Posts in modern southern bungalow
is your house ever really “done”? (modern southern bungalow week 48)
is your house ever really “done”? (modern southern bungalow week 48)

Thank you for your patience as I’ve certainly fallen off the blogging radar over the last little bit. Yes, that “last little bit” would be 10 weeks, but who’s counting? (Hi, Dad.) I’ve started drafting updates on our house several times, only to find myself wondering how to possibly tell the story of the last couple of months. What you want, I suspect, is a finished product. We are conditioned to look for enormous change, to see the train wreck that was the space before a remodel and compare it to the beautifully styled, perfectly lit photo of the new and improved space. This is not that story. This is the story of a real family who remodeled a real house in real time and who is not anywhere near the internet’s idea of “done”.  There will be before and after photos, don’t worry. It just might be awhile.

I’ve mentioned all along that this process has been slower than I could ever have imagined. Remember that story I told you months ago about overhearing the couple on the street commenting on how fast a new house had gone up and wondering what could possibly be taking so long for the house to actually be finished? Those people have never remodeled. And they probably shouldn’t. They sure as hell shouldn’t hire the painters that worked on my house.

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decorating with kids, design, interiors, modern southern bungalowadrienne robideauxmodern southern bungalow, remodel, kitchen remodelComment
I'm in between homes at the moment (modern southern bungalow week 36)
I'm in between homes at the moment (modern southern bungalow week 36)

The good news is that we are FINALLY moving out of this beige wonderland of an apartment. Honestly, this place depresses me to even think about.

The bad news is that we are not moving into our house because it will not be ready until July 16 at the earliest, on which date we will be out of town watching our youngest kids play golf. That’s a sentence I never thought I would say out loud. Anyway, on Sunday, we scheduled the movers for next Monday, we’ve reserved a storage unit for a month (please, please let us only need it for a month!!), and we are taking off for parts unknown next week. So maybe we are taking off to parts known. Let’s not get too picky, ok?

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modern southern bungalowadrienne robideauxmodern southern bungalowComment
decorating our modern southern bungalow (modern southern bungalow week 34)
decorating our modern southern bungalow (modern southern bungalow week 34)

I want you to read this quote from a 1986 New York Times article about the late design superhero Albert Hadley:

“While Hadley always has his design principles firmly in mind, he also understands that interiors are for living, and that they should be enjoyed by the people who live in them, rather than reflect an idea of perfection imposed by a decorator.”

For some of you, 1986 doesn't even register. I may well have said the article was from 1886. For others, 1986 was all about dancing to Madonna in your bedroom and Top Gun and posters on your closet wall. Whatever. Suspending your age for a minute, what was true about design 32 years ago is still true about design today. Interiors are for living. Albert Hadley understood that. It would behoove us to remember this idea in the age of Pinterest and Instagram.

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living with kids, modern southern bungalowadrienne robideauxmodern southern bungalow, kids, family living, decorComment
on lighting, hardware, and learning (modern southern bungalow week 31)
on lighting, hardware, and learning (modern southern bungalow week 31)

While walking the dog the other day, I overheard a couple talking about some houses being built across the street. “Those went up so fast,” he said, “and now it looks like nothing is happening.” “Maybe it takes more time to work on the inside?” She wondered. Or maybe the subcontractors are busy on another job. I can relate. We are 27 days from scheduled project completion and over the last two weeks you would think that absolutely nothing has happened.

So yes, I did miss your house update last week. This was not only because there was nothing to report but because I was trying so hard to finalize lighting and hardware. I can tell you that my kids get an award for patience because they are so over me sitting at my computer trying to make selections for our house or taking them to shops to look at samples. They are actually over everything about the house. The tile is finally going up in the kitchen right now, and when I stopped by yesterday to check on progress, the kids didn’t even want to go inside. Our move can’t come soon enough.

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modern southern bungalowadrienne robideauxmodern southern bungalow, remodel, kitchen remodelComment