Before moving in to our new place, I insisted on making it “move-in ready.” While one could have argued, quite strongly I’ll admit, that the house was already good to go, I maintained that a few elements required a refresh before settling in.

Demolition began soon after we received the keys. Tiles were lifted from the kitchen floor, carpet was ripped up from the bedrooms, laminate floors were pulled up plank by plank, and dated lighting fixtures were taken down.

And though it was absolutely horrifying to see our Forever House in extreme disarray for nearly a month, when all was said and done, I was thrilled with the upgrades. Based on our budget and preferences, we prioritized the following renovations before moving in. These fixes not only offered the most bang for our limited bucks, but most importantly, made the place start to feel like our own:

Move-in Ready Renovation #1: Paint, Paint, Paint 

A fresh coat of paint can do wonders for a space. While the lemony hue that the previous owners chose for the interior was pleasant, I desired a more calming, neutral color. Enter: Revere Pewter. We used this universally adored “greige” throughout the house, minus the bedrooms. I love how Revere Pewter provides a warm canvas, with just a hint of personality, for future art and furniture decisions.

In addition to painting the interior walls, we also painted the kitchen cabinets bright white. Far less expensive than a brand new set of cabinets, giving the dark cherry wood a fresh coat brightened up the entire space, making it feel more open and welcoming.

Move-in Ready Renovation #2: Hard Wood Floors 

One of the easiest decisions we made was to get rid of the shaggy carpet in the bedrooms and the tiles in the kitchen. What to replace them with was another matter…

We considered matching the existing laminate floors, but worried about their durability and longevity. We also briefly hoped to salvage the home’s original wood floors, but nixed the idea when we saw how worn and rickety the floor was. Ultimately, we chose to have pre-finished solid wood oak floors laid down, and we are happy with the decision. I love how we can refinish the floors in a few decades, and then again after that. This is my Forever House, after all.

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You should have seen us with our Zillow apps. Every night after June went to bed, we’d get on our phones and scroll through the day’s newly listed homes until our eyelids began to droop. The desire to find our Forever House was intense and wholly consuming. June would grow up in this imagined house. The Astronomer and I would grow old in this imagined house. It had to be just right.

Ironically, I had zero desire to own a home until June came into our lives. I relished the freedom of renting, not having to deal with unpleasantries like clogged pipes and leaky roofs. I also loved how theoretically I could jet off and live abroad again without too much “stuff” holding me back.

A two bedroom apartment held up pretty well until about six months ago, when June’s worldly possessions took over the entire place. It was a claustrophobia-inducing situation that needed to be remedied. And so we scrolled…

The first house we seriously considered and even put an offer on was a recently flipped Spanish-style in Pasadena. The house was situated on a very busy street and the bedrooms were on the small side, but the abundant natural light, new fixtures, and unique architecture had us smitten. Also, the house had been sitting on the market for a while because it was initially overpriced, so the timing was ripe to pounce on a good deal.

We didn’t have a real estate agent at this point in the process, so we took a chance on the random guy showing the place at the open house, which ended up being a big mistake.

Lesson #1: Find a real estate agent you can trust.

Even though our offer was accepted and we even went through with inspections, we walked away from the deal due to lack of trust between the agent and us. I mean, he tried to tell me that an Ikea-made farmhouse sink was “top of the line.” When there’s this much money on the line, clear communication and trust is paramount.

The Astronomer and I were pretty gun-shy following the Atchison debacle and didn’t make any moves for a few weeks. It wasn’t until we saw an adorable home on Glen Avenue that we were ready to get back in the game.

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