorating...getting rid of all the "house flip decor" by painting the interior, changing out all the light fixtures, and generally returning it to something more akin to its mid-century roots. Of course, I'll post pictures when we're done, but here are a few photos of the exterior from the real estate listing:

For now, let me say the house has everything we wanted and more than we ever hoped for...built in 1964, a great exterior, tons of glass, beamed ceilings, gorgeous interior shutters (like we had in the house my parents built in 1957), an atrium, a sunroom, literally walls of storage and built-ins, and a huge back yard with lots of room for the boys to play and for us to build Nest II (already working on the plans). With a little tweaking, we'll have it exactly right. And, of course, we're in love with the landscaping (although the small tree in front of those beautiful ceiling-to-floor windows may have to go)! The first two photos of the yard were taken last October, and it should be looking like this again in a matter of weeks. I'm beyond thrilled!!!