RTRM: We bought our first house... Now what!?!

5 years ago

RTRM: We bought our first house... now what!?!

We are under contract, we have not closed, but everything is going along as it should.

I think the first thing I need to do is thank the community here for encouraging us (well me) to look at things differently, and telling me we could do better. Some of you even reached out to me to help me find homes, you commented on design, inspection reports, and for some of you in the DFW area— specific cities. THANK YOU! Could we have done better? I’m not sure— but we could have done different. I do know that all of your advice and contributions to my research helped my DH and I buy an amazing first home.

Instead of a large wedding, we got married in an intimate city hall wedding in San Francisco (it was amazing! If you don’t know what it looks like —google it!) and then we spent over a year in a 40ft RV while we saved every penny for our down payment. All of that gave us wonderful memories and the ability to find more than a starter home.

We backed away from doing a new build, but not before talking to an architect about if we could afford to 100% custom build in our budget, instead of a tract home.

I looked at hundreds of homes all over the DFW metroplex. I made lists of what features I really wanted. I poured over numbers for remodel vs move in ready. I looked at homes under budget. I looked at homes over budget (but still affordable). I compared school districts, class sizes, visited school websites. We don’t have kids, but are working on the now ;) I looked at landing spaces near the fridge and stove. I considered flow. I thought about our current lifestyle, life with babies, kids, teens. I considered the direction of the sun. I measured things instead of taking the listing agents word when things were vital (garage size). I paid attention to if the house was on a through street or culdesac. All things considered, we are pleased and looking forward to the next adventure this will bring!

It’s a move in ready home, built in late 2013, and as soon as we close I will post photos. Everything is neutral colors. Nothing is offensive, but of course I wanna put our stamp on it.

My question is... now that we have a house, where do we start in order to make it a home? Should we do other things (maintenance) as soon as we move in? We know to change locks.

Inspection report came and the very few problems. “Major” issues have been dealt with by a pro. A few things that don’t need immediate attention by a pro are on the to do list. Minor things will be handled by me (adding a self closing and latching gate lock, replacing a few light bulbs, adding a threshold between carpet and tile.

The only furniture we have is:
1 king bed on adjustable base (no headboard/ footboard)
2 night stands, tall dresser, wide dresser (my left over high school furniture)

I have dimensions of the rooms I would like to start with. I know we won’t be moving in to a furnished home, but I want to have a plan for the whole picture when we make the big ticket purchases. I also want to be able to buy key pieces when I find them or spot a good deal.

We are newlyweds, not house poor, but also can’t budget 25% of the purchase price to furnish. I’m hoping to set a realistic budget, invest in decent quality furniture (lazboy, flex steel to give you an idea) and thrift / garage sale the rest. I’m handy and can build things/ refinish things too.

Thanks for your advice!

Featured Answer

groveraxle

5 years ago

Don't be in too much of a hurry. No one ever died from sitting on these:

05027b.jpg (JPEG Image, 300 × 390 pixels) · More Info

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (48)

apple_pie_order
5 years ago
Buy the upholstered things new (no bedbug worries). Sofa first, you need something to sit on. Dining table and chairs, craigslist. Moving sales and estate sales can have good buys.

Towels and bed linens from TJ Maxx or Target. Fortunately, there are lots of move-in package deals from department stores for back to school at this time of year.
suezbell
5 years ago
Agree w/apple_pie_order: Buy any furniture w/fabric upholstry new ... w/one possible exception:

If you find dining chairs you especially like that have a cushion affixed to a plywood board attached to a chair and you are DIY inclined, go for it: ... If changing the cushion amounts to removing the board, removing/trashing all the fabric and cushion material from it, then adding a new firm cushion (or bed pillow) and covering it with fabric you can staple to the bottom of the plywood board, you can remove those cushions before you ever bring the chair in the house. You could even replace the plywood board if need be -- Lowes will usually cut them to size for you.
Related Discussions
Bought Shrubby House, Now What?
Q
Comments (4)
Oh dear god, it's a terror of landscaping plastic underneath. I have found at least 4 layers, most is plastic, though some is the fabric. *blech* I dig out what I can, but it's just not feasible to rip everything out. I understand the mulch is meant to decay, but from what we can tell, this family has just been putting mulch upon mulch upon (plastic) upon mulch for the better part of 30 years, so it had spilled into neighbors yards, and outside the boundaries it should have been confined to. We pulled about an inch or two maybe out, until we hit the first layer of plastic. We don't use electric trimmers, but we use like... manual hedge clippers, and trust me, there are plenty of extraneous clippings and twigs to be raked by the time we get around to all of them. The electric trimmers are what causes the inside of the bush to be all plain twigs with no growth? I see that in a lot of our shrubs - I have to be very delicate with some of them. I found this article, it describes my house to a t. The shrubs are like the landscaping at a bad corporate office, but I'd at least like to keep them healthy, and not have them take over/run into each other until I figure out what I want. I guess I'd been keeping them to the same shapes they were in when we moved in. Any idea if I called around to nurseries in the spring that maybe they'd want some of these? Euf. Here is a link that might be useful: Shear madness
...See More
We're In but now our GC wants to lien on our house!
Q
Comments (25)
Kats, that is some real chutzpah. I feel for you. We've been in our home for a little more than a month after a 13-month build (that was only supposed to take 9 months) - the delays were excruciating because they would have been avoidable by someone with even a modicum or organizational ability, which our GC does not have. He's a lovely guy on a personal level but not nearly as good a contractor as he thinks, and we sorely need a break from the unrelenting pressure. He still has not finished one major item - two sets of steel stairs that go from our rear porches to our rear terrace, as well as several small punchlist items. There's always an excuse. He's disorganized, but resents it when we step in to organize, or take any kind of action to impose a deadline - this from a guy who is routinely hours late to scheduled meetings and never met any deadline in the construction process, even ones he imposed himself. Our new theory this week is to give him whatever time he needs (within reason) but to limit his intrusions into our home life to one day a week, arranged in advance, with a "one hour" rule - if he's not here within an hour of when he is supposed to be he has to wait until the next week. Apparently that is being just as "mean" and "difficult" as complaining about unmet deadlines - he thinks we should be there 24/7 for him to do what he wants, or we should just give him a key and trust him, in any event on his schedule. No way - he has needed watching every step of the way. We've done way more than our share of work that he should have done - I feel for you there too. He's been inches away from being fired more than once on this job, and we've talked to a construction lawyer several times about really contentious issues. In the end, even though we have the cash leverage (we still owe him more than our 10% retention, primarily because he's too lazy to do a requisition), it just hasn't been worth it to fire him. Assuming that you don't need clean title for a takeout of your construction loan, it sounds like you have little to worry about. I don't have huge faith in the court system, but even then I find it hard to believe that a judge would buy his argument that his subs are not under his control. Also, if he's not done, how in the world could he be owed a completion bonus? The courts are always a risk, but in this case it seems to me a pretty small one. If you do have to close any new financing that requires title work, you may need to think about it a bit more strategically. Do everything you can to get your loan closed without a lien being recorded. Otherwise, my advice to you is the advice I have a hard time taking myself. It's only as big a deal as you make it. So hire a lawyer and instruct him or her to deal with it in as cost-effective a manner as possible. Then let it go and enjoy your new house.
...See More
RTRM: Furniture layout for MB, LR, Dining
Q
Comments (30)
@Junco -- The plan for table and chairs "immediately" is a plastic set of Lifetime chairs and table that we can use for parties, and out side for years to come. Maybe it's worth it to get a round table instead of square /regtangle to live in the space first. This will do exactly what you say with by allowing us to live in the home for a bit. I agree, the potential to use the corner of the dining room as a walkway is there-- that's what I am hoping to really make the narrow walkway to the living room remain unblocked. Current owners have an ottoman that sticks out into the area. Another thread: https://www.houzz.com/discussions/what-size-dining-tables-work-well-in-a-12x12-dining-room-round-recta-dsvw-vd~921263 Suggests that I do a rectangle table at 72x54 as the ideal shape, or a 60" round instead of the 72" I currently have drawn in. I think I am leaning towards round because it's what I have always wanted... but just because I want it doesn't mean it's the right/best option for that room - and I'm willing to go rectangle if it's the "right" choice. For the record, the top left L wall with the long leg doesn't stick THAT far out from what I remember but maybe I am wrong. Here is the layout from GN Builders. I'm 100% on board with that clearances around the table. But don't see why I just can't make the "littlest" person sit in the corner bottom right seat 0:) OR just put my husband there so he is the only one that HAS to suffer. (don't worry, other wise I take good care of him :D ) Where I am struggling with my inspiration rooms -- nearly every room I see has 1. Non reclining sofas 2. White/ very light materials 3. Low backs on the sofa 4. Large rooms where everything floats instead of being on the walls. I'll try to be more specific with my comments on the books. We have only been to 1 furniture store thus far-- and I am planning on going to several more in the next few weeks. I was hoping to have an idea on what sizes I should go with so I don't get a giant piece of furniture that is impossible to work around. Your contributions are VERY appreciated and are going to help me make the right decisions! Thanks!
...See More
Just bought a house.... now what???
Q
Comments (56)
Good God, you guys!! Wait until you see the rest of the house!! HA HA! Thought about answering you all one by one, but going to cherry pick before ending my lunch break! I'm 40. I owned a house before with my now ex-wife, moved into an apartment and now moving into a house. So, I've got all the control of what color to make things, how to set it up, etc. without really knowing how to do that. I can hold my own with repairs and my dad is a contractor who translates my "You know, we could..." to "This is how you do it," which ultimately turns into "Hold this light while I do it." I'd like something better than not, but, it seems a lot of you are saying that I should get used to the space first and then tackle it. With an entire house to do this to, this makes a lot of sense. I've picked out appliances that'll run about $1400 for a fridge (skinny enough to fit), a stove (gas) and a dishwasher (my first!!). I did think about used to just tide me over in the short term and still might. I've got 2 weeks to decide. Didn't think about the fire hazard thing and moving things over. A pair of 9's for an 18 makes sense and just slide things over. Not sure how the gas line would effect that, but, that's easy enough to fix. A lot of you said things about budget. I'd like to keep it low, only because I've got the whole house to think about and paint was the cheapest option to give it a different look because the cabinets do like jainky. But, they hold dishes and pots and pans, soo.... could be future Paul's problem! @P M That looks really cool! That's a good luck for the pantry! Also, I work in IT for a university, so the school provides the grant. I have to stay five years and that's it. After that, I can do with what I want. It's not that they approve the changes. They had an inspector come thru and he comes up with a to do list of things that have to get done in a year. My list is 23 things long, but, some of those are super easy (reseat the toilet) and others are more complicated (rewire the garage). They don't have a say in what I do day-to-day, but I have to fix what they want fixed before next September. Again, thanks everyone! Sorry i can't respond to you all one by one, but I've read everything you wrote and provide updates! :)
...See More
Lindsey B
Original Author
5 years ago
Apple pie- we are for sure prioritizing a sofa. Nothing says relaxing to us like putting our feet up! We figure we can eat at the kitchen island until we get a dining table. Great advice! Thank you!!! Totally forgot about bed bugs.
Lindsey B
Original Author
5 years ago
@suezbell I didn’t think about recovering dining chairs! Paint yes but not the fabric! I actually have quite a few tools— so cutting plywood bases would be no issue :) I’m hunting craigslist now :)
Sally VanV
5 years ago
Buy a neutral sofa in a size that truly fits the scale of your room. Find a furniture sales person you trust to give you good advice. Many salespeople are only there to earn commission and will sell you anything you seem to show interest in!! Beware.
suezbell
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
A headboard shouldn't be a priority. For now, you could just paint a vertical accent stripe on the wall at the head of your bed, the same width of your bed, and add art above it.

Appliances are probably going to be your priority furnishing purchases -- white or stainless. With just the two of you, even a dishwasher is not a necessity.

Even a sofa isn't a priority. You might buy a pair of his/her recliners and then consider dining room chairs that are comfortable wheeled office conference room chairs that could double as guest seating -- ditto that for any desk chairs.

Don't rush to fill your new home with stuff. Do discover the adventure of used stuff store shopping -- more looking than buying, buying only what you actually need.

Make "hiking" your new hobby, including hiking into the local Habitat for Humanity Restore Store, Salvation Army Family Store, GoodWill stores; local yard sales, local charity thrift stores, consignment shops, "antique and more" stores, etc, from time to time.

One item of furniture you might consider is a "stuff" cabinet -- a good used china cabinet with solid doors on the bottom and glass doors on the top can be an inexpensive and practical option for holding family treasures, hiding some while displaying others, without your needing to dust them regularly. (If dust does get in, usually some weather stripping around the top of the inside of the doors can stop that.) Behind the glass doors you can crowd the items onto the shelves, putting what you want displayed at any given time close to the doors and the rest in the back, including framed family photographs.
User
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
Well, I'm in dfw...and I adore craigslist. Tips for you...know your area and where the "posh" houses are. That's where you want to look (check the maps..what looks close is only close on the map in the metroplex!) Probably Plano, Park Cities area is good for you to look...Dining room furniture is amazingly affordable...people must not want their expensive sets. Also there are quite a few people who are here to work for a year or two and then get transferred back out (lots of new biz, here). Familiarize yourself with "good" furniture stores and brands and search using those search terms....No reason to buy a used Ashley dining room set if you can get Ethan Allen for the same price.

I wouldn't completely discount a used sofa...I got mine for 350 and, new, it was about 8000. It was used for three months and stored for 6.

Have fun. You have a house. Buy some champagne and make good use of that King size bed (by which I mean you can use it to watch tv while waiting for the sofa ;))

Any questions...ask. Congratulations!
chispa
5 years ago
Don't rush to buy things just to fill the space and don't settle for trendy items or something you don't love. When we bought our first house, it took me 2 years to find the perfect dining room table. It was pricey at the time, but it has stayed with us through several moves and I still love it 18 years later.
sheloveslayouts
5 years ago
Congratulations! I enjoyed reading about your process and look forward to when you can post about specific design dilemmas. Exciting times ahead!
HKO HKO
5 years ago
Find the high end furniture consignment shops in your area and sign up for their Facebook feeds. We just scored Eames dining room chairs at our local one, half off Design within reach prices, because the people changed their minds after two weeks. Ours has their upholstered items professionally cleaned so there is no bed bug worry, either. Stores like Home Goods are good for lamps, and you never know what you else you’ll find....last year I got a henredon upholstered chair, $2000 MSRP, on clearance for $350.
Cheryl Smith
5 years ago
Look at finished rooms on Houzz photos and save everything I really mean everything you like in folders for rooms, furniture, windows, paint color with your new house in mind. You'll find common colors, layouts and styles. Looks can be copied for little money by shopping sales, thrift stores and garage sales. Keep all the expensive things you buy and the paint color neutral so the look can be changed easily by just replacing the cheaper things like pillows and accessories. Spend the money on things you want to keep for awhile. Your bed was one of those but a headboard does help finish the look and keeps the bed grounded. We also bought a new house and adjustable bed this year but have been married for 25 years and are 64. We bought the bed because we have room now for a king size so our bedroom is also a new beginning with furniture. Totally different than the rest of our house that has antiques and things from our past. I believe that if you buy things you love, you will love the room. It was a couple months between signing the papers and actually moving into the house. I thought about where I would put things that whole time before moving in. when the time came to move a lot just fell into place. We did paint the main rooms before we moved in. Choosing a color can be difficult so I just used a color from our previous house that I loved. Ask friends and family if you like a color in their homes.
RaiKai
5 years ago
Take your time ESPECIALLY as it is your first home and you are still finding your design sense, as well as getting to “know” the house.

We just bought a new home and essentially furnished from scratch (excepting our own bed and mattress which we purchased a year or so ago) but this is not our first house, we had sold or gave away most of our furniture when we moved to this city several years ago now and “survived” with a small table and recliners for a few years until we settled in again, and since we picked all the finishings for our house we knew our selected furniture would work well with the aesthetic.

Like others said, it’s okay to go “temporary” for a while until you find things you love; you can save a lot of frustration and money that way in the end.

Congrats on your new home!
lake lover
5 years ago
Do not rush into any major projects, structural changes or additions. Live with the home as it is for awhile. Many people find their priorities change over time. I agree with the other suggestions for furnishings. I have found incredible deals on Nextdoor, Facebook Marketplace and On-line Yard Sales. When people are moving or changing décor they just want it gone and will almost pay you to take it away.
Donald
5 years ago
Whatever you do, don’t rush into a purchase (I have to buy this today or the sale ends) or into a renovation (live with it for a while because first ideas usually change). There will always be another sale, another deal, and it’s better to do something right than do something quickly. Congrats!
PRO
Diana Bier Interiors, LLC
5 years ago
I agree with everyone who says not to rush into purchasing everything at once. And a sofa should probably be your first major purchase. BUT try to have a furniture layout in mind before you buy. Have some sort of plan with measurements before you shop. This way you'll avoid having to answer the question "what size sofa/table,etc." on the fly when you are in the store. And realize that something unforeseen WILL happen that will put a crimp in your budget. So always have a contingency fund for those unexpected problems.
tfitz1006
5 years ago
Everyone has made good points about taking your time. The other thing I'd add would be to avoid the home goods/kirklands/marshalls type of mass-produced decor just to fill up space. This is especially true of the "artwork" you find there.
Yayagal
5 years ago
Check your FB and look up sales listing for furniture, they even have sites for high end furniture. You won't believe what you find. Stick to the towns around you.
girlnamedgalez8a
5 years ago
Join your online "Nextdoor" group for your neighborhood. I recently bought an entertainment center to fill a 20'long x 18' tall wall in our family room for $300. from my Nextdoor group. My daughter got a complete dining room set including a buffet for $350. These were quality purchases for pennies on the dollar. I am near the Frisco area so welcome to N. TX.
Lindsey B
Original Author
5 years ago
So, once I post photos and floor plans, what is the consensus on how to do that. Should I make a separate post for each room? Post all on the same day? What information can I provide to you all to make helping me easy?
User
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
I would start with coming up with some ideabooks.....

I can then throw things your way from craigslist that I think are a good buy that you might like (note: I tend to not shop for things that only "fair"...it has to really be a good value.) We can't do that without some idea of style...I'm guessing in a House in the metroplex, kind of transitional? But I would spend the next few days posting pics what you like in your ideabooks.

As far as paint color and whatnot---I'll leave that to others as paint online doesn't translate to me.

If you have anything specific to a room that's NOT decorating related, I would post in the individual room forums and cross post wherever it applies.

Just my 2c

It may help to put rooms sizes in your ideabooks too...

It's very generous of you to open yourself up to suggestions, Lindsey. I hope to be of some help in some small way.
laurafhallen
5 years ago
Estate sales are another great place to find furniture!
natesg
5 years ago
Following
melinda1977
5 years ago
Love to hear of fellow Houzzers from N. Texas! I am in Plano.
User
5 years ago
******Waves Maniacally*****
melinda1977
5 years ago
Back atcha!
loobab
5 years ago
I think numbers are really important.

I would measure all your rooms dimensions, and try to figure out what size furniture would work (once you know what furniture you think you want.) You can do this by looking at different sizes of sofas, dining room tables, chairs, etc.

Then get butcher paper or craft paper and cut out the floor dimension of the space that piece of furniture will take up in your room and tape it down on the floor with painter's tape.

Also mark out a good 12 inch margin all around it because that is at least how much berth we normally give pieces of furniture.

Live with those pieces of paper taped to the floors of your rooms.

Then you will know what can really fit or not.

And be sure to go shopping with a retractable tape measure and your room plans on graph paper unless you are a modern gal and you have it on computer.
cawaps
5 years ago
Groveraxle's lawn chair pic took me back to my first apartment. That was literally my only furniture when I first moved in; I didn't even have a bed and sacked out on the floor.

I think loobab has the right advice on figuring out what will fit. You don't want to be one of the many people who posts here trying to make the sectional they purchased work in their small, awkwardly laid out living room. Figure out what will fit, and how you want it laid out, before you buy.

Someone mentioned Target and TJ Maxx for towels and bed linens. I'd also throw in Ross for items like that. I still have towels and a bath rug, and some storage benches, and a mirror, that I got there after I divorced.
Cheryl Smith
5 years ago
My favorite for towels is costco. Real nice and a little larger size that usually go on sale for $5 each great deal. I will only buy electronics there because of the return policy. Furniture seems a great deal to.
loobab
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
Here's some other things I forgot-

You need to know if what you buy will fit in your doorway and up your stairway and around the curve of your staircase!

I bet you thought you'll never need that middle school trigonometry again.

Ixnay my riend-fay!

Look here-

https://www.dummies.com/education/math/trigonometry/determining-if-a-long-object-will-fit-around-a-hallway-corner/

https://www.raymourflanigan.com/Themes/Default/Images/Measure-for-Delivery/MeasureForDelivery.pdf

You could have a grand piano hoisted into your second floor through a removed window, but do you really want to pay $$$$ that kind of money?

More realistically, a secretary often cannot get around the corner of a staircase or around the sharp corner of a corridor into a room, but a smart mover (and know you!) know that the top can be detached from the bottom drawer section. But it has to be done very, very carefully by someone who knows exactly what they are doing. The whole thing can break, and the curved glass and fret work (if that is what it has) is not easy (and is expensive) to replace. Really, I wouldn't advise taking apart a secretary of significant value, better keep it downstairs, assuming you can get it in the front door.

For whatever you buy, buy lots of clean, clean fabric moving pads and insist your furniture be wrapped in those pads to be moved, and stabilized to the truck to be moved, and don't let anyone put that awful tape directly on your furniture, only on the moving pads!

About sheets and towels.

Not to gainsay Target, but I have found that I have better luck buying higher quality sheets (higher thread count) and towels on sale than lesser quality ones. The better quality ones on sale, even if you get ones that are irregulars with almost imperceptible imperfections feel great and last a very long time and hold up well to many, many washings.

You may be able to find these at outlet stores and places like Tuesday Morning.

You can get high quality sheets and towels at Costco too, just read the labels

White sales are traditionally in January but Labor Day is coming up and you may find great sales on linens and towels coming soon. Macy's is having towel sales now.

Also, all the summer and beach things are on sale, and you may like the huge beach towels to use as bath sheets. A bath sheet is 35 x 60, a beach towel is 30-40 x 70. Some bath sheets are even bigger at 40 x 80.

Of course, if your husband refuses to wash his hands and wipes who knows what stains on light towels what is the point of buying quality? Buy him a cheap set and buy yourself the good stuff :)
User
5 years ago
Here's something else...(as if you're not already overwhelmed!!) Mooch around online among the solar screen websites to see if that's something worth considering...Texas sun is, as you know, brutal.
suezbell
5 years ago
Porch or patio furnishings as a temporary idea ... okay; however, that lawn chair!!! with that aluminum tubing beneath the back of the legs just behind the knees... groveraxle ... nope. You can find better for about the same price or not much more that you might actually want to keep and use as lawn chairs later.

Try this kind of folding chair instead.

https://www.acehardware.com/search?query=folding+camping+chair

Even these are more comfortable -- and they have a higher back.

https://www.google.com/search?q=WalMart+folding+patio+chairs&source=lnms&tbm=shop&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjmx4utlencAhXjQ98KHc8eDX4Q_AUICigB&biw=1366&bih=650#spd=14447754832417507089&spf=1534133698241
Joe T.
5 years ago
So what does "RTRM" mean? I googled, but the closest I could find was Real-Time Risk Management.
Denita
5 years ago
^So glad I'm not the only one that has no idea of what RTRM means. I did the same thing (google) and came up with Joe's answer. Please let us know :)
IdaClaire
5 years ago
I read through this thread just to see if someone mentioned RTRM. No idea what that means!
Lyndee Lee
5 years ago
Don't be afraid to buy a bargain unless the item is rather difficult to move. While you don't want to spend a lot of money just to get some furniture, you don't have to sit on the floor while you wait to find the right piece. There is nothing wrong with keeping something for a year and then getting rid of it when it no longer fits in or you don't need it.

When we first bought our house, it was much larger than our previous place so we now needed furniture for both a living room and a family room. Finding comfy chairs at a reasonable price was the focus of many of our explorations of the area. The chairs got tossed several years ago, but I recovered the ottoman and I still use it. Now that we have moved into a different house, I need to recover the ottoman again to fit in with my new colors
salonva
5 years ago
Coming back to see if anyone can share what RTRM means.
Lindsey B
Original Author
5 years ago
@Lyndee Lee, I won't be scared of a bargain... I just don't want to spend.. say $300 on a "in between" sofa because 1. That's a good chunk of money to go to the desirable sofa 2. I don't want to get stuck with some weird/ugly/in between sofa when life does happen and all of a sudden I realize I have had the sofa for 10 years and I never REALLY like it. :D I... now if it's good qaulity and a deal and I like it enough to hold on to for a while - that's another story.
Lindsey B
Original Author
5 years ago
@Joe T, @ IdaClaire (cute name :D ) @Denita , @ Salonva ..... I thought In past posts I talked about "Tagging" my posts having to do with my house as RTRM or Road to Red Maple, which is a take on the original house's street address that started me on hozz. I guess I didn't.

I thought it would be nice for people who are interested to help out or see whats going on to see that in the subject and either jump in on the discussion OR scroll on by :D

Sorry guys! I'll be more clear with it towards the top of the post if I continue with it.

I'm swamped at work-- but during my breaks I am expanding my Houzz idea books, and I'll try to get my layouts done this week also.
Lisa G.
5 years ago
Maybe it means Ready To ReModel? Headscratching on this one, too.
Lindsey B
Original Author
5 years ago
@lisa I just posted why... but it’s short for Road to Red Maple — basically my journey to home ownership :)
Lisa G.
5 years ago
AH! Got it :D I'm on month 8 of living in our first home. I agree with everyone who says to pace yourself, give yourself time to kick the tires and let the house reveal to you what is a priority for attention. I would normally suggest, though, that you take advantage of the empty house if/when it's yours and have the rooms painted to spare yourself a bunch of hassle. Even if you go nice whites for now, it's worth just getting it done so you walk into a clean slate. But this is new construction, right?
Lindsey B
Original Author
5 years ago
Good advice :) it’s not new... but close. House was built in 2013 but our people bought in 2014. As far as I can tell all paint is the same color throought home. It’s nothing fancy and I don’t really mind it, but not sure if it’s the right hues. Pics to come soon I promise!!
loobab
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
Yes, pics, we want pics!!

:)

And do invite your neighbors for coffee even if they have to sit on a towel.

After one taste of your baked goods, they'll all be your best friends!

(I remember when we were young enough to to eat sitting on the floor at a coffee table, no one had any furniture, we all were limber and thought we were doing an "Asian" thing by sitting on the floor, the book shelves were boards on cinderblocks, the desk was a unfinished door on saw-horses.)
Lindsey B
Original Author
5 years ago
Here you go!!! Some pics on this post: https://www.houzz.com/discussions/rtrm-furniture-layout-for-mb-lr-dining-dsvw-vd~5439784

We don't even have a coffee maker! HAHAHAHA. But I'll try to do a little something something :D Even if it's just saying hello with some ultra nutty pecan bars :D I'm hoping to buy some bar stools for the kitchen asap... ones that will go under the island as temp eating. We are also going to be getting one of those 6 or 8ft tables from costco with folding chairs for the mean time, if that's what we eat on for Thanksgiving, so be it. It will give us the "Remeber 35 years ago, our first thanksgiving in a new home and we ate on folding chairs and paper plates?" -- well we have plates. hehe. We figure that this type of table/chairs will ALWAYS come in handy during parties.

Also more links about our journey there.
tqtqtbw
5 years ago
:-) Get two of the four seat folding tables, easier to carry and multi use. My friend uses hers for card game parties.
sofikbr
5 years ago
Don't worry about future yet, temporary shades on windows where you need privacy. Home Goods for all small staff like towers and kitchen knifes, dishes and so on. Build your inspiration photos for living room and think about furniture placement. When you move in, start looking for sofa. But have idea how you want your room to look. For example my style change with time and house we live in. It used to be very contemporary and now it is more modern with beach flair. Please don't get placeholders it will be there forever or "good deals " that's not something you love.
Lindsey B
Original Author
5 years ago
Thanks @sofikbr :D Fortunately, there are already blinds in the house :D I'm a huge cook so I already have cooking things. DH has ugly dishes that I will have to live with for a while. Thanks for the advise! I am with you with not getting placeholders unless i am prepared to live with them for a long time!

RTRM: We bought our first house... Now what!?!

Comments (48)

Related Discussions

Lindsey BOriginal Author

Lindsey BOriginal Author

Lindsey BOriginal Author

Lindsey BOriginal Author

Lindsey BOriginal Author

Lindsey BOriginal Author

Lindsey BOriginal Author

Lindsey BOriginal Author

Lindsey BOriginal Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Lindsey B
Original Author

Lindsey B
Original Author

Lindsey B
Original Author

Lindsey B
Original Author

Lindsey B
Original Author

Lindsey B
Original Author

Lindsey B
Original Author

Lindsey B
Original Author

Lindsey B
Original Author