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Our First City House

January 30, 2018

Five years ago today we purchased our first city house. The house was originally built in the late nineteenth century and had been renovated by others over the years. The size was perfect – about 1600 square feet. Dining, living, kitchen and powder room on the first floor and three bedrooms and two bathrooms on the second floor. When we bought the house the exterior was yellow and the entire interior was yellow as well. We spent about three months doing minor upgrades throughout the house before moving in. We painted everything – walls, ceilings, baseboards, doors and cabinets. It was a labor of love, for sure! The floors on the first level were in pretty good shape. The floors on the second level were carpeted, so we ripped up the carpet and were excited to find the original hardwood floors underneath. These floors were then refinished and they were one of our favorite things about the house. Another upgrade we loved was removing all closet and cabinet doors. This feature not only opened up the space, but also helped us stay organized. Other changes included replacing hardware, plumbing fixtures, light fixtures, light switches and outlets. Although we are very excited for our new house, we will always love our first city house!

Above: Office/dining room before  |  Below: Office/dining room after

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Above: Kitchen and living room before  |  Below: Kitchen and living room after

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Above: Kitchen before  |  Below: Kitchen after

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Above: Bedrooms before  |  Below: Bedrooms after

· CITY

City Life

October 10, 2017

Neither my husband nor I grew up in the city, but since moving here over six years ago, we’ve never had the desire to leave. We love the city life. The city is inspiring and thriving with restaurants, coffee shops, parks and playgrounds. There is so much to do and so much to learn in an urban environment full of art, entertainment, food, culture, landmarks, sports, history and more. These aspects of living in the city have influenced our house design. Because we are close to many amenities, there is no need for a large house or a large backyard. The city is our backyard. The location of our new house is within a historic district. Therefore the height, width, materials and proportions of the house had to match that of the neighbors. These requirements influenced the house exterior. We wanted the space to be big enough to fit our needs, but with as little excess as possible. With more space comes more possessions and with more possessions comes more shopping, more cleaning and more maintaining. Less time spent doing these things equals more time spent getting out and exploring the city we love!

· CITY

Apartment Life

September 1, 2017

Our house was about 1600 square feet and our apartment is about 800 square feet, so we needed to fit all our stuff in half the space. We were determined to not have a storage unit. Aside from storing the contents of our shed with my in-laws, we were able to fit everything into our new space. In order to make sure this would be possible, I started purging months ago. I made a list (I love lists) of every room and every closet in our home and one by one took everything out of an area and sorted it item by item. When I finished a space I checked it off my list and continued on. It took some time, but it was worth it. Some things were thrown out, some were sold, but most were donated. Every bag donated was one less bag to pack. When it was time to move, packing was simple. Everything easily fit into the new space. So far apartment living has been great, especially with a toddler. One floor, one bathroom to clean. It’s great!

· CITY

about me

Hi! I’m Megan. I’m an enthusiast for all things simple, minimalist and monochrome (and most things that start with the letter ‘m’). Born in the midwest, I am now living the city life with my architect husband, Corey, and two young children. I started this blog to document the process as we designed and built our house. I hope you enjoy following along as we stylize and organize our new home!

contact me

simplecityhouse@gmail.com

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