31 Days to Settle in After a Move: New Purchases & Repurposing

Some times it's the square footage, sometimes it's just the floor plan. What ever the reason, all your old stuff may not work in your new space. Before you run out and buy new furniture, get a feel for the space and what you really want in there.
Otherwise, you may regret it later.
Case in point:


http://www.target.com

The door leading to the garage is a dumping ground for us. It's handy to keep keys by the door, I like my purse there, and Sarge drops all his gear there when he comes in from work. In our old place, there was a hallway, with hooks. Perfect. In this house, the door is right off the family room. Completely visible. I needed something near the door to house everything, keys, my purse, the his helmet bag and cover. We already had a floor lamp there, which I was told had to stay. So working within those parameters I came across this lamp one day at Target and impulsively bought it. Storage and lighting, that'll do.
It's functional, but I've regretted it ever since. Now it's not a major purchase, and I will eventually replace it. But still, I wish I hadn't given into the need to have something - anything - in that spot, and just waited until the perfect fit found me.


everything could fit neatly in its own drawer...

http://www.rhbabyandchild.com/

we could just throw our bags in, hidden behind closed doors....

http://www.etsy.com/listing/82143175/

everything looks better in a cubby...



Before buying something new - or ditching something you think won't work in the new home - try re-purposing. With all the moving we've done we've picked up a lot of random furniture. It seems like each new house has a spot that needs something we just didn't have... Then in each new house - you have to find a way to make that piece work. It's amazing how creative you can get when your put in a pinch.

Take this closet for instance:

This was bought in Charleston, our first base. It started off as raw wood and has been painted blue and then eventually the white it is now. In some of our homes it has lived in the garage (because this thing is frickin' huge!) Other times it was used as a play closet, a hall closet (when there was none), a room divider, in the laundry room, in a bathroom, in my studio and now back in the garage. In each house we just made do. (Sorry for the lame pic. Its the only one I have of it's long and full life. But that's another story)

This (faux) butcher block is also a remanent from our first base:

This has lived in several kitchens and dining areas for most of our marriage, until it finally ended up in the tiniest studio I've had to date. A windowless closet that was 3x9 feet - that was when it became my serger table, because nothing else would possibly fit. More recently it became my embroidery machine table, and now it lives on my back porch holding pool towels and sunblock.

So my advice? Feel the space out before making major purchases and  re-purpose where you can.

Here's a recap of this weeks posts:

 31 Days to Settle After a Move

Day 1 Color Me Mine

Day 2 Carpet

Day 3 Unpack

Day 4 Ensure Privacy

Day 5 Cleaning. or not...

Day 6 Restock Your Kitchen

Day 7 Don't Rush to Hang Pictures