Welcome to our snowbird home in Arizona! We bought it last April to escape extreme winter temperatures in the Midwest, and with each visit, we are improving the Mediterranean style stucco cottage with DIY. Let’s explore my DIY schemes and dreams for this 2-bedroom home I’m calling Hello Lovely Snowbird Sanctuary!
Snowbird Sanctuary Overview
Hello Lovely’s Arizona 2-Bedroom House
You won’t be surprised by the palette chosen for the inside. Think cloud living, ethereal style, European country rustic elegance, and an unfussy lightened up aesthetic. We want soothing neutrals, nature-inspired softness, and ease for this getaway home with an open floorplan.
We’re not the only ones leaning into soothing whites – did you see my post announcing Pantone’s color of the year?
With mountain views and lovely scenery outside, the inside can stay whispery. The mood board above features items we own as well as a few new pieces.
The style for interiors will be a timeless mix of MCM with European country. Since we are still real life renovators, we will do all of the work ourselves. After giving the place a deep clean (and yes, I’m still a DIYer with chronic illness and living proof that life doesn’t have to shrink), walls, doors, and trim will be painted Sherwin-Williams NATURAL CHOICE. Flat for walls, semigloss for doors and trim.
We rented a U-Haul to bring a whole bunch of extra furniture and essentials from IL to Arizona.
While it is a long trek, it made sense to repurpose stuff we still love that was only taking up space in our basement and garage at the Georgian.
When you consider the price of a new Belgian linen sofa alone, bringing ours from home (along with a motorcycle and a convertible towed behind) was well worth the effort.
DIY to Customize a Plain Jane Home
Flooring matters: we are not fans of 12″ beige ceramic tile in high traffic and bath areas, but we’re ignoring it. A slab foundation means there is not a wood subfloor so demo is a beast. I know this since a handful of tiles required demo and replacement…what a pain!
The guest bedroom, closet, hall, and primary closet flooring have dark brown carpet which does not smell like a rose…so au revioir!
We’ll install new wide plank waterproof flooring that resembles dreamy limed oak. We like the existing white oak LVP throughout the home (see the primary bedroom pic above at top), but the material was discontinued.
Kitchen and Living Room Projects
I’m the official painter, and kitchen cabinets and bathroom vanities will be Sherwin-Williams AGREEABLE GRAY.
I sampled three different neutrals and was surprised to land on Agreeable Gray which looks entirely different in the strong Southwest sunlight here than at home. Strong sunlight washes it out so it does not feel gloomy or cold.
You can see kitchen cupboards are ho hum so we’ll givem them love with architectural moldings (light rail, riser, and crown) as well as hardware (none in the kitchen or baths!).
I like the built-ins so they’re staying. The vertical blinds are custom, fairly new, and not my style, but I’m thinking about living with them for awhile before investing in something else. They feel a bit retro and MCM and are functional…that is for sure.
The Belgian linen upholstered Copenhagen chair from RH I bought almost 20 years ago will go in the living room, but you can find ideas for something similar above and below.
Bedroom and Bath DIY Projects
The dim guest bedroom has no electric in the ceiling for a light!
That will change soon with a trip to the attic to add electrical. Then we’ll add an empire-style chandelier for interest and romance.
White matelasse valances will be created by me for the windows, and I’ll leave existing custom verticals for now.
The second bath will get a new faucet and a spruced up vanity with hardware, but other than art, a new rug and shower curtain, it will do.
The primary bath is a nice size but very clinical and awkward with wide clunky doors and some privacy issues. The vanity and surrounding walls will be painted Agreeable Gray and get hardware. New faucets will help, but I may keep the existing solid surface counters. We’ll add chair rail and the abstract grisaille wallpaper mural below (Photowall Sweden) on the wall above it. A small move, but it will all be reflected in the wide mirror, doubling the impact.
Venetian mirrors layered on the wallpaper will flank the doorway to the shower and WC. Hooks for robes and towels are needed too. A white waffle shower curtain will soften the glass shower enclosure which feels a bit cold and dated.
I’ll hunt for nightstands, a new bed, a console, and lamps.
Here’s another gorgeous textural lamp possibility for under $100.
A not-so-fun DIY will be removing 8 foot wide custom verticals in the bedroom and then reinstalling them at a higher, more proper height.
Serene Dining Room Plans
Not much to do besides change the lighting and add furniture. The dining room light isn’t doing the space any favors so I found a vintage French chandelier, to makeover with plaster. Adding a dimmer will help too. The existing chandelier will be repurposed in our walk-in closet for five times more light.
Believe it or not, the laundry room was a major selling point for this home. It has a bonus space perfect for a home office, crafting, and art with plenty of built-in storage and workspace.
We’ll upgrade the ceiling lights, add lamps and fabric storage bins for all those shelves, and swap hardware for pretty pulls.
Sharing the above quote in case social media feeds this holiday season cause you to question whether you are doing enough, sharing enough, or living your best life enough.
Peace to you right where you are.
-michele
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Lots of projects for you….can’t wait to follow you on the changes. I could never understand the white ceramic(?) tiles put in Arizona and Florida homes….so fugly! Looks like the house has good bones and how great to have such a relatively big laundry room.
Author
So glad you’ll be following. I was shocked to see these tiles and even more shocked to decide to live with them for awhile since the demo involves power tools and the biggest mess. The only thing they have going for them is a pleasant neutral color. Good thing we are not aiming for perfection – it would be time to sell if we were at that point – hahahaha.
I look forward to seeing how you transform this space. I remember how many coats of paint it took for you to cover previous oak cabinets. I learned the hard way, use a primer first.
Author
Thanks for reading – I have been lucky painting cabinets in the past, and since I’m going for a handpainted look rather than a factory finish, I have no worries! 🙂