finishing touches

well it's officially september, and if you remember, my goal was to get it up on the market by september 1st -- before winter sets in and minnesota buyers flee back into their homes until spring. so it's a rush to the finish line as i continue moving my belongings to tim's house (box by box), cleaning every last inch, and staging it to really wow everyone who walks through it.

new cabinet hardware. check!

and speaking about staging...notice the cute owl perched next to my knife block? my grandma actually painted that little fella long ago, and i've kept him with me as i move from place to place.

why did i swap out my Urban Outfitters statement chandelier? well, i was told to de-personalize as much as possible during the staging process. aka: take down photos and make the place as neutral as possible so anyone who walks through could envision themselves living here.

so i found a budget-friendly option at Menards that really fit well with my color scheme and wrought iron door and cabinet hardware throughout my entire place.

the time i lived in my dining room

probably one of the biggest projects left on the final "to do" list was my bedroom.

• step 1: clear out the room and remove doors, trim and outlet covers
• step 2: paint the walls
• step 3: install new flooring

this meant i would be living on my futon in the dining room until the project was complete. luckily, my futon is practically more comfy than my bed! it also meant the move out process could begin. we brought a truck load of my stuff over to tim's house. load #1 of many, many truck loads.

 

the results of a hard days work! and with steps 1 and 2 done, we can move onto step 3!

• step 1: clear out the room and remove doors, trim and outlet covers
• step 2: paint the walls
• step 3: install new flooring

white on white

well, we are officially on the home stretch to get my condo up on the market and sold. so all the things i've been putting off or that were (indefinitely) on the back burner are now on my weekend "to do" list.

first up: refreshing the bathroom with a fresh coat of paint. who knew that an old "white" wall could -- in fact -- be so...unwhite?!!

(for some reason only being able to see Tim's hand and the paintbrush was absolutely adorably hilarious to me)

so tim and i got to work on painting the bathroom while dad worked on the final pieces of trim.

 

oh, and who could forget my little inset "DVD" closet nook in the living room? aka: the wall we tore down long ago in hopes to reveal more exposed brick! obviously that wasn't the case, but we made the best of it and turned the demolished wall into another space for storage or decor.

that needed a few coats of paint over the raw wood and sheetrock.

a look at the completed DVD nook...

 and a before and after view of the bathroom walls and new closet (before the shelving and doors).

the next chapter

 

we're engaged!

it happened on winter solstice, a few hours before a holiday cocktail party we were throwing for all our friends. and of all places, he proposed AT my condo in front of my favorite exposed brick wall! how fitting :)

anyways, now that a wedding is on the horizon, it's time to start thinking about the next chapter. i could not be more excited, but it's bittersweet because it means saying goodbye to uptown and the place i've called home for the past 5 years. i will definitely miss this place.

a look back:

• closed on my condo on may 22, 2009 (and have been slowing fixing it up ever since)

a look forward:

• move into tim (and snoop's) house in st paul
• list my condo by september, 2014
• get it sold asap!

a white coat for all

now that all the doors are finally in, it was time to give them all a fresh (or a first) coat of white paint.

so the gang (okay, just my parents and tim) came over to help me tackle the project.

in case you don't remember, i wanted to keep a consistent flow throughout my condo, so all of my doors and trim are painted a nice, fresh white. 

all in all we painted the double-door living room closet, the hallway closet next to the bar, the bathroom door, and the new bi-fold pantry doors in the kitchen.

i absolutely LOVE how the living room closet turned out! love, love, love!