While we’ve been winding down our time in New York, we’ve also been updating the house with a few renovations and updates that were easiest to get done without us, a kid, and a dog hanging around. Here are the 5 updates we’ve made so far!

Flooring

The house originally had some mismatched hardwood flooring as well as carpet in different areas, so we decided to make things more cohesive throughout the main level and upstairs!

The change we were most excited to see come to life are the herringbone floors in the living space, which, of course, is an homage to NYC.

Paint

There’s one thing we know for sure, and it’s that we don’t want to do too much, too soon. That’s how you end up with regrets and spend way more money than you were planning. After all, we’ve been living in 900 square feet or smaller for our entire marriage, so we’ll need some time to find our footing in a house.

Still, many rooms in this house — including the entryway — were colors we knew we didn’t want. We decided to paint most of the rooms white as a way to reset the house and give us a clean slate.

Once we get into the space and live in it for some time, we’ll have more confidence in what sort of color and interest we’ll want to add!

Black and White Harlequin Tile in the Foyer

Remember those renter-friendly, peel n stick black and white tiles in the kitchen? Well, we decided to go with the real deal, except in the foyer this time. We’ve always been drawn to this pattern and look for a space, because it just exudes a sort of effortless elegance and a classic sensibility that brings a space to life.

Styling this space is going to be so much fun!

Fireplace Facelift

This fireplace occupies a lot of space in the living room, and while it is gorgeous, so much exposed brick left it feeling a bit cold and harsh — or at least, it wasn’t warm enough for our tastes in this space — and much darker than we would like. We added some dry wall and molding to create interest, break up the slightly overwhelming wall of brick, emphasize any natural light that comes in, soften the environment, and give us a path toward tying the rest of the room together.

Pantry and Breakfast Nook

We’re having visions of a breakfast nook in this space. There was originally a two way pantry that went through to a laundry room/mud room, so we decided to close off the side facing the kitchen to create more space for our casual dining space. We intend to create some pantry space as part of our kitchen update!

Stay tuned as we share our kitchen and more specific details about all of these changes very soon!