Mountain House UPDATE!!

Before we leave for the new year (one.more.week!!), I wanted to give you a mountain house update and sneaky peek.

It’s official. WE ARE DONE. RENOVATION COMPLETE.

Well, with phase 1 anyway. We are moving up there this weekend and staying through the holidays. You guys KNOW that it’s kinda hard for me to publicly congratulate us for our own work, but I will say this: THIS HOUSE WAS BEAUTIFULLY DESIGNED. It is all the things that we wanted it to be and Brian is, well, VERY impressed and so happy.

While the value of the house might never really match what we’ve put into it (no turning profits here), it was absolutely worth the time, stress, pain and resources that we spent on it because we will love, live-in, appreciate and shoot content in it so much over the next (at least) 10 years.

We really, really, really love it. It only took four designers, one general contractor, 10 months and more budget than I’ll ever publicly admit to renovate our dream modern mountain home.

So…what’s next?

It’s time to decorate, style, shoot and reveal this sucker. We have some built-in projects left to do but honestly, for now, we are just physically, emotionally and financially DONE. The built-in bunk beds might wait for a few years. The glass/steel closet situation might get put off, too. Brian’s dream built-in hot tub isn’t happening this winter. I just want to live there, see how we use it, how often we have people up, what our real needs are before we make more decisions. But who knows, that could change.

I’m not sure exactly when we’ll start revealing it all but I would think we could get started by showing you the kitchen and bathrooms, as they basically just need styling, whereas the other rooms actually need furniture and a proper design plan. So when we are up there next week over the holiday, I’ll be doing a TON of pinning and shopping for major pieces (on top of all the stuff I’ve already started hoarding from my recent flea binges).

Okay, I know you’re probably wondering what’s up with the whole “I Design, You Decide” aspect of the mountain house’s design (and the contest that correlates). It’s still on, folks. We’ll keep it going through the decorating phase of this project. I probably won’t come up with two completely different design plans because coming up with two schemes that Brian and I both like equally has proven to be too time-consuming and stressful. It will likely be smaller projects, like sofa selection, headboard fabric, rug choices, etc. I am not abandoning the concept, just pivoting efforts a little.

And yes, I do plan on having some events up there for some of you to experience it because having that open house for the Portland project was so fun to both meet everyone and for you guys to actually experience the space rather than just see photos. Stay tuned on that (but it will likely be a special day for the runners up of the contest).

People keep asking so I’ll answer it again in case you didn’t catch it: We are absolutely NOT selling this house (unless we move away from Los Angeles). We will likely spend summers and most weekends up there, because I need nature and to escape the energy of this city in order to stay mentally healthy. 🙂

So, that’s where we are with everything. Enjoy some sneak peeks of the house. I don’t want to give too much away because I want you to want to see the reveals, so some of these images are more “sneak” than real “peek”…the wait will be worth it, I promise.

Catch Up Here: I Design, You Decide: Mountain Fixer-Upper – The Fireplace | Mountain Fixer-Upper: Our Stone Fireplace Makeover

Catch Up Here: Mountain House Refinishing Ceilings: Is Good Enough Good Enough? | Ross Alan: The Reclaimed Wood Company

Catch Up Here: How We’re Designing The Upstairs Guest Bathroom

Catch Up Here: The Mountain Fixer: The Final Kid’s Bath Design (+ Shopping Links) | I Design, You Decide: The Kid’s Bath Materials Vote

Catch Up Here: I Design, You Decide: The Master Bathroom | The Mountain House: Master Bathroom Design Process

Catch Up Here: I Design, You Decide: The Mountain House Exterior