For the last few weeks we have eaten, slept, and breathed all things showhouse. We knew it was going to be a lot of work, but I’ll be the first to admit that we completely underestimated how much time, effort, and – well, shopping – it would take to turn a 3,500 square foot blank-ish slate into a lived-in-ish looking home. In two weeks, no less. So as you can imagine we’ve pretty much been camped out there. Or driving back and forth with a car full of stuff, unloading it, placing it on various surfaces, and repeating.
We thought most of the major hurdles had been cleared after choosing fixtures and finishes over the last few months, but that’s because we didn’t realize just how many surfaces there would be to decorate. We’d been gradually collecting items for the house since January (which is when we picked out a lot of furniture, honed in some art selections, ordered curtains and bedding, and started stocking up on general accessories) so after our furniture-unloading-day two weeks ago, we (naively) expected the house to look pretty complete. Instead, most spaces just looked like this. #sadtrombone
Sure, those breakfast nook built-ins were a big task on their own, but we fell short everywhere – on tabletops, vanities, counters, porches, beds, desks, etc. Everything looked sparse, and we had a minor freak-out. But our builder and the Homearama folks reassured us that we were in good shape. We just had to shop our little hearts out. Thank goodness we bought a bigger car because it looks like this almost constantly. We estimate that we have made close to 20 car-completely-full runs from small local boutiques, thrift shops, and larger retailers with everything from pillows, rugs, planters, tabletop accessories, bedding, books, and beyond.
Picture us filling multiple carts at HomeGoods, Target, and World Market on at least four occasions, to stock up on everything from frames and pillows to dishware and towels. And as we rolled towards the checkout (and watched various cashiers get wide-eyed) we profusely apologized every time.
We even found ourselves at the grocery store to pick up items to stock/style the kitchen. I think the cashier just chalked up our unusual purchase to pregnancy cravings. Well, at least the 9 bags of powdered donuts. Which, btw, pro-tip: don’t put your donuts out so early that they get mostly eaten by everyone working on the house (there are still people dropping by to fix scratches in the floor, touch up paint, make last minute electrical updates, finish a few carpentry projects, etc). But it was nice to reward such an awesome team… so maybe the tip should be: motivation can be handed out in donut form.
As of yesterday, the house was looking about 85% done – including those breakfast nook shelves. Sherry still has a bunch of tweaks that she wants to make (just sharing this not-completely-done shot makes her twitchy) but they’re a lot further along than they were a few weeks ago. A crew rolled through on Friday and shot video & photos to use while promoting the show (our first deadline) and the builder is hosting an event there today (our second deadline), which is why it has been such a rush to get things in order – even though each of these seven showhouses don’t open to the public until May 1st. Oh, that and there’s a baby coming soon for us (nine days and counting) so we have our own little deadline going on too.
You’ll notice the shelves above also got painted gray in the back, which was one of those 11th hour tweaks that we found ourselves making. We’d thought they might need some color back there, but it wasn’t until things started to come together that we decided that the same gray tone from the kitchen cabinets would tie them together, so we held up paint swatches to find a match (the winner was Timber Wolf Gray by Ben Moore if anyone’s wondering).
So yeah, they juuuuust got painted yesterday afternooon by Parker, the same guy who hung the laundry room wallpaper for us. Speaking of which, we made a last-minute change in there too. We were staring at it with the builder and the woman who runs the entire event and said “should we add a shelf? A chunky white floating one would probably be really functional.” Both voted yes, and it was on. The carpenter came over and knocked one out within 24 hours (including hanging it and painting it) and we all love it. Hooray for final-hour updates.
Here’s the foyer area, now sporting a big white driftwood mirror that we grabbed at HomeGoods on Thursday. We had hung framed art there just two days before, so our decorating process definitely hasn’t been a straight line. Trial and error is the name of the game. Sometimes we just have to see things before we know if it’s IT or if it’s “meh” – and then there’s a mad scramble to turn as many “mehs” into “heck yeahs” as we can.
In the background you can see a bit of the living room, which plays host to a big painting of Burger that our amazing friend Lesli Devito made just for that spot. Sure the real homeowner probably won’t put a giant pet painting up there (there’s a TV hookup behind there in case they want to mount theirs in that spot) but we thought it’d be a bit cheeky and fun for the show. A nod to our handsome four-legged friend, if you will. Especially since there are a bunch of more serious furnishings and accessories in the rest of the kitchen and living room.
A lot of you guys have asked where these furnishings and accessories will go when the house is sold since they’re all purchased (or donated or borrowed) just for the show. The answer is that once the show’s over, the homeowner has the option to buy a few items of furniture or art if they’d like – but they will mostly be furnishing/decorating this house so it works for their family (and not the fictional family that we’ve created in our minds). So many of the donated items will be paid forward to the Habitat ReStore or returned to the vendors, while things that came out of the builder’s decorating budget might be re-used in future model homes.
One of the toughest spaces to fill was the playroom/reading room upstairs, which I don’t think we’ve shown before. We wanted to do big bookshelves (with a built-in bench) in this room so it could be used as a quiet reading spot if the future owner didn’t need a younger kids play space, although we decorated it somewhere in the middle – both with games and books so everyone in the family could picture a spot to chill out and relax. We’re still waiting on our upholstered bench cushion for the window and a few other touches, but it’s coming along.
Of course last fall when we chatted about this room with the builder and the architect, we didn’t really think about having to get books upon books to fill all of those shelves that flank the window bench on both sides. So a few weeks ago in a moment of desperation, we called our buddy Kelly at a favorite local bookshop (Fountain Bookstore) and she said she had boxes and boxes of early-sample paperbacks that she was just going to recycle (they’re not allowed to be sold or donated since they’re advance copies). Phew!
We realized that we also haven’t shared this fun light fixture in there. It’s a spun glass chandelier from Shades of Light that looks great against the Dragonfly-colored walls, but is a little tough to see when photographed against the window. Can you tell we’re still learning our photography angles in this house?
One of the biggest car-fillers when it came to shopping was bedding and pillows. Not just decorative pillows for the couch and stuff, but more basic things like shams, duvets, quilts, sheets, bedskirts, and other various staples for the four beds that we had to make. A lot of it was picked up on the fly, but we did get this pretty patterned bedding donated from Pine Cone Hill for the master. It looks pretty awesome with another Lesli Devito painting that she loaned us for the show.
It’ll feel good to have the last remaining bits checked off this week, so we can hopefully squeeze in a few normal-ish days before normal gets redefined by baby Barnacle’s arrival. Our parents have been a big help in watching Clara outside of school hours, and she has clocked some pretty great quality time at the showhouse with us as well. She’s “breaking in” a lot of the rooms – like coloring at the desk in the girls room, playing make-believe with the Monopoly pieces in the playroom, and assembling Legos at the desk in the boys room.
This week will be showhouse heavy since we haven’t had much time to do anything else. But being so close to “finished” is getting us really excited to fully shoot each room and share the full monty details (listing sources, alternate angles, explanations for what went where and why, etc). So if you could hold any “where’s that from?” questions until we share each room, we plan to source every last item for you in those more detailed posts, which we’ll hopefully be rolling out this week (we’re planning to start shooting “after” photos before the party today if things come together like we hope).
I’ll leave you with one last glance of a space that we’re CRAZY excited about. We hired a local artist to deck out the chalkboard wall in the butler’s pantry (which has become a coffee/wine station for our imaginary family) with a chalk pen mural full of coffee and wine terms, and boy is she decking. it. out. It’s not dusty or smudge-able with a finger, but it can be scrubbed off with a magic eraser if the future homeowner doesn’t want to keep it. She’ll be back tomorrow to put the finishing touches on it, and then we can’t wait to shoot a million wide shots to show you how that awesome little hallway between the kitchen and the dining room has evolved.
We realize it – as well as lots of other design choices in the house – aren’t necessarily everyone’s cup of coffee tea, which might be an issue if we were decorating a spec or a model home (where the goal is to sell it by appealing to as many potential buyers at possible), but as a showhome, the purpose of this house is a tad more complex. Each of the seven Homearama teams have been encouraged to make unique and specific choices to keep the show varied and interesting – and oddly enough, these homes tend to sell pretty fast thanks to all of those special features, even though they might not be safe/universal.
So while these builders create dozens of more basic and mass-appealing homes each year, these showhomes aren’t like that at all. In fact, on Friday we got to run through a couple of the others in this year’s event, and we can’t wait to share some wide shots when everyone’s done decorating. In the meantime, here are just a few examples of some specific choices that other builders & design teams are integrating:
Please bear with us while we power through this last intense week of showhouse stuff (knock on wood) and slowly work our way around the house to share all of the afters (and sources) with you guys. Speaking of powering through, I’ve been killing it on my FitBit steps thanks to this job lately. And poor Sherry, her feet have just been killing her. That reminds me, seeing as it’s 10:32 on Sunday night as I wrap up this post, I probably have a foot rub that I should be getting to…
Psst – Wanna see more showhouse info & photos? Click here for Our Full Showhouse Tour, which includes final pictures of every room, the floor plan, budget info, a video walk-through, and shoppable showhouse furniture & accessories.
Christine says
This house is a master class in accessorizing! And I love the blue-green painting in the playroom/reading room.
Amanda says
This house is making me want to just move to VA so I can live in it. Love it! Can’t wait for the source list. :)
Robyn in Chicago says
Where did you get the – juuust kidding.
OMG – I can NOT believe that baby Barnacle is 9 days away and you guys are busting A doing amazing things with this showhouse. Sherry – you are incredible. I’m sure you are so exhausted. But wow, wow, wow, is this show house amazing!! I’m proud of you guys! And I hope you take a maternity leave so you can rest. Rest? I know, but maybe after all this showhouse business, the barnacle will feel like a vacation.
xo
Par says
House looks great!!
I thought it was time for Sherry to check into hospital because of which we didnt get any of your posts!!
Good luck on the Showhouse and the lil bun!
Michelle says
Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. Way to go, guys!!!
Tracy says
I can’t even begin to image doing all this while 8 months pregnant. It looks amazing and is really coming along from the first vision to the completed product! I live a few hours away in Fayetteville, WV and I have persauded two friends to join me for a girls weekend to Richmond to see the showhouses. Actually, we are totally going to shop at the thrift shops and eat at a few of the restaurants that you suggested in a previous post too. It will be my first trip with friends since I have had two children and I’m thrilled to pieces!
Cori says
It looks AWESOME, guys, I can’t wait to see it all!!! I cannot imagine how exhausted you must be, but consider us your cheerleaders, encouraging you to make it to the finish line! YOU CAN DO IT! GO, PETERSIKS, GO! :)
Heather says
You guys are amazing! I can’t imagine doing all of this work with a baby due in less than 2 weeks.
As always, you really have an eye for interesting and colorful details. I’m super inspired with so many of the things you have done (and ready to move in)! I can’t wait to see the detailed breakdowns, so I can plan my shopping list. ha ha
Sarah says
Love that you have a fitbit. Got my highest number of steps when visiting Walt Disney World!
Tina says
Swooning over some of those accessories! I love the rug in the living room where the Burger photo is, and I love the master bedroom bedding! I know you already said you’ll be back with a source list, I’m excited!
Kara Monroe says
I just want to say how awesome the house looks and as someone who lives a third of the way across the country I’m so thrilled you’ve given us the opportunity to see inside of this unique home. Best of luck to you guys as you make the big push to the finish. Now, I just have to figure out how to get to RVA to see it in person during the show!
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Kara!
xo
s
Pamela says
I don’t know how you managed to pull that off with a small child, a bun in the oven, a four legged friend, your own home and business to run and a marriage to tend to. It is spectacular-I’m amazed :) What a happy place for some lucky folks to call home.
Pamela says
Imagine me thunderously and madly applauding!!!!
Chris says
I hope you included something from your line of merchandise at Target in the show house.
YoungHouseLove says
A few things snuck in there ;)
xo
s
Vel says
Everything looks great! And may I say, it’s SO YOU ! Love it all!
KiTX says
I honestly wish I lived in Richmond so I could buy this house, complete with furnishings. Excuse me while I wipe drool from the corner of my mouth. Power through to the end, guys, home stretch for Barnacle baby AND Homearama baby!
Callie says
It’s looking SO great!!! Y’all are rocking it! Wish I could come tour it!
If the owner doesn’t purchase it, will you guys get to keep the Burger painting? Or will the artist take it back and sale it or something?
That’s just such a personal piece, I can’t imagine it ending up anywhere but with y’all…
YoungHouseLove says
I think we’ll buy it from Lesli. We are getting attached. Haha!
xo
s
qs777 says
I can’t wait to see all of the pictures! You are so brave doing this at this stage of your pregnancy. You should give a big thanks to baby Barnacle for staying in there so you could finish. ;) Hope you can get a little rest soon.
I truly don’t see anything I would change. Love that you painted the backs of the bookshelves. Of course I am a little biased since I have had that same color in one of my bathrooms for a number of years now. I am so ahead of the curve. haha
Monica says
Will you please tell paint colors, too? I know you have mentioned a few but I am anxious to know the teal-ish color in that awesome playroom.
GREAT WORK!
YoungHouseLove says
Will do!
xo
s
K00kyKelly says
I bet you could setup and amazing charity garage sale for any items that the new owners don’t end up buying and can’t be returned. Tons of people love your style!
Better yet see if you can find someone to setup a garage sale on your behalf since you might be a little busy with the barnacle.
YoungHouseLove says
That would be fun too! Since Gabitat is our cause, donating things to them (that they can resell in their ReStore) is our way of directing more funds their way :)
xo
s
Lily says
Just keep getting more excited about seeing the big reveal! Love the Target pics :) hehe
x Lily
http://whilemyboyfriendsaway.blogspot.com/
Marie says
Just wanted to say you guys are awesome! How you manage everything you do and put up quality posts about it all is beyond me! And for some reason when you talked about your super packed car trips…I imagine that scene in the Grinch with his overflowing sleigh…and burger with antlers. Random…I know
Tracy says
Looks fabulous! Where did you get the desk in the “boys room?”
– Tracy
YoungHouseLove says
We’ll share a full source list with the reveal of each room, starting this week:)
xo
s
Nicole S. says
Holy cow, that looks daunting. Is it weird that the space I’m most looking forward to seeing accessorized is the pantry (or wherever all the pasta and pretzels are going)?
Is that another fiddle-leaf fig in the living room? I really really want one of those. My Lowe’s doesn’t have them.
YoungHouseLove says
Yes! I’m obsessed. So far the three we have at our house aren’t too hard to care for. They just need water and sun (if they look wilty I give them a drink).
xo
s
Angel says
Love everything. I can’t believe you are apologizing that this week will be full of show house. Sounds like a dream come true!
SherryB says
Hi Petersiks, You guys are certainly setting the bar high for the other showhouses! There is nothing I don’t love about your style which is super ‘FUN’ctional.
I diy’d a similar light fixture as you have in the playroom/ reading room for my 15yo daughters room using small glass globes from CB2 and its a fabulous look that I think will grow with her.
Good luck getting everything wrapped up this week, and Sherry, for goodness sake, put your feet up!
Kendra says
Oh my word can you fly to Jordan right now and help me decorate!?! We just got IKEA (holla!!) a couple of weeks ago and it has inspired me to make some tweaks around our apartment. (can’t just run out to Target, etc. here and let’s just say Arab style decor is, well, a little too ornate and over the top for my taste). Anyhoo, one of the tweaks I want to make is curtains in our bedroom as well as a new duvet cover… Um, I’m in LOVE with that Parama duvet from Pine Cone Hill. Never mind the fact that I’m color blind so I can’t tell if it would go with our lilac walls or not and let’s face it, it’s probably beyond our budget but still, a girl can dream right? ;)
YoungHouseLove says
You’re so sweet Kendra!
xo
s
Jessica says
Thanks for the tip that a magic eraser gets rid of chalk marker lines! I was at a loss after I used it on my chalk board and couldn’t get it off!
christie says
9 days – what the what!?!?!
can’t wait to ‘meet’ your little guy. and find out his name. :)
Liz says
Soooo, is the show house exactly 3,500 square feet or is it 3,500-ish square feet? Just messing with ya ;)
Leigh says
I am so excited to see the showhouse pics once it’s all wrapped up. Sherry, you are a trooper for going at that pace so far along in pregnancy! Way to hang in there!
Now I am off to see if my hubby can pick up some powdered donuts on his way home. My pregnant self has a craving for them now….
Lesli DeVito says
ONE – OMG BURGER looks amazing..seriously…I am dying here!
TWO – YOU guys blow my mind!
THREE – YES, every painting in the Show House..EXCEPT BURGER…will be for sale to the public…
more to come…..
love you guys…
YoungHouseLove says
Love you right back Lesli!
xo
s
Dee says
I’ve scrolled through all of the comments, so I know you’ve heard this dozens (hundreds! thousands!) of times by now, but it really does look gorgeous. I can’t wait to see the finished reveals with the source list of course! In my dream world, I would win the lottery and then hire y’all to come decorate my home. As someone whose brain operates on numbers and logic and straight lines only, I am so appreciative of your creativity and skill in home-decorating and DIY! :)
YoungHouseLove says
You’re so sweet Dee! Thanks so much!
xo
s
Jackie says
By ‘returned to the vendors,” does that mean you’ll return things to Target and HomeGoods? What happens with the items bought from there?
YoungHouseLove says
It means if West Elm gave us things they want back (ex: four stools) we will ship them back. Anything we bought with the builder’s decorating budget (ex: all that Target stuff) is his for future show homes, or to donate if he’d like.
xo
s
Maggie Wallace says
Just wanted to say how much I’m loving watching both the makeover of this house and your home. Don’t comment often as Life Just Too Complicated a lot of the time at the mo. Best wishes to Sherry, I still remember how HUGE I felt with DD2, who some years later went on to have twin boys, and made me feel a wimp – she was really GINORMOUS the last week before births! I’m thinking of you Sherry, and sending you loads of positive vibes from Liverpool.
Bailey says
You guys are incredible! What an amazing space you’ve created for your imaginary family! Any family would be so lucky to live there!
Karen says
That sofa/chair! That’s almost exactly everything we’ve been looking for in a couch! I’m about 98% it’ll be out of our budget, but still anxiously awaiting the source list post! :-)
Michelle Kersey says
It’s looking AMAZING!! I’m highly looking forward to the post where you share where stuff is from. Lol. I saw something I immediately thought “oohhh. Where’s that from!!”
WTG John on the foot rub duties!
Summer says
just curious as to the ball park range in which these exhibition homes sell ??? yours looks outrageously amazing and i LOVE all the personal touches each designer puts on their respective homes. i can’t believe how much work and heart is going into them! what a treat for the future families who will live there!!
YoungHouseLove says
It seems to be evolving (it was initially in the 500s and now it’s in the 600s) based on the prices of the rest of the houses in the show, the upgrades, and the appraisals.
xo
s
Rachel says
Oh I love this house so much! If you are ever struggling to come up with a post how about one on how to finish a space. I’m forever trying to get our fireplace or bookcases to look styled rather than things randomly ended up there. Thanks!
Nikki H says
I SO want to drive up from Fort Worth to see this! But I don’t think the mr. will agree. :( So I will be with you in spirit. You’ve done an amazing job!
Tammy says
Gahhh! I’m so excited to see this house in person. You’ve done an amazing job. My husband and I are traveling from Michigan to check out the Homerama the first weekend in May. Do you have any recommendations for a hotel? I looked at previous posts (i.e Richmond Top Five) but it didn’t address hotels. Any advice? Thanks! Love your site! :)
YoungHouseLove says
My mom has stayed at the Hyatt and the Westin and has loved them both. Hope it helps!
xo
s
Julia says
The house looks so wonderful! I am so amazed that you could bring it together so fast and make it look so fantastic. I can’t wait to see the whole thing!
Anne says
Wow!! Good job on getting the whole house done. That would be slightly overwhelming for me. I really do like the picture of the Chihuahua over the fireplace though. Great personal accent:).
Josh says
Great interior decorating. Deciding on a theme, shopping and setting everything up in two weeks would be a gauntlet for many people, including myself. Well Done on a beautiful home!
molly b says
soooo dying to know the color you used for the walls in the playroom/reading room upstairs – love that earthy green/blue. can you share the paint colors when you do the source list? thanks! congrats you guys! this house is amazing!
YoungHouseLove says
Will do!
xo
s
Rosie S says
Love it all!
amy says
Gorgeous house, you’ve done an amazing job! Who makes the coffee table that has the game on it? It’s beautiful and exactly what i’m looking for!!!
YoungHouseLove says
We’ll be sharing a full breakdown of sources in every room as we share the after pics of them – starting this week :)
xo
s
Wendy G says
I am so in awe of all you guys do! The show house looks incredible! I’ve actually priced flights from St Louis to Richmond more than once to see if I could swing it… Unfortunately I’ll just be drooling over the pics online but I Can’t Wait for the finished product! Congrats on job fantastically done!!
Tyra says
Hey J&S! The house is looking awesome and can’t wait to see it! Just bought tickets for my mom and me.
Had a questions for y’all (or other Richmonders), for us out of towners that are making a weekend out of it (probably going to hit up lots of things I’ve seen on the blog, U-fab, decorating outlet, Love of Jesus, lots of other places in your “big 8” post), what area would your recommend for a hotel? Downtown or perhaps off the turnpike?
Thanks!!
YoungHouseLove says
My mom has stayed in the Westin and the Hyatt Place and loved them both. Hope it helps!
xo
s
Maggie Budiono says
Wish I have the time & money to go visit the showhouse by myself instead of just looking at the photos (duh!!) Are you guys going to make a video tour of it for us? please……..
Anyway, I tend to fill my cupboards and shelves with things that are functional rather than decorative. Any tips on how to style the shelves with overflowed items that we have? Even our bookcases are already full with books!!
Thanks so much
YoungHouseLove says
We definitely will share a video tour for ya! As for function + decorative, even shelves full of books can have pretty boxes (also functional for things inside) and little vases or something on the end of some of the book stacks as book ends. Check out the pics of the playroom in this post to hopefully see what I mean :)
xo
s