NEUTRAL & FRESH

The very best part of the beginning a new year is the fresh start. I think a new beginning can happen at any time, but there’s something about a turning over a new leaf at the start of a new year. It just feels good! We get to do all the days all over again, but hopefully we’re a little bit smarter and whole lot wiser. Last year was full of up and downs. We spent most of the year drafting architect plans for the remodel, getting appraisals, finding contractors, looking for and moving into a rental, submitting permits, working with the city (that was like poking yourself in the eye – on pupose), and searching for excavators to break ground on the addition.

Fingers crossed we break ground next week and things start to move a much faster pace (because the pink bathroom in this rental makes me sad every. single. day. And so does the 1950’s puke green kitchen sink. And so does the hideous five foot mirror above the fireplace, no one needs to see themselves from that many angles). I will admit, all in all, the rental has served its purpose, but it’s just not home. So let’s hope all the crap I’ve been hoarding and buying for the new house gets a place to call home sooner than later!

How much does this house above make you want to buy a beach house! This spiffy little (huge) Hampton’s home is soooo beautiful and chock-full of eclectic character, but with a fresh, beachy vibe. Lately, I feel like my pinterest feed is full of the same house, everything is repetitive – it’s the same white kitchen, with mudcloth pillows in the living room, and a fiddle leaf fig in the corner. And while all of those things are beautiful, I want to see something different. I’ve been blogging for eight years, I think I’ve seen that exact house, different iteration, a trillion times. I know I have – that was what our first house looked like.

While the home above isn’t exactly what we’re going for in the remodel, it serves up tons of inspiration. And is a reminder that decorating “outside the box” is a beautiful thing.