This weekend Adam, and I will move in to our new home.The past few weeks have been busy ones – both fun and frustrating in equal doses. This is the first house either of us has owned, and it’s definitely been an exciting process but, on the other hand, I’ve lost track of how many rows we’ve had along the way to get to this point!
Well, it’s too late to back out now. (Sorry honey, if you’re reading this!)
Our Difficulties and the Pressure to Get It Right!
This isn’t just our first new home, but our first real home together. We’ve had the talks (and rows!) about colour schemes, furniture, the location of furniture – everything from sofas and dining room tables to wall clocks and vases! It’s all been a little more difficult than I first thought it would be, but then what do I know at only 26?!
Our first trip to the furniture store was an eye opener for both of us. We had no idea about room sizes or where anything should really go. The importance of this was pointed out to us by the sales assistant, which was kind of embarrassing. We left the store empty handed and a little downhearted, panicking a little about the prospect of moving into a place without any furniture! Neither of us are great at this type of thing so we did discuss hiring an interior designer to help us get it right, but financially this wasn’t on the cards. Thanks for stopping by. Before we carry on I need to to say thanks to for their continued assistance and the support of their community. Having a support team like this means a lot to us as we continue to grow our personal blog.
Instead, I searched online for ideas and inspiration for different rooms, and stumbled upon the Home By Me website. I downloaded the software just to have a look, admittedly thinking it couldn’t be that great if it was free.
One of my relationship strengths is that I don’t mind admitting when I’m wrong. This, incidentally, is one of Adam’s weaknesses. (Sorry again, my lovely, for pointing that out – but we both know it’s true ;o) )
What is Home By Me?
Quite simply, it’s a free software that allows you to map out your house – or a single room if that’s all you’re focusing on – and plan where furniture items can go.
Our first step involved taking a trip to the new house to get some measurements of each room, and to photograph the location and measurements of key things such as windows, doors, plug sockets and radiators, as you can factor these into the plan. Creating the plan of the house took a little time, but we really went for it and planned the whole house! We figured, as the plans can be saved it was worth making the extra effort now, rather than re-measuring in the future.
Once the plans were complete, the fun really began. Adam and I sat together and selected the perfect furniture from the range available. Seeing the empty room develop in to our living room on the screen was really fab. We could move things around and view each room from a ‘bird’s eye’ 2D angle or a more realistic 3D angle, which allowed us to judge how much floor space we had left once everything was in place.
The best thing about the software is the summary at the end. Not only does it tell you exactly what furniture you have chosen, with a very handy shopping list, it also tells you the size of the wall space, which is extremely helpful when it comes to decorating.
So the furniture has been ordered, the paint purchased and the wallpaper ready and waiting. Now all we need is to keep our fingers crossed that no random Acts of God will occur between now and the weekend and we can get in there! I’ll keep you updated….!
Thanks for reading!
Charlotte!
