Sneak Peek: My new home

Next month, I begin renovations on a mid-century modern home that I recently purchased.    As you may know, I put my country-style bungalow home on the Delaware River on the market, too.     Well, a bit of news: I am keeping that house AND the modern home.

I'm working on a new line of environmentally-friendly home products and will be using the smaller bungalow style home as a workshop of sorts to design product, do photo shoots and "live" with prototype bedding, furniture and accessories so I can tweak and perfect them.     And since the renovations to the new house will take some time, I'll be able to live in my current home as the work crews renovate and restore away.

I love both the country aesthetic and the clean modern style, so I feel very fortunate enough that I can keep both houses so I can experiment with both design and decorating styles.   

So, that's that for that one announcement.

Above is a photo I took of the new house.  Isn't the fireplace amazing? I plan on keeping it just the way it is, perhaps with a bit of elbow grease to clean up the stones and repoint the stones inside the fireplace.   But that's it.    The hardwood floors are extraordinary and will just get a good buff and wax.   I'm already shopping for new overhead light fixtures and I have the perfect vintage butterfly chairs for the fireplace.

The dining area really sold me on the house.   Aren't the windows amazing?   It's like living in a glass house in the middle of the woods!    I've been obsessed with this idea of "comfortable modern" and have lots of ideas on designing the space to be usable, comfy and very clean looking.      I really liked the existing Danish style dining room chairs and table, so I made an offer to the homeowner for them.   

More photos tomorrow....

Comments

[Jessica Leas]

I understand you are using the one house as a tester and it is being remodeled, but how environmental is it to own to homes? Do you plan to sell the other when the new house is livable?

Part of this is jealousy as I can't even afford one home, but there is concern that our loudest advocates tend to not practice what they preach and this gets thrown back in our faces often (like Al Gores multi-1000 square foot mansion).

[Jessica Leas]

Now I feel bad about my comment as I remember how irritating it is when people point at my shoes or some either item in my ownership (like my ipod) and mention how I'm not practicing what I preach in terms of environmentalism. Sorry.

[Jessica Leas]

Now I feel bad about my comment as I remember how irritating it is when people point at my shoes or some either item in my ownership (like my ipod) and mention how I'm not practicing what I preach in terms of environmentalism. Sorry.

[Don]

Actually it's a fair question. Am I "better" than most Americans because I live in 700 square feet? Would it be wrong of me to build or buy a country home and heat it? Danny's response might be that since he teaches people how to be green, using his bungalow as a teaching tool to inspire thousands of people to live greener makes it a net plus in environmental terms.

[Rosie]

Very wonderful new home. Those molded plywood Eames chairs would look good in there too.

[Freshly Found]

I am so looking forward to keeping track of your renovations. In particular that stone fireplace. I have one that could do with a revamp - so I'll be watching closely. All the best!

[Rona]

I love the blinds, can you post a detail shot of them and/ or give details about them if you know any info. Much appreciated.

[Recovergirl]

I love the design of your new home. I too look forward to watching how the remodel goes. Don't spare any details.

[audrey]

i, too, love the blinds and would seriously consider looking to them as an option for my home.

[kaanswfm]

I, too, love the roller shades or blinds or whatever they are. Please post the info on them--they are FAB!

[Josh]

Two homes does seem a bit much, but they both seem nice.

[selah]

How very Al Gore of you! Looking forward to seeing all the amazing things you do with the new house.

[selah]

How very Al Gore of you! Looking forward to seeing all the amazing things you do with the new house.

[Henry Switzer]

I would first like to say that I have had numerous types of wood flooring in various homes over the years and one of the best for all around durability and affordability is the laminate flooring. It is amazingly easy to maintain, is easier to install and manufacturers are coming out with some fantastic new designs and colors. If you are building or renovating, I would consider this for sure!