From House to Home

It's been exactly three months since my last post and I'm finally settled in my new home. My move was anything but smooth. I made a poor choice in moving companies and it was a 3-day, 12-hours-a-day move. I then had two young girls here for almost five weeks helping me unpack. They were life-savers! And my neighbor, Rodney (another life-saver), helped me put together beds, put down rugs and place furniture, which gave me the basics in each room. It's all behind me now, and I'm finally relaxed, enjoying and appreciating the house.

To everyone who's asked, yes, it's everything I planned and hoped for. The layout and setting are wonderful, the construction, materials and craftsmanship are excellent, and the details make it a perfect fit. But it's still a house until the personality is added.

As I've said before, I've been moved into this house in my mind for five years, so it wasn't like moving into a new house, where decisions had to be made. Almost all the furnishings and accessories were in my previous homes, so once unpacked, I arranged everything as I'd imagined--and fortunately, it all fit as planned. With the larger floor plan, my rooms are more spacious, but I do have a lot (excessive?--that's subjective) of accessories. Fortunately, I also have plenty of bookcases and shelves.

I believe the individuality and taste of the homeowner are reflected by what's on the walls. Taking after my parents (though not on the same level) I've collected art since my early 20's. I have quite a fews oils, some watercolors, etchings, lithographs and photographs, and a group of large Japanese wood-block prints. For the first time ever, I hired someone to hang everything. What a luxury and relief for the walls--two holes for each painting as opposed to my 5 to 10 holes!

So here's what settled looks like. I'll break this into three posts to make it more manageable--first the main floor.

WELCOME!