Renovation Inspiration

*MyScandanavianHome.com – Bright and open, love the grey walls and white woodwork.

I don’t know about you, but I can spend hours getting inspired looking thru magazines, pinning on Pinterest or creating idea books on my new favorite app Houzz. Now that we’ve begun our renovations, this has become a much more focused activity. I thought I’d share some of the images we’ve saved to inspire us as we work on our home.

*OurVintageHomeLove.blogspot.com – Lovely mix of natural and vintage style.

The plan is to print out some of the photos we like and post them in the rooms we are working on, to see if the “inspiration” remains, as the “reality” of the renovation unfolds.

*Becke & Lee’s Vintage Cabin – Apartment Therapy – Simple, bright and filled with Danish, Mid Century style.

We are drawn to the clean lines of Scandinavian homes, danish design, with a mix of vintage and mid-century modern blended in. We’ll be trying hard to keep the old charm that’s in this house, but really want to lighten everything up.

*Dwell – Shelving built into stairs – great idea.

Renovating an old house on a limited budget is teaching us to be flexible with our expectations and the options we choose. Having to, unexpectedly, come up with a big chunk of change to install a new heating system, and fix a sewer pipe, causes a lot of reconsidering, compromise and a hard dose of reality. Will our home look like the lovely images we pin and save? We’re not sure.

*Source: Myhomedesign.com – A soft palette and old house charm, a great combination.

Plans change. It’s ok. Laminate flooring is not the end of the world, and we can deal with our weird kitchen and the laundry in the yucky basement for a few more months.

*Source: Vintagewhitesblog.com – White painted paneling provides a nice contrast with a darker floor and the industrial vintage look is great.

We’re confident that with some sweat, maybe a little blood and definitely some tears, our house will be wonderful, comfortable and inspiring – for us, at least. We’ve been steadily chipping away at our large “to do” list and now have the master bedroom floor installed! Here’s a before and after shot. The wood trim and walls will eventually get re-done, but for now it’s wonderful to have a new clean floor!

*New floor for our bedroom

Here’s a few of the websites I visit for inspiration.
The Style Files – http://style-files.com/
Apartment Therapy – http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/
Vintage Whites Blog – http://www.vintagewhitesblog.com/
Dwell – http://www.dwell.com/
My Scandinavian Home – http://www.myscandinavianhome.com/
A Beautiful Mess – http://www.abeautifulmess.com/

Where do you find inspiration for your home?