believe it or not, last tuesday marked ONE MONTH in the new house and it kind of feels like we’ve been there forever and just moved in all at the same time. we finally got through the last of the unopened boxes this weekend (thanks to my mom who came over and helped!) and aside from needing to cover all of the extra wall space (we’re getting there little by little), i’m feeling really settled. and it feels amazing.

since casa de rivera update no. 1, we have checked a few more things off of our laundry list of to-do’s. here’s the latest improvements we’ve made on chateau S & S (the alternative name for casa de rivera):

and when i say “we,” i mostly mean S because he has done the following:

hung curtains & a light fixture in the home office || i won’t lie, the office and the extra bedroom upstairs have kind of become our “catch all” rooms for the time being. we’re still purging/donating/selling unwanted and unneeded furniture so it’s hard to really see what we’re working with until most of it is gone. but until then, we have converted the downstairs bedroom into S’s home office for his desk, desktop computer, and our filing cabinet. it has also become the drying rack room where i hang my clothes fresh from the washing machine. our previous owners must have really loved natural light because there are barely any light fixtures in the house. for most of the day (especially since the days are so long this time of year), it isn’t an issue, but when 8:00 p.m. rolls around (or in the morning at 4:30 a.m. when i’m getting ready), we’ve had to make a few updates to ensure we’re not sitting or applying makeup in the dark. i found this funky yet modern semi-flush mount light fixture at lowe’s and it looks great installed in the room. as far as the natural light goes, it can be quite bright/toasty in the heat of the day, so we also installed these curtains from target so that S doesn’t get a sunburn on the back of his neck while facing the computer screen. after we get a few more house projects done (the office is lower on the scale of priorities right now), we’ll eventually sell S’s current desk and he’ll build a more simplistic design (something like this). i also envision a small seating area, some sort of storage unit, and a fun rug in there as well (i’ve always wanted a faux cow hide). this and this are my current inspiration.

and then hung some more things || while i love having blank slates for walls, the starkness doesn’t exactly scream “homey.” so over the past week especially i’ve been taking inventory of the wall decor we brought over from the condo and deciphering its proper location at the new casa de rivera. so far S has hung up the gorgeous black and white photo of our wedding venue my mom had printed on canvas in our entry way, a magnolia sign S gave me for valentine’s day a few years ago in the alcove between the coffee nook and the downstairs hallway, and our copper clock in the kitchen. we finally unearthed a few of our wedding photos from the last few boxes this weekend so now will be the task of finding new frames for them to live in. i have this vision of buying a ton of simple gold frames in a variety of sizes to replace the random hodgepodge we’ve accumulated over the years. i want to create a little gallery atop our buffet in the dining room as well as adorn our future console table in the bedroom.

finished the tv console table || when you have a husband that can build nearly anything, all you really have to do is find a picture for him to recreate. after swooning over this minimalist design from west elm, S confirmed that he could easily make it for a fraction of the cost. in a matter of a weekend he had completed it (nbd). aside from having a cute new console, the completion of the project was also the catalyst for finally upgrading our TV to something of more substantial stature. thanks to the awesome sales at walmart, we snagged ourselves a shiny new flat screen and after nearly five years of going without a TV in the bedroom, i think the old one will find itself a new home in our master.

swapped the cabinet knobs in the bathrooms || it’s amazing what something as trivial as swapping out cabinet knobs can do for a room. but i’m obsessed with how fresh our master bath looks now that we’ve replaced the ceramic white knobs with these geometrically shaped gold ones. fun fact: i had envisioned adding pops of gold in all of the bathrooms upon moving in and fell in love with these on a visit to anthropologie. but at nearly $10 a piece, i just couldn’t justify the purchase. SO we found the next best (and affordable) alternative. we happened upon a similarly shaped knob in white and ordered them in bulk from amazon and then simply spray painted them gold with a nice satin finish. boom, the same affect for a fraction of the cost. i’m so pleased with how they came out! see for yourself above.

organized his garage/workshop || i don’t really have any other description for this entry other than the fact that my husband finally has a space of his own to flex his creative juices and build all the things for our home brings me so much joy.

constructed and hung the cutest hat rack || you guys, this is probably my favorite update to date. how cute is that hat rack (at the top of the page)? after perusing pinterest for ideas on how to hang my ever-growing collection of hats, i happened upon a photo utilizing shower curtain ring clips. i explained my vision to S and a few days later, i came home to the above display. he even organized them in an ombre order. what i love most is the fact that not only is the display functional, it also acts as a art piece to fill the wall space in our master bedroom. the next step is to recreate this console table to go beneath the hats.

added some greenery || as you may remember, we accumulated quite the plant collection while living in the condo. with the extra square footage in the new house, the number of indoor (and outdoor) plants is only bound to increase with time. we’ve already added a second snake plant into the mix and after some rehabilitation, i’m happy to report that we’ve brought our beloved fiddle leaf fig plant back to life and she’s currently living in the kitchen in a cute wicker basket. right now we spend most of our days discussing what we want to do with the backyard in terms of landscaping, etc. we know we’ll be painting the pergola white (it’s currently natural wood) and investing in some cute and functional patio furniture. we also have plans to eventually build an outdoor kitchen of sorts with a built-in grill and bar area for easy backyard cooking and dining. but we’re at a loss when it comes to the landscaping itself. currently residing on the slope is a mishmash of shrubs and trees including hydrangeas and plumeria. while i love both flowers very much individually, i’m not sure how much sense they make together. i’m sure we’ll end up going to our local nursery and asking for ideas/assistance since it’s probably best to employ the resources of professionals, especially in terms of which varietals will flourish in the conditions of our backyard (i.e. lots of sun). in the meantime, i’m just happy to have an area for all of our succulents to flourish.

stay tuned for more to come!

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