Speaking of renovations..

A friend of mine is selling her recently updated condo, and she's having an open house this Sunday May 1st, so come check it out!

My husband and I have put our 2 BR condo up for sale. It is located in Wellington Place which is a cute and quiet condominium complex in Aberdeen, NJ which is a 1 hour commute (give or take) by bus or train. The condo is roughly 1100 square feet completely brand new (renovated in 2009) including all new kitchen appliances. It also has a wood burning fireplace, basketball court and swimming pool. Check out the links below! It is VERY close to NYC transportation and centrally located near grocery stores, shopping, restaurants, etc. 

http://mls.momls.com/MonmouthReports/ListitLib/report_builder.aspx?category=2&r1=kktwdEKEoLvtKuB0u%29Rv.T&m1=ClWJJHEE%28z&footer=5753495450&maillog_id=5954809442

http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/1403-Wellington-Pl_Matawan_NJ_07747_M50246-35606

We are selling the condo because we have recently purchased a house in the same town that is actually just a couple of mins away from the condo. Another great selling point because you know that you will have extra cool neighbors. ;) Wellington Place in Aberdeen is a safe and upscale neighborhood with many small families and young professionals.

More info on Aberdeen Township: http://www.aberdeennj.org/

If you have questions, please reach out to our realtor whose info can be found on either listing above.  -Gina

It so happened that Gina was house-hunting at the same time that we found our loft so we've both had some pretty excited conversations at work about our new places. She's moving into a 4-bedroom house which I'm sure is something that I would go absolutely crazy decorating-- plus with a basement, backyard, etc. that's the REAL heart of home improvement projects. Don't tell my husband yet, though I think when we get to that stage in XX years he'll already have braced himself for the reality of my next blog, "The Real Houseblog of [Insert future city of residence here]."

Live by the floor sample, die by the floor sample (and other philosophies)

I've been at amateur home-decorating status for over a month now, but I've been a bargain shopper since my first paycheck from the days when I worked at The Gap in high school (well over 10 years ago, but who's counting).


So I thought I'd share some things I've learned:


1) Live by the floor sample, die by the floor sample. I know I mentioned this earlier in my post about the entertainment unit, but this has been the best way I've been acquiring other pieces of furniture. Case in point:

Lazzoni sideboard. At a whopping 80" wide, the perfect entryway piece.

I had never heard of this Italian company but I randomly walked past their gallery after work one day (on my way to the Container Store!!) and I fell in love with their buffets and sideboards, mainly because they were so wide and modern. Most of the sideboards I had were either masquerading as dressers or just didn't have enough storage. I really liked this one floor model that was blonde wood but when I went to go buy it, my saleswoman discovered from her boss that someone else had already reserved it. So they felt bad and offered me the next most comparable unit, which I hadn't even considered bc it was actually more expensive. Thanks to a hairline scratch on the top of the glass during the website photoshoot, yours truly is the owner of this very model seen here. (And yes, they did the right thing and discounted it even below the price of the original one.)

2) CB2 in SoHo discounts random furniture every Tuesday. OK, well I guess this ties in with #1 but I only learned this because I've been to the store 3x in the past month. The second time around I was fortunate to find the Hive Storage Unit.

To be honest I couldn't tell what was wrong with it, but hey I had been eyeing it since I first saw their catalog last year (thank you person who used to live in our old apartment and subscribed to the best magazines). I just really like how the unit comes with three honeycomb spaces. I should probably get another one but I don't have that many magazines.

It also makes an appearance in every episode of "Better With You." I made Mike take a picture of The Hive last time we watched the show; not a bad one either might I add.

Anyway, I've seen some discounted dressers, sofas, rugs, and artwork on sale. In the times I've gone it really does change every week and the sales person said there's no rhyme or reason behind some pieces over other ones, since a lot of them don't have obvious scratches. It's just more to make room for new furniture.

3) Design Within Reach is only within reach if you want to buy a dining room table or chairs. I was soo excited to go here last weekend! My co-worker recommended the Secaucus outlet and based on the atrocious website prices, I had a feeling I'd get lucky here for a sofa. But alas, this seemed to be a day when they were only selling tables and chairs. An EXCELLENT deal, as most items were between $200 - $400 and as you can easily see here, there are tables that cost several thousand dollars. So although I'm not in the market for a kitchen table, it's definitely a place I'll keep in mind and probably just call ahead of time to find out what bulk of goods have hit the warehouse.


4) The USPS Moving Kit has some pretty good coupons. I've heard you can also pick up the packet at any post office but I haven't tested this out. In any event, mine came with 10% off Overstock, 10% off Lowe's, and 20% off Pier One to name a few. The last time I moved, the memorable coupons were 20% off Ikea and 10% off Home Depot. I never used to think 10% off anything amounted to all that much, until I started buying furniture. L-O-L. Now it pretty much covers shipping or tax.


5) If you set up any registry at Crate & Barrel, they'll send you a 10% Off completion card. There are wedding registries on their website, but they also have a section for "Other Events." I set one up, literally named it "Housewarming" and put 2 items on it. A few weeks later, I was sent a 10% off coupon meant for completing any remaining items. Bonus: the discount applies towards everything in the store, and it's good for 6 months.


6) Mom's free furniture offer is still a bad deal. I don't know why my parents, and many other parents judging on the homes I've visited, felt the need to decorate their living rooms straight out of Marie Antoinette's parlor. 

Sofa found from Googling "Louis XVI furniture"

Sofa found in my childhood home, and the home my parents occupied before that, circa 1979

I just politely say that it's not really my taste.. I think Miss Waffle might feel the same way about her dress but it's alright because she can't talk.

Before & After

CRAZY week at work. I didn't have any time to update this sooner although we completed the wall panels last weekend.


May I present you with...

BEFORE:

Chartreuse panels

AFTER:

Funky artsy chartreuse wall panels!

The great white wall

I've had an aversion to painted walls since I can remember. Mainly because a) I grew up in a house where my parents didn't believe in walls painted anything other than "white linen" and b) as a renter it's too much of a hassle to put up a splash of color and then deal with either painting it back or hoping your landlord won't notice when you move out.


But I've seen too many Lowe's and Home Depot commercials to know that this should not be the case for any hip, young couple. Fast forward all the way to the 4 second mark if you will!



In fact, this may be the reason why I feel the need to tackle 3 projects a weekend. I blame it entirely on the media telling my demographic what we should be doing-- much to my husband's dismay, I'm sure. This may also be why he "jokingly" suggested I wear one of his bandanas while we painted last Sunday. For that "cute newly married wife" appeal, whatever that is. But I digress!!!


So anyway, like I was saying, prior to moving I had never painted before. With the one partial gray accent wall already done, I didn't know what to do with the wall directly opposite it. It's huge, it's white, and it's 14 feet high! :)

I had several options:

1) Leave it blank (Mom & Dad would be proud)

2) Buy humongous wall art (anything with the appropriate dimensions was easily over $500, and I'd still have to buy multiple ones, like the one below)

3) Paint my own wall panel design

Option #3 was definitely the way to go. I'm not much of an artist so I threw together a shoddy design one afternoon. That was the hard part for me. With the 10 ft ladder ready, Mike got to taping.

[insert "nice ass" joke here]

This was definitely NOT an easy feat, as I had feared all along. Because of the sheer height, and a somewhat faulty laser leveler, this took up most of our time on Sunday. Because my painted wall panel design called for 4 panels, that was roughly = 4 bottom horizontal lines + 8 vertical lines + 4 top horizontal lines. Each had to be measured exactly 4 feet wide, and 6 feet tall. Suffice it to say, total completion time for taping alone was around 3 hours. We ended up using my dad's old school metal leveler halfway through and that turned out MUCH, MUCH faster than that darn new-fangled laser nonsense.

The result?

Notice, in comparison to the first picture, how it's already dark outside.

So did we get around to painting? Yes we did! (We were pretty famished and as a result also got around to the much over-rated Cluck U Wings in Hoboken, boo. Groupon failed us.)

Can I share the REAL end product? No I can't. Why you ask? Because it's colored but the "stuff" isn't in there yet. What stuff? Why do I sound like a 6 year old with a crayon, macaroni, and a coloring book? I will just leave you with you my final design...

Hopefully *fingers crossed* my goal is to wrap this up this weekend. The hard part is done, I think... that is, until the next project.

Oh, o.co, you slay me

I've never bought anything from Overstock.com (or o.co as their new commercials tout), but of course I have been doing some browser-window shopping lately.


Among the items on my list, some sort of red chaise lounge/sofa bed to go in our office/den/guestroom combo.


I am a huge fan of the Lubi Daybed from CB2, but it's a bit more than I wanted to spend and it only comes in gray and green.

I just love that it functions as an extra bed too! And it doesn't look too much like your typical futon. 

Anyway, I came across this item on Overstock instead, called the Anise Red Convertible Chair / Bed. Still as functional, in the right color, and cheaper. What's not to love?

Well, if nothing else, this review absolutely sold me on it. I must have read it and re-read it at least 5x.

Unfortunately I am guilty of working in the online advertising business so I guess I'm partially to blame for this poor guy's lament. I honestly can't tell if he's joking or not. But if people like me didn't work in the industry we work in, then people like him wouldn't have to sleep in their offices and buy furniture and write amazing reviews about them. So brazeltov, I am sorry for stealing your clients but I am very thankful for your candid review, and I'm sure Overstock is too.

on the hunt for a wall unit

the first major piece of furniture we set out to buy was an entertainment center. there are simple TV stands, media stands with shelves & drawers, and then there are wall units. because of the configuration of the room, we knew we needed to get a large unit to span the whole wall and provide lots of storage.

ew! but first, for fun-- pic of our old TV stand from target, which i sold on craigslist to a 70 year old woman, who later emailed me and said it wasn't real wood and she was going to try to sell it on ebay for a penny.


so anyway, off we went to macy's furniture store on a former co-worker's recommendation, who had found the perfect accent chair accidentally marked $200 when it was supposed to be $2,000. L-O-L! i was hoping for that same kind of luck. 

love at first sight. a wood unit with white lacquer finish called "the galaxy." the sales guy said the manufacturer only makes custom pieces, except the ones displayed at macy's, so basically i could either get an awesome customized wall unit or the floor model at an awesome price. #winning!!!

with the delivery date set, i assigned my husband mike the painting duties. gray accent walls are so hot right now. 

my parents happened to tag along with us at home depot. i think they were shocked how quickly i wanted to move things along, considering my zero experience in home projects. we had the paint color mixed and bought the frog tape plus the rest of the supplies.

i did the taping at least! check out that awesome job around the outlets.

gray wall dunzo. props to my dad's leveler circa 1978 for creating that really straight line.

so the unit had to be disassembled in the store, then delivered to me and reassembled by a couple of nice folks. macy's had to hire the men from the manufacturer directly because their regular delivery guys weren't authorized to set up the custom pieces. who knew? no idea how we'll ever move this thing out but i'll worry about that later. 

it didn't come with a wall mount unfortunately. mike was shocked that the rotating ones at best buy were anywhere from $200 - $300. but amazon came through with this "articulating" tv wall mount for $60. (since when does "articulating" mean "rotating"?) took us well over an hour to install it.

well worth it though!

the finished product! with some storm troopers on the tube to boot!

gratuitous shot of darth vader-- err, i meant in this photo we can see the TV has been rotated to the right.

so at this moment obi wan just said, "may the force be with you." it reassured me that the force was strong on this project. i will stop with the star wars references after this one.

open up one of the side doors and you've got storage for days! i hated having random things exposed, including dvd's. i guess you could say i'm anti-shelves.

final shot of all my stuffed animals living harmoniously in the upper right cubbie. don't they look happy to have finally found a home together? and i'm so happy that they don't make my living room look like my 7th grade bedroom anymore!

losing our property virginity

Those of you who watch HGTV know that “Property Virgins” is a show about people buying their very first place. 

Because I’ve been house hunting since March 2009, YES, 2 YEARS AGO, you cannot imagine how many episodes of Property Virgins/House Hunters/My First Place/anything on HGTV I must have watched during that time. (Well on average, maybe 2 or 3 episodes a day = a LOT). Watching happy people—mostly couples—get handed the keys to their first place never got old.

You also can’t imagine my elation when it was finally my turn to close! I had rented 3 places during that time span. I must have looked at over 50+ places. I had actually even been under contract for 3 different properties; running jokes galore with my lawyer indeed. I even got married somewhere in between (4 months ago to be exact). Yes that thwarted house hunting plans momentarily but shortly after, my husband and I were back full-throttle, devoting our weekends to open houses, realtor meetings, and endless online browsing. Only one place gave us the "ZOMG this place is awesome!!!" feeling. In true hustle bustle fashion, the day we closed on it was the same exact day we returned from our honeymoon.

But here I am now. Some girls dream about their wedding day, I always dreamed of stainless steel and lacquer finishes.

OK maybe not quite. But I'm a restless person and when it comes to decorating, I guess you could say I have lofty aspirations.