New Home Essentials & Introducing a New Project

New Home Essentials & Introducing a New Project

We’ve been thinking a lot about moving lately … but no, WE aren’t going anywhere! Actually, one of our best friends is in the process of moving, and the exciting news is that Andy and I have been hired to help her with interior design and renovation at the new place! We’ll go into much greater detail later, but since she is moving from a two-story, three-bedroom home to a 740-square-foot condo (with amaaazing views of Lake Erie!) our main focuses will be on small-space living and maximizing her tight budget. It’s a super fun challenge and learning opportunity, and we’re excited about the chance to branch out into working in someone else’s home with a different style than our own. It’s something we’ve been wanting to try for a long time.

This project has us thinking about what it takes to make a new place feel like home and what recommendations we can give our friend as she plans her move. We worked with Casper, the online mattress experts, to come up with a list of our top six new home essentials…

1. Rugs — when you move, you inevitably have different-sized rooms or your accent colors change, and it’s best to start with new rugs that are chosen specifically for the new space. A lot of the time when we try to force old decor items, like rugs and furniture, into a new space, it just ends up looking, well, forced, and not intentional. A new place is always an opportunity to design with intention from the get-go.
2. Artwork — a lot of people don’t really have a lot of art that’s very special to begin with, whether they’re moving into their first grown-up home after college, or are just moving into the next phase in their lives. So a new home is a perfect time to invest (it does not have to be expensive!!) in some art pieces that speak to you and look good in your new space — something beyond an old band poster taped to the wall or mass-produced art from Target. There are so many places where you can find nice, unique and inexpensive art, or you can even make it yourself! Oh, and if you are putting that band poster on the wall (because sometimes they actually can look really awesome), just please make sure it’s framed!
3. New mattress, sheets and pillows — start fresh! Don’t take your dingy old sheets, your crumpled old pillows, and your lumpy old mattress to your new place. This is the perfect opportunity to invest in the most important thing in your life: SLEEP! Casper makes it so easy to buy a new mattress, along with pillows and sheets, because you can order online and get free delivery and returns — you have nothing to lose! You’re going to spend the majority of your time in your new place in bed, so you might as well have a good one. Also, did you know Casper has dog mattresses? They look awesome, so don’t forget a bed upgrade for your pup when you move, too!
4. Lighting — so many people overlook the importance of lighting. I think it’s absolutely critical for making a space feel updated and like it’s your home and not someone else’s. One of the first things we’ll be recommending to our friend is that she seriously consider replacing all of the old lights in her new place when she moves in. The good thing is there are so many lights nowadays that are both pretty and affordable, so it’s such an easy change.
5. A fresh coat of paint — there’s no faster way to make a space feel completely like it’s your own than a new coat of paint on the walls. We like to start with a neutral background and build from there. Besides, there’s just something about a freshly painted room feeling cleaner — or is that just me?!
6. Toolbox — it’s easy to think about all the decor you’ll want for your new place, but a toolbox is also essential. Whether you own or rent, there are times when you will absolutely need a screwdriver, a hammer, or even a basic electric drill to install those new light fixtures! We’ll go into further detail in a future post about exactly what items we think should be in every home owner’s toolbox.

We’re going to pass along all of these suggestions to our friend as she prepares for the big move. What new home essentials would you add to the list?

Stay tuned for all the details and updates on this fun new project … when we’re back from baby leave! And speaking of babies, we have a bunch of posts lined up, so while we may not post quite as often for a while, we will still have plenty of updates for you to watch out for. The best thing to do is sign up for our mailing list to get notified every time there’s a new blog post, so you don’t miss any!

(Casper provided us with the above guide, but this is not a sponsored post. All opinions are our own.)