This is not just a song title. There are a couple of reasons I named this post Help! One is because I could really use some Help and two, if I get any answers, I'll know if anyone is really reading my blog. Either way, here is my delimia....this week!
Go figure. After getting all the boxes we could inside the house (mind you they are all still not in their permanent places for easy access), we decided we didn’t bring enough furniture! Really we did, but we didn't bring the right pieces. Duh! H seems to think we need something to put the sound system on before "game day"! As if we couldn't "hear" it without the sound system hooked up.
In deciding which 10,000 + pounds of furniture to bring to the rental house....we did not bring the armoire from the den (that the TV was in) because there was no wall to put it on. The TV is hanging over the fireplace, the sofa in front of the windows and the green leather wingback /with ottoman is on the opposite wall facing the TV. The speakers are flocking the fireplace and the sub woofer has a place of its own but the rest of "it" is still in their boxes in the corner. Quite alright with me... but alas! this is the middle of August in Alabama and I have already heard the words.....Are you ready for some football? So we have to get these "babies" out of their boxes!
After lunch with a new friend, we walked into a little store in downtown Clanton and there they were! A set of three tables! After measurements were taken in the store, we came home to check on measurements of the components and area where it will be placed. Perfect! Actually the three piece set consists of a sofa table and two end tables. They are the right size, the color of wood that will go with other pieces and the style, although contemporary, will also go with the sofa and chair that will eventually go in the downstairs living room area for guests. That being the "key" decision maker....can it be used in the new house, we brought them to their temporary home. Temporary because one end table will serve as a place to store the sound system, one end table is next to the "man chair" but they will go on each end of the sofa in their next life and the sofa table is now being use in the dining room to hold extra china and silver pieces that did not get packed with the other 13,000+ pounds of "stuff" in storage still in Virginia!
The new furniture has now prompted us to look closer at the old furniture. (See where this blog is going?) We brought with us to Alabama several pieces of furniture that either needs repaired, reupholstered or refinished mainly because we thought it would cost less to have all this done here rather than in Northern Virginia and boy were we right!
So the addition of the new pieces, had us talking to new friends and locals about who and where to do all these things. I had to start a Name and Number file for all these referrals and have already checked a couple out. Seems we found someone to reupholster the green chair/ottoman first. After meeting him, decided he knew his business (been doing it for about forty years), and he promised it back in two weeks. Now to decide what color leather! At least we have the sofa to start with but we still will need another chair in addition to the wingback in the new house. WOW! All these decisions!After three days looking at the leather swatches, our first decision was not to make a decision. We were eventually going to add another chair/ottoman or recliner with that furniture so we decided maybe we need to go looking for that before we give up the green chair and maybe that would Help with that decision. Anyway, we drove toward Birmingham yesterday and discovered a wonderful big warehouse called Alabama Furniture Market and we went crazy! There were so many comfortable club chairs, with and without ottomans, and recliners all ready for us to order but here we are back to square one. What color, which chair? Guess we need to make that decision another day. *As a side note we did find H a new desk that came with other pieces as needed to replace the very L-a-r-g-e desk we brought with us that will overpower the size office in the house plans for him. One decision made!
Building a new house has me a bit overwhelmed in the first place, not to mention all these decisions! What do you do first? This is why I named this post Help! Do you pick colors, furniture, fabrics, rugs and then decorate around them? Do you wait until you move in and decide what colors you want to use and then go purchase furniture, fabrics and rugs? One would think some of this should get done before move in day. At some point we will have to decide. Anyone out there who has done this have any thoughts?
Meanwhile I DROVE to the WalMart and bought a couple of folders to start my files. I have now organized everything I have been collecting to date. One folder has things like our house plans, sizes of all our furniture so we will know where it is going, photos of “wants’ and “needs” for the new house, names and numbers of all the “players” to get these projects done,etc. The second folder, titled
Idea Book, has files (empty now) of where I will be putting photos, brochures and/ or ideas for kitchen and bathroom stuff, fixtures, lightning, tiles, flooring etc. OMG! Where to start? Help!
Sorry, I'm NO help here. You need to befriend a local interior designer...or at least find a new friend that enjoys designing and wants to help you out.
ReplyDeleteI will try again.
ReplyDeleteI say wait to buy more furniture until you get the dry wall up. That way you can actually see what you are working with instead of trying to visualize the rooms in your mind or on paper. Then you can buy what you need to fill in or change around. You should still be able to order or recover what you want. If I recall from our add on, the builder wanted to know wall colors, tile for baths and kitchen, and plumbing fixtures, first, so you could be working on that now.If
all else fails, I could come move in with you!
i've never built a house before, but i'd say you probably need to decide on the bones of the house before picking new furniture! things like shower/bath/sink/light fixtures come early in the process because the builder has to configure the space for them right away (i.e. a faucet with two separate handles vs one attached toggle handle), and you'll need to decide on things like the actual tubs/sinks/tile/windows/etc - pieces that are a permanent part of the house. look at magazines and on the internet for pictures of interiors you like and file them - you'll see a pattern emerge (like, oh, all of these kitchens have black counters, i must like that). if you see a piece of furniture that you LOVE now and must have it, go for it and incorporate it into the design, but as far as putting all the details together (wall colors, accent tables, area rugs), i think you can wait at least until the walls are up - plenty of other things to choose before then :) xoxo
ReplyDeleteJoan, I've enjoyed your blog and am happy to see that you and Harry are getting settled.
ReplyDeleteFor my two cents on your current predicament, I think I would focus on picking out all of the finishes for the house as your builder needs them first. Things like flooring, tile, bath and kitchen fixtures, cabinets, appliances, counters, paint, etc etc etc. I've never done a house from scratch, but have done several significant remodelings and additions. It can be overwhelming. You'll probably pick all of these things with a basic color scheme in mind. To me the safest thing to do would be to continue to locate people who can refinish, reupholster, etc and stores to buy furniture. I would probably wait until house was finished and you moved your stuff from VA to see what you need, what fits and what doesn't and go from there. I've found that things can look like they will fit based on measurements, but just don't look right when you get them in. Good luck!!