Young House Love

Home Decorating & DIY Tutorials

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A Video Tour Of Our New House

Now that we’re wrapping things up at our current house and we’ve spilled the new house beans it’s like we’ve finally given ourselves permission to LOSE. OUR. MINDS. So yeah, this new house video tour is full of chirpy excitement that only a home in your dream neighborhood can produce. Forgive me. It’s not a good look. And watching it produces the same embarrassment that my way-too-enthusiastic mom elicited back in high school. Which confirms that I’m turning into her. Uh oh…

Woop, there it is. The first set of stairs we ever owned, and the house that’s attached to them.

A few notes:

  • I’m not awkward at all in the beginning.
  • We used John’s phone to “time stamp” this video thanks to Googling “today’s date” on Friday when we filmed it. We’re nothing if not high tech around here.
  • Drinking game: count how many times I say love.
  • Keep an eye out for John’s finger coming into frame to tell me which direction to walk (yes, he holds the camera and I walk next to him to chat since his description of the house would be three sentences mixed with long silences and if I held the camera you’d lose your lunch).
  • Sorry about the audio getting odd in a few areas (empty rooms have weird echoes and it turns out the bathroom fan upstairs is crazy loud on film).
  • I sing about stairs. My life is officially a musical.
  • Ahhhhhhh! I can’t think of any more. Did I mention we’re crazy excited?!

Todays Date

Oh and please bear with us when it comes to questions about our plans and the ol’ to do list that we’re compiling. We promise we’ll whip up a floor plan post and share our new masterlist with all of our To-Dos on it as soon as we have those laid out (we’re still in that changing-our-minds-every-second phase). It might be a little while before we’ve fully segued into the full new house mindset since we still live in our current house and definitely have a lot of stuff on our plates with selling it, getting packed up, and moving.

And now, I’ll end this with a completely understated “AHHHHHHHHHHH!” and another big wet kiss for you guys. So excited to share this next chapter with you. Also if you’re my mom and you’re reading this, I’m not that scared of turning into you. Except that none of my shoes will fit anymore…

Comments

  2. Stacey @ Likes to Smile says

    Hi hi! Oh my!! That house has crazy good potential!! I’m so excited to go on the ride with you of watching you transform it. Does that sound horribly selfish, gosh, I hope not. Congratulations!!

    Meanwhile, I noticed watching the video that you said the carpet had holes, etc. I’m curious and couldn’t quite tell from the video — are you worried about safety for Clara/Burger, etc? Are there projects you need to do before you move in to get the home safe and boo-boo free? Sorry if you’ve already answered and I didn’t notice. And congratulations again!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Oh yes, we will be doing a few things (like losing that nasty carpet) before we move in. Although Clara and Burger love to hang out over there while we measure/plan/take pics (they just stay in the rooms with hardwood floors for the most part).

      xo
      s

  3. Samantha says

    yay! so excited for you guys!!! watching your video got me really excited about the fixer upper we just purchased. we’ll be moving this summer (across the country) and can’t wait to get started on all of the projects!!! :-)

    Reply

  4. jackie says

    I LOVE it. So awesome that your kitchen window actually looks outside! I always wondered if that bothered you. Do you have any idea as to which room you will tackle first?

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      No idea! We definitely have some things to do before moving (ripping up all the stained carpet, etc) but then we’ll probably just bring in our stuff, plop it down, and bounce all over the place like we usually do. Haha!

      xo
      s

  5. Carrie Lea says

    Does every house in Richmond have a sunroom? Maybe I should move there!!! (Just for the sunrooms, good reason right?)
    I’m not a huge fan of stairs (fibro made it that way. I used to love them), but this layout is really nice! I want to redo that laundry area…..
    I’m really worried about Karl. Will he fit?!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      It sure seems like they do! We’re three for three on the sunroom thing! Ha!

      As for Karl, we think with a little rejiggering he should fit really well. Here’s hoping!

      xo
      s

    • Carrie Lea says

      Sunrooms are awesome. Seems like it would be such a fun space to decorate!

      Phew! I have love/envy for Karl! Fingers crossed the rejiggering will work!

  8. Kiera says

    Wow– sorry if its been asked before- Does the 80s era intercom work? Such nostalgia looking at this– so similar to the house I grew up in (Williamsburg). Can’t wait to see what you do. Love how excited you are! When you first announced the new house all I could think was oh my gosh…. all of that work on the current house…….and now you have to start over. Daunting to me but completely energizing to you– love it- Congrats again!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Sadly the intercom is broken, although maybe that’s a good thing. Somehow I envision Clara using it to scream song lyrics at Burger in every room that he runs to (in order to escape her). Haha!

      xo
      s

  10. Sarah S. says

    Wow! That house is a hot mess and I adore it!!! I am so happy for you guys and am really looking forward to watching your creative genius get it’s freak on and make that house a home. Congrats you guys! I love YHL!!!

    Reply

  11. Katie O says

    WOAH! Love it! I can’t wait to see where you’re at with the house two years from now. I see why you all love it so much. While watching your video, I had a BRILLIANT idea. We’re beginning the process of rearranging our upstairs a bit to add a bathroom (one bathroom in the entire house and it’s downstairs – no way, jose). I just had the idea to put the laundry area upstairs in that bathroom as well when I saw your laundry area. So thanks!

    Reply

  12. C says

    You probably already have a plan, but I was thinking you may think about turning that 1/2 bath into a coat closet and the wet bar into a 1/2 bath. Whatever you decide ~ best of luck on this one ~ looking forward to watch the transformation! ;)

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      We actually have two other closets in the foyer (one to the right of the door, and one to the left of the opening to the kitchen) so we like the half bath tucked over there instead of between the kitchen and living room :)

      xo
      s

  13. Willow says

    I ditto what everyone else says… so excited and eager for the “afters”. After getting your current house up to the way you want it, are you sad to leave it? And this new house, it appears smaller than your current one… yes, no? I love the yard and running deck, will make for some great summer fun!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      The new house is a smidge bigger actually (I think only by 50 square feet or something) but it’s just because the bedrooms are larger (hard to tell on film without furniture) and the living spaces are smaller (whereas in our current house we have giant living spaces and some pretty small bedrooms other than ours).

      xo
      s

  14. leah says

    To quote my girl Reese, “this is beyobd!” I literally cannot wait to see what it looks like with furniture in it and of course, the after will ne pretty exciting! Are yall planning on moving in before tackling any renovations?

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      We definitely plan to do a few things before we move in (ex: rip out nasty old carpets, clean/reseal some hardwood floors before all of our furniture is in the way, paint some trim and peel some wallpaper, etc). There’s lots to be done, so we’re sure the bulk of things will be after we move, but we’ll chip away at what we can while we’re selling/packing/etc :)

      xo
      s

  15. Kara says

    Love your blog, adore your family, can’t wait to see what you all do with this house! It has great potential!! You have inspired me to paint my kitchen cabinets white. Hoping to tackle that project in the next couple weeks. So excited to follow along in your new journey!

    Reply

  16. Blair R says

    I know the decor is dated, but between the wallpaper patterns and the blue trim, it really looks like the house Anthropologie built for a photo-shoot. Perhaps, you should call them before you redo anything, and see if they want to set up something for their next catalog. hahah

    Reply

  17. Sally G. says

    I can totally see all the potential in this house, I can’t wait to see what you all are planning!

    Also, have fun painting all that trim – I had to paint over super dark navy blue trim in one of my D.C. apartments (and walls that were lilac up to chair-rail height, with no chair rail…) It took me two coats of primer and 4 coats of white paint to get it all covered without it being a drippy mess!

    Reply

  18. Reem says

    Whatever you guys do to this house is going to be an amazing transformation. It looks like it almost all needs to go…

    Just when I thought this blog can not get any better!

    You guys deserve it, enjoy!

    Reply

  19. Eileen says

    Loved the tour! Sherri, you were not dorky, you were delightful. The house I grew up in in the 70’s had that intercom/radio system; my mom used to play the radio over it on a nice soothing music station as I was falling asleep at night. But other than that, I don’t think we ever used it. It was a goofy fad. (Today’s counterpart: when my kids want something and are too lazy to cross the house to ask, they actually text me.)

    I can’t wait to see your DIY-ing as it unfolds. We’ll be moving to a property we own in Virginia in a couple years when hubby retires. HE thinks it’s turnkey/move-in ready. I haven’t broken the bad news to him yet about all my plans … You guys are such an inspiration!

    Reply

  20. Kim says

    I’m home from work today with a horrible cold, but when I woke up this morning the first thing I said (between sniffles and sneezes) was “NEW HOUSE VIDEO DAY!” Thanks for making my sick day more tolerable :) I love the new place and can almost see the to-do list forming above your head as you take us room by room… so excited to see how you guys bring this house back to life!

    Reply

  22. House Crazy Sarah says

    wow – it’s fabulous! You’ve got a LOT of work a head of you but you have such a great space to work with! So excited for you!
    BUT – you MUST keep those built-ins in the dining room! They could be so cute in some funky turquoise color or something! Please don’t rip those out!! :)

    Reply

  24. Jen says

    Wow… the befores of this house look so so so much like the before pictures of my house. Especially that master bedroom/bathroom… we too had a sink room, shower room, closet combination but ours came with giant crystal hanging lights swagged over the sink. The gut job was so totally worth it.

    Reply

  25. Donna says

    As you walked into the house and showed us the office space I must have said “oh that’s perfect” at least 10 times! It will make such a difference in your ability to separate work from non-work time – congratulations!

    Reply

  26. kristi@SimplePrettyThings says

    I am so excited to see what you guys do with this! At least when we got our home all the trim was natural and we just painted it. How the heck are you going to tackle all that blue/mauve painted trim? Do you have to take it all down and strip it off? Ughh I don’t even want to think about that. I love that the nursery will be closer to the master BR that works out really well! I think Burger needs a room too.

    Reply

  27. Sasha says

    OMG… LOVE IT!!! SO JEALOUS….. (Sorry about the caps lock, but that is amazing).
    Love all the small details that modern houses don’t have. Fun wall paper, not sure if I love it when combined with floor, trim etc, but on its own with white trim I think it could work in some places. Are you planning on keeping any of it? :)

    Can’t wait to follow the process, it looks AMAZING!

    P.S. That made me want to buy a house so bad… 22 is probably not the time to make that kind of investments ;) Fixing up my mum’s house instead whenever I get the chance ;)

    Reply

  28. Bethany says

    omg, I am so re-jazzed about your blog….. not like I ever missed a day but still….. just so great that you guys can see past crazy-dated decor and know that you can make it cool. Gah! so excited!

    Reply

  29. Kimberly says

    CONGRATULATIONS!!! I’m so very excited for you all and I absolutely cannot wait to see all the things you’re going to do to this house. Also, thank you for giving me the hope and inspiration that perhaps our ‘dream’ home could open up for us if we are just patient and open-minded. Again, congratulations – I’m so happy for you!

    Reply

  30. Alisa says

    I so wish that intercom worked! I recently read Ellen DeGeneres’ book and she said she used hers to call her cat to come see her after work. I could totally see Clara having a blast doing that to Burger!

    I really really really love this house. It’s such a common style that I think people without ranches are going to be able to get loads more inspiration. I love ranches and hope to always have one but they aren’t as common where we live so who knows. It’ll be nice to see how you two tackle common two story issues!

    Reply

  32. Janice says

    I can’t wait for all the transformations you’d be able to do in your new home! You’ll be blogging about it for years! Congratulations!

    Reply

  34. Marie says

    So exciting!! Will you have a contest to see who can guess what your first project will be? I’m voting with the upstairs carpet will be the first to go!

    Reply

  35. Lena says

    OMG! I don’t think I have ever been so excited about someone else purchasing a house as I am for the two of you. It is because of your website that I even could see possibilities versus “oh that’s going to be alot of work”.

    I look forward to all of the projects…any chance for this house you could create one of your mclistys of things to do and then have links to the projects directly on the list? (in addition to the projects section). It’s a specific navigation request I know…but thought I would ask :)

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Oh yes we added links to our most recent one and will do pone more “final” one for this house with all those links for you :)

      xo,
      s

  36. jennT says

    wow!!! what a place! it’s huge. and awesome. looks like someone (maybe her name starts with a C) could run laps in the downstairs. The downstairs of the house I grew up in had a circular track around the stairs and I LOOOOOOVED running laps from one room to another. So excited for you guys (and a little jealous too)! <3

    Reply

  37. Amanda says

    I love your excitement Sherry!! I’m super happy for y’all and can’t wait to see where this house is in 6 months, a year, 2 years, etc!

    We’re hoping to move in the next 6 months or so and I’d LOVE for you to ‘overshare’ all about how you plan & pack for a move across town.

    Reply

  38. andrea says

    I might be late to the game, but is the new house the REAL reason y’all went with a new banner?

    Reply

  39. MeredithB says

    We have the Exact same faux brick linoleum in the house we just bought! It is a real charmer isn’t it!? (not) Can’t wait to see what you guys do with the place!

    Reply

  40. sj says

    Congratulations on your new home!

    I can hear the house saying THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU to a fresh update…and no more blue trim, LOL.

    Will you leave the wood cabinets the way they are in the kitchen? On vid they look like they are in great shape
    ( new hardware of course). Some granite and a decent wall color/white trim could be awesome.

    Our last house had oak cabs that we restained deep mahogany. The dark cabs were a leap of faith but turned out so well; our renters love them too.

    Enjoy your new digs. Personally, I think I’d hire out the trim painting-primer and two coats, anyone?

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Up close the kitchen needs lots of work, but we usually live somewhere at least a year before we dive into those big changes to be sure we know what we want to work with and what we want to change :)

      xo,
      s

  41. Jennifer @ Miller Musings Blog says

    Love the new house! Yes, it’s dated, but looks like it has “good bones.” The floorplan is so great!!

    Funny story, my computer was on mute when I started watching the video, and when I turned up the volume I kept hearing all these birds chirping through the whole video. I was thinking, man, the birds around their house sure are loud. Got to the end of the video, and the birds kept going. Turns out my husband had the zoo website pulled up in another window, and it has bird sounds in the background. haha! ;)

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      It’s so funny because we were in our first house 4.5 years but she was only there 7 months and then spent 3 Christmases (and will celebrate all 3 birthdays) at our current house. So our first house was such a blip for her!

      xo,
      s

  43. Whitney Dupuis says

    Oh my goodness – so exciting!!! I CAN NOT WAIT to see what you do with all of these spaces. Just painting is going to make it a totally different house too. Aaaahhhh! Hoping and praying that we get to do this soon also!

    Reply

  44. Ana from Portugal says

    So happy for you, gyus!
    The house is great and I’m sure it will look fabulous after some tlc!

    On a funny note: at the end of the comment section, I was laughing realy hard with the amount of people asking about the basement!!

    Love from Portugal (where most houses do not have basements!);)

    Reply

  45. Raeann says

    Our new place has the same old intercom system! We swapped out each bedroom box for a speaker with volume control, and we’re saving up to switch the kitchen unit for something more high-tech (they make all sorts of fancy touchscreen ipod-compatible things these days, but they are spendy). What are your plans for the system?

    Reply

    • Raeann says

      Oooh and that wallpaper!! Awful stuff. I’m really interested to see what works for you two. Our condo had a different kind of wallpaper in every room (from flimsy paper stuff to vinyl to a creepy stretchy waterproof paper in the bathrooms – each worse than the last), so we tried a bunch of different techniques. The best thing we did was buy a steamer from Lowe’s for $55. We tried chemicals and fabric softener mixed with warm water, but the steamer still worked better (and was wayyyy friendlier on our lungs, eyes, and skin). We then discovered that the wallpaper had been applied directly to the drywall (and layered and painted…NIGHTMARE), so we had to seal the walls with Gardz and then hire someone to come texture (we didn’t feel like we could do a good job in a reasonable amount of time). With priming and painting all the walls, ceilings, and trim, the whole process took us 3 months of daily work. Oy vey. It looks like you don’t have quite the same amount of misery ahead of you!! I’m so excited to see what you do with your beautiful new home.

    • Shelley @ Green Eggs and Hamlet says

      I have to second the vote on the steamer. Ours was about $50 as well and WELL worth it (and who knows, maybe you could find one on Craigslist or re-sell yours after you’re done with it). We had wallpaper in 5 rooms in our house and I don’t know what we would have done without the steamer.

  46. Tina says

    Sooo…before you officially move to the new house, maybe you could do a final before/after post of pics side by side in your current house, with all the changes you’ve made? Well, at least the major ones;) I’d love to see that! You have accomplished so much! I can’t wait to “go” on this next journey with you:)

    Reply

  47. Michelle (aka mybelle101) says

    WOW…SOoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much potential!! I’m really excited to see how you turn this house into “you”! (Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

    Reply

  48. Lindsay L says

    So awesome! It’s so much more fun (for me) to watch someone else fix up a house than me do it myself. I LOVE before and afters. I wish I was better at it, but we’ll just call it laziness and creative block, I get way too overwhelmed. Then when I’m done the rooms look like a college dorm with a hodge-podge of design. We are having a house built, so that’s been fun! I won’t have to change too much when we move, except buying furniture which I’m bad at too. Wish you could come design all my rooms and tell me what to buy! Maybe next time (if there is a next time) you guys can build a house (if John wants a bigger project) and design and upgrade from the beginning. That would be fun to watch.

    Reply

  49. Marie says

    Now I really realize I am one of your followers in the older demographic! I have had stairs all my life and am ready to make a move to a ranch. If we lived in Richmond, I would have snapped yours up in a hot minute! God luck with all your projects. I can’t wait to see what you do!

    Reply

  50. Jenni says

    Your new house looks awesome! Also I totally was excited when I saw the intercom system. My parents house (the house I grew up in) has an intercom system, I had never seen one in another house before!

    Does your new house have a basement?

    Reply

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