[brilliant-nest]

A Turnkey House in 2004!

Six years ago we bought our first home as a married couple. It was love at first sight, and the former owners were brilliant decorators, gardeners, and handymen (Trish adds: and women!). They left us a home in pristine condition, with cupboards filled with extra paint to match the exterior, the interior, the trim, the Ralph Lauren red front door, and even finish for our 450 square feet of solid wood floors! They left extra tiles to match the kitchen and bathrooms and fireplace surround, in case we need to do repairs. They left a housewarming gift on the mantle! But the best part is that they left us as their friends. We keep in touch and we're honored that they read this blog and follow along in our adventures changing things up in their former home.

This home--custom-built in 1987--was well-loved and well-cared for. When we moved in, much to our luck and happiness, we didn't have to do a thing. And then the kitchen appliances began to die, one by one. (But that ain't bad!) The home has been comfortable, cozy, and it may sound cliche to say it, but "There's no place like home!"

Our Day Jobs

Todd works in incident management for Hewlett-Packard and his commute to work is about five minutes from here, so he also has a home office, and Tricia is a freelance writer and social media strategist for authors and small businesses working from her home office. (You'll be seeing both soon!) We're both in our late thirties, no kids, no pets; just a collection of paintbrushes!!

Time to Make Some Upgrades

Fast forward six years later and it's time to make some changes. We're going to replace the furnace with a heat pump, replace the old double-paned windows to something more energy efficient, paint the exterior (the same colors, just making sure its sealed against rain and rot), and the biggest decision for us (well, for Trish!) is what color to paint the interior walls, trim, and kitchen and bathroom cupboards.

Trish adds: I'm a big fan of painted wood, much to my husband's consternation. I want to paint everything white or turquoise. He said I can paint the cabinets and the trim, but not the floor and NOT anything in his home office. That's fine. A happy medium for both of us.

Anyway, I've been spending a lot of time browsing design sites and blogs for ideas on what colors to choose inside and it has led me to a whole list of things I'd like to do to improve this lovely home and to make it more our own.

Thus, this blog.

We decided that to make it easier to keep track of our progress with our home improvement, we'll do it on a blog. Then, we realized that maybe other home owners (just like us) are interested in some of our design choices and home repair projects. And then we realized that we genuinely love to work together on these projects, so why not make them even more fun (read: more detailed; just like a woman) (Trish adds: hey! You thought it was a great idea!) and provide step-by-step instructions on say, changing out a chandelier, recovering a fabric covered footstool, priming trim (and the back deck railing!) (Trish adds: Okay, so I'll do that first!), and countless other projects on my wife's evergrowing "honeydo list."

Trish again: I promised to help him with EVERYTHING I put on that list. Pinky swear!)

Anyway, welcome! We're really glad you stopped by! Look around, learn a few things, get inspired, and hey, if you have questions, drop us an email or comment. We love to hear from you! And share our site with any friends you think would also enjoy this crazy venture. It's like watching a married couple try to buy a couch.

(Trish adds: I'm not saying one word.)