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New House Update + Guest Room Planning #CoffeeTalk

Greetings, friends! I hope you’re all enjoying your weekend.

In case you hadn’t figured this out yet, Coffee Talk will basically be new house updates for the foreseeable future. I hope you’re all okay with that! If not, come back tomorrow, and I promise to be back to talking fashion as usual.

This week has been a bit of a whirlwind. On the one hand, I feel like we’ve been working on the new house for a month, and on the other hand, it seems like the last week flew.

For those just tuning in, it’s been 10 days since we closed on the new house, and we’re still living in our old house while we do some painting and carpeting. Moving Day is this Friday, 7/13.

I’m not superstitious, but I can’t help but hope that isn’t a bad omen. I really want things to go well! A friend used our moving company last month, and it did NOT go well for her. We had already signed the contract and put down a deposit when I saw the damage done to her brand new custom built home, so we’re just going forward and hoping for the best, but I can’t say I’m not a little concerned. Hopefully her situation was just a fluke.

Here’s a little update on our progress so far, for those who haven’t been reading my email updates each day.

FYI, if you like Coffee Talk, you will love my emails. I share a little about what’s going on in my life before introducing the day’s blog post, and there are some other exclusive features as well! If you’re not getting them, you can sign up here.

We hired a paint crew to work on the downstairs, and we’re going to do the upstairs and basement as time allows. The painters started on Monday, and it feels like slow going, but they’re doing a good job and they’re nice guys. I’m not sure they’ll be done by this Friday, as planned, but they can finish up after we’re moved in if they have to. Not a big deal.

Because I’m a sheep, we’re painting pretty much the entire house in a neutral “greige” with white trim. 🤣

I know, it’s so trendy right now, but over the past 20 years, I feel like I’ve had about every paint color under the sun, and I’m liking this light and neutral trend. Also, it will make it easier to redecorate or update for the seasons. I’m kind of tired of having my decor dictated by my wall color.

There are a few exceptions. I want to do something fun in the powder room and maybe the laundry room too. And we decided to paint the dining room navy blue above the chair rail, and white below, and we’re having windowpane molding installed to look like wainscoting. I’m super excited about that. I think it will look so lovely! Here’s a “before” picture.

I also ordered a rug for the dining room as well as white silk curtains. The rug came this week, and I like it okay, but it actually looks more blue than grey, which is fine since we’re using navy paint in that room. I’m sure it will all come together and look nice when the furniture is in place.

This is the one room that will be together almost instantly upon move-in because after the painters are done in there (that room should definitely be done this week), I can hang the curtains and put the rug in place, and then all that’s left is to have the movers place the furniture on Friday!

I ordered matte gold curtain rods, and I eventually hope to replace the chandelier with something that has some matte gold details. I’ll still want to accessorize the room, but at least the basics will be in place right away.

The other room I’m working on right away is the guest room because it’s looking like we may have houseguests the first week of August. Paul and I started painting it Friday night, and we went back yesterday and almost finished. The walls still need a second coat with the roller, but that won’t take long. I chose an off-white for that room that’s slightly lighter than the Edgecomb Grey that’s throughout most of the house. It’s BM China White, and it has a hint of creamy yellow to it, which I like for that room. I want it to feel cheery and serene.

It’s taking me a while to figure out the decor, but it’s coming along. Here’s what I’m playing around with.

So far I’ve ordered a bed, bedding, decorative pillows, and curtains. I also ordered these lamps, but I’m considering swapping them for these lamps to pull in more black. (That’s why I have both in the image above.)

I’m still working on wall art and end tables. I’m trying to keep the budget down since we have so many things we want to do right away, so that’s prolonging the process. These are the end tables I really want, but $$$. What do y’all think of the ones in the picture above? Also, what do we think about a wall clock in a bedroom? I love the colors in this one, but I’m not sure it looks like a bedroom.

Other than that, and the decisions we’ve already made for the family room, we’re planning to move our existing stuff over and then take each room one at a time. It’s so tempting to try to do it all. right. now. but I know we need to take our time and wait until I can give each room the focus it deserves and afford to decorate the way I want to. I’m dying to work on my office, but that will have to wait.

So yeah, that’s where my mind is these days.

In non-house news, my son only has one more week of working at camp, and he’ll be home for a few weeks before we start getting him ready to head off to college. We have a beach vacation thrown in there as well, so with the #NSale this week, the move next weekend, our vacation in a few weeks, and houseguests in August, I know that’s going to be here before we know it.

I’m both excited for him and dreading it for me. It was hard enough when he left for camp last month, and I know that was just the tip of the iceberg. I keep telling myself we’ll have a lot more to talk about when he comes home, and I’m super excited to go to his college marching band exhibitions.

The girls are excited about the new house, but the reality of leaving this one is setting in a bit, so it’s been a strange weekend around here. I think we’re all feeling a little off-kilter, but I keep telling myself it will all work out and we will feel at home over there soon enough!

I hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend. Here in Philly, the humidity broke, and it’s sunny and beautiful. I went for a walk/run yesterday, and I was hoping to do the same this morning, but I spent waaaay too long writing this post, and now it’s time to get ready for church. Oh, well. As Scarlett would say: After all, tomorrow is another day…

Have a good one! xo

Join The Conversation

78 Responses

  1. I wish you would get back to *more* of these posts, I miss them very much from you 🙂 In any case, I think it is very exciting for your family. I have to hand it to you: moving and sending your son to college is a ton of stress and emotions. God Bless you!

  2. I keep my fingers crossed for your moving! A couple of months ago we did a huge renovation of our house (after 20+ years) and we decided on the same wall color in the whole house and it’s some ‘greige’ as well! LOL! At first when we tried it at some places to see how it would come out I said – isn’t that a bit boring? But when everything was done we were totally happy! It looks great and I hope you will be equally happy when everything’s done.

  3. I love what you picked for the guest room! I think the wall clock in your collage goes well with everything else. The black lamps would tie in nicely with the bed and clock. 

    I hope moving day goes well!

  4. I love navy. Jealous !! I’ve always had plain walls so I can change the accessories . Excited to see the dining room:)  

  5. A wall clock that large usually ticks loudly. Will that bother you during the night if you are having a restless night? Love it, though. I’m looking for a huge clock for our living room. Where did you find that one?

  6. I love the choices you’ve made in your guest room! I would still be dithering over whether to paint or not to paint 🙂  It’s going to be beautiful!!!

    1. Haha, I like to get things DONE. 🙂 I did hire help choosing the paint, though. I am awful at choosing paint on my own, and it was such a big project with pro painters, I knew I had to get it right on the first try.

  7. Your coffee talk is something I look forward to Sunday mornings. You are a friendly way to start a day, before I jump into all things mommy. 

    Your guest room is going to feel so serene and welcoming! The black lamps are definitely the ones. I didn’t even notice the lighter one until you said they were included in the picture. They blend way too well. I love the color of the clock for the wall, but detest analog clocks in a guest room when I am visiting. The ticking keeps me up all night, completely negating the serene feel of the room. 😉 Maybe there is another way to bring the lovely color into the room  clock. 

  8. My stepmom (the 60+ model on my blog) just moved this Friday, so I can totally relate. I have to admit that her moving company was great. They even covered the banisters with padding so it wouldn’t damage it—-if your company doesn’t do that automatically….maybe you can request them to?? It’s such a crap shoot when you make those decisions.
    XOXO
    Jodie
    http://www.jtouchofstyle.com

  9. Thanks for sharing. The guest bedroom decor and color scheme is beautiful, classic and timeless. Good luck with the move! You are wise to have the 2 weeks overlap of having both homes to get settled in and do some upgrades before moving in.

  10. 16 years ago we left the house that we had brought our three babies home to. We had lived there for 16 years. Like you, we weren’t really looking to move but the house we moved into found us. We also had a month overlap in which we renovated the new house. I had such mixed feelings. Our kids were in grades 5, 8 and 10 when we moved. We have now been in this home as long as we were the other. The day of the actual closing on our old house was super emotional for my girls and me – the boys not so much. So we went and walked through our empty house, allowed ourselves to cry BIG and then went to IKEA for some retail therapy lol. One Christmas, I kept telling myself as soon as we had one Christmas in the new house it would be home – and it was. We have created so many memories here as well. Our life is kind of divided between the two houses – the one where our babies came home and our kids were little and the older kids and teenage years. My husband told me (as I was sobbing), its just a house, our whole family is moving into this new house and that is what family is…its not a house its the people. Who knew he could be so profound (mind you it was him that wanted to move, not me, I was content). So now we have been in this home as long as we had been in the last one – where oh where do the years go.

    1. That’s what I am telling my son (it’s not a house its the people) – I’m not sure he’s buying it. Haha. I’m hoping to win him over by putting a basketball net in the swimming pool. I cannot wait to celebrate Christmas there. I agree, after the first Christmas, a house feels more like a home.

      I don’t think I will feel too emotional to leave this house. I typically don’t get that way about a move. We lived in our last house for 7 years, brought 2 of my 3 my babies home from the hospital and enjoyed so many happy memories during the baby and preschool years in that house. But when it was time to move here, I was ready and excited. On moving day, I followed the movers over here and never went back.

      I think my younger daughter will struggle a bit to leave here, but once we’re over there, she’ll be fine. My older daughter is more like me. She will be unfazed. She likes change, and this move is exciting for her. So I think it will go pretty well… I do remember going back to that old neighborhood to see friends, and it was a little odd, but I wasn’t sad. This time, we are much closer, and we are hoping to stay close to our friends here, so I’m sure we will be back and forth a lot. It might be weird at first, but hopefully the kids won’t mind too much.

  11. Love the guest room choices. Definitely the black lamps. I actually like the tables pictured better than the ones from Wayfair. I love the colors of the clock, but I don’t think I would use one in a bedroom. ENJOY every second with your son. You are going to be amazed at how quickly the college years fly by. 

  12. I love your guest room selections, your fashion sense definitely translates to decorating. I prefer the lighter, stockier tables and the light lamps. I like the clock but agree it’s not very bedroomy (or bedroom-ish, spell check doesn’t like either of these). But if you like it, go with it, I don’t think your guests will lie awake at night wondering why there’s a clock on the wall. Good luck with the move!

  13. I just started following you and am enjoying your posts. Love your coffee talk. My opinion…love the dark lamps and I don’t care for a clock on a bedroom room wall but like the idea another reader posted about bringing those colors from the clock into your guest room. Have a great day!!

  14. Fun Coffee Talk this morning!  I love what you are doing in the guest room. The colors are so pretty.  I think the black lamps would be a perfect addition.  It is fun to be in on the process.  Thanks for sharing with us! 

  15. Your house is going to be so pretty. Can’t wait to see the afters of your rooms! Love the white lamps but I think the black set would work as well. Love your top choice for the side table but that price yikes. Would you consider two different side tables? The clock kind of says HURRY to me, not sure i would put it in a “soothing “guestroom. The colors in it are dead on perfect though. I am positive that whatever you choose in the end it will be stunning. Can’t wait till your Nsale post.

    1. Thanks, Cindy, I agree with all that. I’m looking for an alternative to that clock. And I know it’s trendy to mix and match but I’m such a fan of symmetry. I do think I want the tables to match. ☺️

  16. Such an exciting an emotional time for you all!  Thank you for sharing it with us. Love the concept for the guest room. I would go with the heavier night stands in your image collage since the bed is a lighter weight. They will balance each other. Those are a great substitute for the ones you really wanted. Totally get having to compromise!  I would also go with the datker lamps for a bit of contrast and it will help tie the bed in. Good luck with another exhausting week!! 😊

  17. I love hearing your house updates and watching what you are doing. We painted all of the “common” areas of our house “griege” about 2 years ago. I still want to redo my orange laundry room (painted that color 10 years ago). I’m also considering wallpaper for the powder room. Can’t wait to see what you do!

    1. Funny, my laundry room here was painted orange. We painted over it in a really pretty teal a few years ago, and I love it. It’s calming against the white appliances and shelving. I’m not sure what I want in my new laundry room, but something fun, I think.

  18. I love your plans for your house! I think you will love it. I am excited to see the dining room. Please make sure you send the after pictures. 🙂 A dining room is on my list of “hope to haves” when the time is right for us to move! Good luck with everything that is going on!

  19. Definitely the heavier nightstands (Wayfair) and the black lamps. The clock would be perfect. Take out the battery if your guests are bothered by the ticking. Stopped clocks are just as pretty.

    1. That’s an idea… and in my perfect world, I would totally go with the heavier nightstands and black lamps… I just have so many other things vying for those $$ in my budget. LOL!

  20. I like having a clock in the room I sleep in, but I don’t know about a wall clock.  One other thing I think is nice is blackout curtains or blinds, so that when it’s time to sleep, the room is nice and dark.  And the morning light does not wake you up.  Focusing on one or two rooms at a time to spruce up is smart!  Hopefully, that will keep you from making hasty decisions that you later wish you hadn’t.  God bless!

    1. Ginger, I was thinking the same thing about dark curtains.  The first bit of light always wakes me.  I used to take dark fabric to cover at one house we stayed (my husband’s family) because otherwise, if we were up visiting at night, I’d still be up at 5:30 in the morning.

      I, too, love your Coffee Talk posts, Jo-Lynne.  I love your whole blog.  Yours is the first email I read every morning regardless of where it falls in the line up.  

  21. I have just recently found your blog site and am really enjoying your down to earth attitude to fashion. You are fashion forward but not gimmicky.  Re your house, black lamps suit better but I prefer the shape of the white. Clocks are nice but they mustn’t have a loud tick. We have clocks in all our guest rooms and it took us a while to find quiet ones.  You can’t tell in the store because the batteries are not in place. 
    PS. Your “peddle pushers” look very flattering and much dressier than shorts. 
    Cheers from Canada

  22. Impressed with how quickly you can make decisions as to your new house/paint colors/furniture. Love what you are doing with your guest room. Agree that the nightstands you want are spendy but I do like the look of the two in your collage. Can’t to see the after pics.

    1. Haha, I don’t feel like it is quick. I agonize over every decision. 🙃 I do like things to feel done right away, though, so I try to get a lot done in the first few weeks so I can get to enjoying it.

  23. I love hearing about your new house. I moved from Virginia Beach yo a tiny little town north of Williamsburg five years ago and it still feels like yesterday. We built this house so that made it fun. I got to pick out everything and my kids made fun of me as I drove up here often to look at my “dirt “ as they called it. I said yes but it’s all mine!  I like the black lamps and the clock. I love clocks and have several as wall art in my house. They are pretty and functional!  Keep the posts coming. I’m excited to see the dining room too!  I enjoy reading your posts very much so please keep me updated!  Thanks,

    Shelley

  24. I painted the fireplace wall in our family room navy blue when we moved in 6 years ago.  It was the one wall i went with a bold color and I still love it!! We since redid our kitchen and i picked a backsplash with copper and blue tones since it’s an open floor plan.  I love it! Your dining room plans sound wonderful!! I hope you love your navy as much as I do.  I love decorating but it can be stressful waiting to see it allcome together. 

  25. This is such an exciting time for you and it’s fun for us to hitch a ride on your journey! We did a move 6 years ago to a home in our same neighborhood which in some ways was convenient for moving things over slowly, but in other ways it was difficult because my kids still saw their old house and the new people moving in (we actually rented it out for a few years so we still went over there on occasion which was weird to see other people in “your house”). My younger son is the sentimental one and had a harder time letting go, but after a few months when he got used to having an extra bonus room for friends and video game playing and sports watching on TV, the old house soon faded from his radar.
     Your house is going to look beautiful and it’ll probably come together sooner than you think. I love all the light colors that are trending now in furniture and wall colors but my house is too large to attempt just a few changes  (I know, not real world problems 🤭 As I watch the news coverage of that young boys’ soccer team being rescued from the cave in Thailand I am humbled by my “cushy” surroundings. Thank you Lord!) 
    Anywho…..I AM looking forward to seeing your house reveal room by room ….SO FUN! 
    And ….it’ll be interesting to see how this year’s Nsale unfolds as well. Have a great Sunday!! 💜☀️

    1. Wow, that would definitely be weird to move within your own neighborhood. My son says he doesn’t care, but I think he does. He doesn’t like change and I am sure he will find things to hate about the new house, but hopefully he’ll get used to it a little before he heads off to college. I’m going to try to make his room there look and feel as much like his room here as possible.

      And I didn’t even know about the soccer team until you mentioned it. I haven’t seen much news lately. That is terrifying and horrible, and yes, it puts so much into perspective.

  26. It is so fun getting updated on the new house situation. You have a great way of making your readers feel included in your life. It’s one of the things that keeps me following your blog. Hope you have a fantastic Sunday. I’ll be saying a prayer that the moving goes smoothly on Friday.

  27. I love reading your family updates and getting to read about your decorating plans and ideas is wonderful. I like the black lamps the best as they tie in with the bed frame. I like the colour on the wall clock but I agree with others; the tick tock might be too loud for a bedroom. Perhaps a smaller clock on one of the night tables? You could look for a print to bring in some colour for the walls and have that colour repeated in one or two of the throw pillows. I look forward to seeing the “after” picture.

  28. I love all of your choices for the guest room!  I think the clock will be beautiful in there and I love the bedside tables.  After all this room is for temporary use so spend the $$ on other parts of the house that will be used all the time. Anyway that’s just my two cents worth (ha)!  I love everything you do. You have such good taste I’m sure everything will be beautiful!

  29. Fun post as always! Just a quick comment about a wall clock in a bedroom or any room – the sound of the clock would make me crazy. I had a wall clock in our living room that was a nice gift from my cousin – it had to go! The ticking sound made me insane.

  30. Jo-Lynne, so enjoyed your post today —-decorating is right up my alley! I agree with someone else who commented – unless you are expecting constant company I would not stress heavily over the guest room! The bedside tables you have on your board are fine. The one with the plant on it in the pic would be nice and bit more airy. The clock looks more den like to me. What about something on a canvas to bring in a pop of color? Or even better do you have something from somewhere else in your house you can just fill in with for now?  The fabrics and colors you selected are very calming. When you have time (not right now of course) see if there are any outlets you can access such as- PotteryBarn or Restoration Hardware or Ballard’s. and often Ethan Allen has a ‘back room’ in their stores for clearance. Those are fairly well priced and you can fill in some areas as you move along your decor journey. 

    1. I’ve been looking thru my house… there are a couple options but most are too big. And yeah, I like the idea of a canvas. I have been looking online too. I’m working with Macy’s on this room, so I’d like to get something there if possible. I looove that clock (I could remove the batteries for the noise issue), but I do feel it’s not very bedroomy.

  31. I love neutral colors. More pleasing to the eye. You will be a busy person the next month or so. I think your son being at camp will help your transition into him leaving for college. My two children are a year apart and the oldest went to community college her first year. The next year they both went to UGA which is 4 hrs from home. I was a single parent at the time. So they both left the same time. It was hard at first but then I enjoyed the freedom of not cooking and cleaning so much. We do seem to adjust to life changes. Keep an eye on the movers. 🙂

  32. Thanks for sharing this with all of us; I love it.  I know you didn’t get a chance to run this morning but I liked the wordy coffee talk.  😉  Since the tables are for your guest room I vote for the one with the plant on it. I’d have a tough time deciding between the two lamps and would probably try them both out and see which looked better in the space.  I’m with a few of the others on the clock; the tick would drive me nuts.   I’d rather have a small quiet clock on one of the bedside tables.  Enjoy your Sunday!

    1. I never thought about the ticking. That’s great advice from everyone. The smaller table is the cheapest by far. I just don’t know if I’ll like the finish or not. It looks kind of rough. And it’s very small. I’d need to find smaller lamps.

  33. Navy is going to look fabulous in your dining room with those wood floors! Hope you can tell by the comments, we love helping you decorate your house!

  34. Love love love ❤️ I love everything you put together! Your guest will feel very relaxed in the atmosphere!

  35. I think the paint color you choose we’ll be a great neutral color and all this decor talk is making me want to redo my house too. I would love to move to a new home because my house is now 22 yrs old and need desperate updating so we’re getting new flooring next week but my 21 year old grew up here and doesn’t want us to sell yet. But as soon as she’s out of college and on her own we may consider selling. Lol 
    Enjoy the new house journey! 

  36. Love the guest room. I adore the clock but would not use it if it makes.
    Noise. I would use the black lamps . I would not get the expensive tables. It just seems like a lot for. Guest room. Just my opinion….lol

  37. Love what you’ve chosen for the guest room. The larger end table is really nice and the darker based lamps would look nice with the bed… the clock I’m not too sure of… maybe not a guest room thing ?? But that color with what you’ve chosen would be a nice accent… maybe buy a throw in that color or a cushion for the bed to go with those beautiful ones you’ve already bought. Glass lamps in that color would also look nice. Just a suggestion. Can’t wait to see. Remember the nicer you make your guest room the longer they’ll stay 😉 lol

  38. Read/follow you every day!  And, Love your advice (you are a great writer of everything interesting fashion and fun).
    My two cents….skip the wall clock in the guest room and down the road find a cool picture of Philly

  39. All the furniture pieces you have chosen will make the guest room look beautiful and cozy! You have excellent taste! I love the nightstands, lamps (in black!) and headboard!!! Congratulations again !!! May you live in your new house for many happy and healthy years together!!!

  40. I’m late in day responding because , I am also
    In the decorating mode..since I moved three days ago.
    Love your choice of curtains and pillows!
    I like the side tables with the drawers in it and would put the 
    Clock somewhere in the kitchen or hall.
    I found beautiful lamps at hobby lobby with a little light also
    In the bottom of lamp😀

  41. I’m up at a very late hour due to my allergies, oh my! lHowever, I look forward to your weekly Coffe Talk, and didn’t want to miss it. I love hearing about your new home, and can’t wait to hear more about it, so please keep sharing! Your dining room colors sound so very glam, and I love your decor for your guest room. I absolutely love clocks!! I would definitely put that clock in your guest room. If it is loud, just remove the batteries. I believe clocks, especially the one you’ve chosen are different and are considered art. The colors are so serene, and it looks so pretty with the other colors in the room. 
    I look forward to your blog each day, and please keep us updated on your house. It’s so exciting! 

  42. Wow, Jo Lynne! I think you’re doing great getting so much done and planned with your house so early! We met with our designer in our new home on Saturday, and we’re going the same route as you with wall colors. She said it’s very calming to have one color throughout. Surprisingly, I think we’re going with more of a sand color…thought I wanted grieve as well! 

    Good luck with your move. I’m sure your friends moving experience was a fluke. How would the company stay in business if they were that poor? 

    1. I love a warm sand color. I have worried this will be too cold, but despite the “gray” in Edgewood Gray, it’s actually quite warm, so that makes me happy. I did more of a sand in my current house and I’ve really enjoyed it.

  43. I like the plan for the guest room. I’m with you and not sure about a big wall clock in a bedroom, that sort of seems like a living room thing to me?
    Meanwhile, don’t overlook Overstock.com for furnishings. We got our dining room chairs and silk curtains there.

  44. Hi
    Looking at your Coffee Talk this week I noticed a lovely chair by the tree. I have been looking to replace an old chair with something comfortable to sit and read in. Is the chair very comfortable? If you don’t mind could you tell me the brand of chair? Thank you

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