a (new) place of one's own

we really love the house we live in. it's more than enough space, ample outdoor space, large rooms and tons of closets. it's the first house we've lived in as a married couple. our neighbors are the first couple we've befriended as "the rothbergs" and not previously belonging to one of us. it's where we said goodbye to our first shared pet, and where we adopted our first mutually acquired pets, where i had my first experience with gardening, and our first dinner parties (with everyone actually sitting). and we're moving out of it.

it's not all bad though. yes, it was a hard pill to swallow when we realized that we needed to downsize, but it quickly became a relief. we don't own the house we live in, and there is no reason to be house poor in a rental. just no reason at all. we want to be able to do things and go places and to save. so we move. 2.2 miles, to be exact.

of course, i'm thrilled to have a project...and i have so many ideas. there are definitely challenges - the new place is much smaller. we have one less bathroom and many fewer closets. and sadly, we will lose much of the outdoor space we have come to love. BUT...there is a balcony off the master bedroom, which has become probably my most favorite part of our current home. i will, straight away, set up some birdseed and birdhouses and let them know there's a new spot in town...maybe my bird friends will find me :)

i am painting in shades of gray, since there is gray carpeting pretty much throughout. i figured i might as well work with what's already there, rather than work against it or in spite of it, and it gives me a great opportunity to do a color scheme i've been sniffing around for a while. i'm planning on doing the living/dining room and possibly both bathrooms in charcoal (mitchell almost threw up when i told him that), and a lighter, moodier gray for the bedrooms. below are some pictures of molly sim's soho apartment featured in instyle magazine a few years ago. i've been poring over them for years and am excited to finally try out a gray look, though ours will be darker.

i'm planning on doing the foyer, staircase and hallways in either a light or medium gray or an accent color, like a pink, salmon or coral. i do love how molly sim's apartment uses purples and blues ("haberdashery blues" as i remember the instyle feature calling them), but no matter how i slice it, blue feels cold to me on a wall, and i'd rather incorporate it in textiles which can bring softness. so i still have some decisions to make, but should be decided by the weekend.

i am looking forward to the challenge of making a new place into a home. luckily, we have a place to store all the things we don't need for now, so that we can live on a scale that makes sense in the new space that is our home. i guess that's the theme here - living on a scale that makes sense. it will be an adjustment, but then most good things are.

molly sims photos from http://www.paloma81.blogspot.com/; www.perfectbound.blogspot.com and http://www.brownturtlenecksweater.typepad.com/