I'm buying a house.

Last year around this time, I found out my rent was going up about $70/month so I went to look at some townhouses that were being built nearby. They were a little bit out of my budget comfort zone, so I didn't pursue it, but last month they called me about some incentives they were running. Next thing you know, I'm buying a house. Well, hopefully. Right now I'm waiting to hear about the mortgage. This is what it's going to look like (not precisely, because I'm getting a different door header and a single gable on the top, but you get the idea). I really need to find something creative to do to camoflauge the hideous electrical panels and whatever else that is poking out the front. Yuck. Other than that, they are actually quite attractive, and the neighborhood is great.

Since I've been renting for 6 years since my divorce, and before that I was married for 17 years, this is really the first time I will have a place of my own where I can do whatever I want. I already picked out all my "options", which was fun to do, but now that I'm thinking about the furniture and color schemes, I hope my options are going to work! Sherwin Williams has a color visualizer tool on their website, which I have been playing with a great deal because I am really excited about painting, and I recently bought some furniture, some new, and some "new to me".

I have also been all over HGTV's Rate My Space pages looking for inspiration, and I'm completely drawn to the Shabby Chic look, loads of pretty things in all white and washed-out pastels. I have 2 of Rachel Ashwell's books and I have some of her things from Target in my bedroom, but the rest of my spaces have more of a romantic country feel. By which I mean I have alot of cluttery stuff like teapots and dishes and lacy things and fringy things, but mostly in a warmer color palette.

So, I'm not going to be able to go all white, but I want to do something as romantic and pretty as the spaces I've seen. I've started searching for some interesting used stuff to fix up, and I'll post some projects as I get them completed.