Time to get started!

After two years of researching and two months of making offers, I closed on my first (town)house on April 21, 2023! It’s a sweet little 80s special outside of Rockville, MD. The backyard is parkland and the front yard is usually full of friendly neighbors (and a view of a beautiful tree-lined street)!

Also, a lot of weeds –

I specifically wanted a house I could put my own stamp on, where I could maybe build some equity, and that would definitely launch my HGTV career. To do that, however, I’ll need to hone my reno skills! And, since I’m not rich and famous yet, will also need to keep an eye on the DEBITS as well as the DESIGN –

With all that in mind, and because this is already a well-established neighborhood, my starting goal is to keep all the renovation work to $50,000 (so that’s for leasehold improvements only, not new furniture, accessories, etc).

But, that won’t stop me from dreaming big – here’s where we’re starting from:

It’s a good house in a great neighborhood, but over the coming 12ish months I have a long list of updates I want to tackle, including updating the floors on the main and lower levels, removing the wall between the kitchen and dining room, redesigning the kitchen and master bath, minor refinishing in all other rooms, a carefully planned Zoom background wall, curb appeal in the front, and a fenced-in garden in the back.

Oh, and a Star Wars room.

But, all great projects start in the same place, and that’s with …

Phase 0!

I have two months between closing and moving in, so in that time I’ll be tackling 1) essential upgrades/ things that’ll be difficult once all my furniture and I are living there, and 2) design planning.

“The Essentials”:

1. Level-out the sunken living room on the main floor, and refinish the surrounding hardwoods and stair rails to tone-down the orangey finish
2. Tidy-up the front yard
3. Completely fence in the backyard
4. Also level-out the back deck
5. Fresh coat of paint on all interior walls and ceilings
6. Finish at least a couple spaces, including the office/gym, master bedroom, and one guest bedroom
7. Final pre-move-in clean, plus deep shampoo of carpets

Total budget for Phase 0 = $15,000

Design Planning:

The townhouse already has a bit of a Cape Cod vibe, so I’ll generally reference a modern take on that (so should we call the design style “Mod Cod”?). Some inspiration images:

I spent a lot of time looking at Farrow & Ball paint chips and ordering wallpaper samples … But, F&B is out of budget (~$5,000 just for materials), so will use that as a jumping-off point for now and save the real stuff for when I’m in my 40s and can afford that kind of lifestyle.

In the meantime:

Stay tuned!