First days of Decorating

November 1, 2013

As you saw in my last post - I finally have my very own home!  Since it has been a month in works I have had a lot of time to plan the interior decor.  The only issue for me going forward is budget - between the down payment, closing costs, property tax (which will be coming up soon), insurance and all of the minor fixes I need to make my budget is tight.

With that said - I have been keeping an eye on my favorite items waiting for a sale to snatch them up.  :)  I'm thinking the Black Friday sale will be the best - so I am trying to hold out!

1.  Paint - Currently the house is full of Greens.  The colors are nice - however a little dark for my taste.  I am obsessed with everything gray - so I have been in search of the perfect palette to match the greens and grays.  Here is an example of the paint colors I will be looking to implement in my new house: link.  I am obsessed - and will add a few touches of burnt orange or red to the mix with a throw or pillow here and there.

2.  Rugs -  Obsessed.  Obsessed.  Obsessed.  I am head over heals for Lulu and Georgia Rugs. This company offer the cutest rugs - in so many different colors and at a reasonable price. Below are two of my favorites - but I need to get all my furniture in and check out the space before deciding on one.  

3.  Tables -  What is a home without a nice big dining room table?  Esp for a family like mine where food and conversations all happen around the table.  The only issue is - tables are expensive...and so are chairs!  Eek.  I am willing to spend a pretty penny on a wooden table because I see the importance of it.  It only means I wont be able to get one in my house right away.  I have been eyeing the West Elm dining room furniture.  Specifically these two rustic yet classic tables:

West Elm is a great place to shop for classic, quality pieces at a reasonable price.  I have a feeling over half of my house will be West Elm.  :)

4.  Prints -  Lets be real for a minute - does it get any better than SS Print Shop?  I dont think so.  I am obsessed with the prints she makes and I just bought 2 for my home!  My first decorating piece for my new house.  I can't wait to take pictures of them in the new house!!!  :)  I am thinking of getting some frames form Ikea or Aaron Brother and doing some DYI tricks to them to save a little money on the decor but still make it fab.  Stay tuned!  PS dont forget to snatch up some of the SS Holiday Prints which brings me to my final favs:

5.  Holiday Cheer -  As mentioned previously I am very fond of West Elm and I cant wait to pick up some of their holiday pieces.  This is just the start.  I got an email from Crate and Barrel today saying their holiday stuff is out!  So I cant wait to see what they have this year and Pottery Barn!  Eek.  I love the holiday season!  

  

After months of searching...

November 1, 2013

After months of searching and multiple rejections - I finally have my very first house!

I have always been eager to get a place of my own - however - as I get older my 'want list' has changed dramatically.  The past year and a half it has stayed the same and I have been and I was watching Zillow and Redfin like a hawk!  About 2 months ago a house went on the market that I fell in love with.  It was a smaller house on a nice size lot (for the bay area) and it was a 3 bed 1.5 bath house.  It need cosmetic work but overall was livable.  It was in a great school district, near to where I grew up and it had the cutest red door!  Although the market was slowing down - the house was on the market for 3 days and it already had 8 offers.  Unfortunately I didn't know what pre-qualifications were needed prior to even making an offer on the house - so I was not able to put an offer in before the owners were going to make their decision.  A month later I found the house sold for $150,000+ dollars over asking.

Although I didn't get the house - or even have the opportunity to get the house - it really got my butt into gear.

A couple of weeks later, with all the prerequisites in place.  I started to look at additionally houses.  One was the most charming house - however it needed alot of work inside.  It was a 3 bed 1 bath - with alot of water and termite damage.  As I learned about what it would take to fix that (tenting a house is at least 3000 dollars if not more) it became less realistic.  I saw another house which was also 3 bed 1 bath - much more livable than the previous one but still needed work and appliances.  The backyard is what sold me to this house - it was huge and had alot of potential.  It was on the market at pending - the loan fell through and I jumped at the chance to see it (3 days later).  Well 3 days was too late - the night I put in my offer someone else came back and put in an all cash offer.  I counter offered for the house - as did the cash buyer and like any seller would - they went with the cash offer.  I started to feel slightly bummed out however the search went on.

The next day I was on Zillow and looked at a house a little above my price range.  I made plans with the agent to see it that night and to look into all of the disclosures.  It turns out my agent knew the seller - unfortunately the sellers were going through a divorce and were making a decision on the buyer the next day.  The house is 3 bed 2 bath and on a huge lot (perfect for Ryu).  That night I put an offer in on the house.  My agent hand delivered it the next day and I waited.  I waited till 8pm that night and then I got the call from my agent.  My offer was the 3rd highest - my heart SUNK!  Then in the next breathe she told me - I was the only person getting a counter offer.  Although there were other offers higher than the counter offer - the couple wanted to give me a chance to get the house.  They liked the idea of keeping it local - I grew up in the area and went to the same school their son did just a couple years before.  I called my parents - and they said they do it!  I signed the counter offer and entered into contract the next!

Entering contract on a house - and trying to close in a short amount of time - esp when you don't know what you are doing.  After lots of research into loans and going back and forth with the loan company - it was finally complete! (Look for tips on that in an upcoming post).

On October 31, 2013 I received the keys to my own very first house!  I feel so lucky and blessed to have an amazing agent, to be given a huge break when the housing market was hot, and to have parents who have helped me so much along the way!