Functional and stylish, ceiling fans have come a LONG way.

Since our house doesn’t have central AC (and we don't have the budget to install it right now), we'll be putting ceiling fans with lights in both bedrooms (and potentially getting a modern AC unit in the living room). At first, I wasn't very thrilled by the sight of a huge fan in the middle of the room, but they started to grow on me as I started doing more research. Just remember to decide if you want 46" or 52". We decided to get a 46" fan because it was a $100 difference, and our rooms aren't that big.

Here are some of my favorite sleek, modern ceiling fans!

Beacon Light // Roto 3 Blade Fan // $319

Rejuvenation // Falcon Ceiling Fan // $699

Beacon Lighting // Futura Mood Fan and LED Light // $260.10

Styled by Emily Henderson // Haiku Home // L Series Fan // $550

Creating a modern, open living space was a huge priority for us. As we were house-hunting, we knew that we wanted a large kitchen. So it was a no-brainer to knock down the fireplace and replace it with a beautiful 4 ft. x 10 ft. kitchen island.

Don’t get me wrong — fireplaces can be cozy and lovely. Ours was most definitely not. I’ve blogged about it here already, but I cannot stress enough how monstrous this fireplace was. The previous owners literally added extra stones to the brick to make it even more massive. It was a huge eyesore, and even had a weird panel (not pictured) that housed the water heater. So the first things you saw when you opened the front door were a stone wall and the water heater. NOT CUTE.

Here's the before and after of the fireplace situation. We were able to knock down everything except a support beam which will be next to the kitchen island.

When we started looking at countertops, we were instantly drawn to this island at the Pental showroom. We loved the raised bar countertop and modern, clean lines. Also, since the stove would be going underneath the current hood vent area, that meant it would have to be placed inside the island. This island was one of the first (and best) ways we saw it integrated into the island design.

After we solidified the blueprints with our cabinet maker last month, we were ready to pick out quartz countertops today. Our contractor Jeremy talked to his fabricator who gave us pricing and recommendations for how many slabs we’d need. Two jumbo slabs of the Statuario and one regular slab of Java Noir. FYI the fabricator is the person who cuts the slabs into the right sizes for your countertops — measuring where everything will go like the sinks and faucets, and notching things out accordingly.

Today, we went back to the Pental showroom to see the slabs in-person. We only had small square samples from our previous visit, and they don’t just let anyone back in the stockroom. So today we had to give them our contractor and fabricator’s name before they allowed us to look at the full slabs.

Once we were in, they showed us our selections and made sure we still liked them. I was prepared to look through each slab individually and pick one, but the salesperson informed us that all of the quartz slabs were identical because it’s a man-made slab. Only the marble slabs have unique “veining” because they’re natural materials. He also brought out the forklift to show us a few other similar items like the Misterio which had more gray tones and lighter, looser veins. But in the end, we still liked Statuario and Java Noir the most, and our salesperson agreed that the combination worked better together because they both have a brown tone in the veins.

In terms of next steps, we’ll be telling our contractor that we’ve made a final decision on the slabs. He’ll relay that info to the fabricator who will place the order with Pental, and then we’ll work with him to clarify the design and the direction we want the veins to go in. Another thing we’ve never, ever thought about before.

Afterwards, we went to My House Plumbing & Hardware to purchase our Kohler sinks for the kitchen. One will be the main sink, and the other is a utility sink. We considered using the sinks left by the previous owners, but they would need significant cleaning and reglazing which would have cost as much as a new sink. While we were there, we also looked at the Toto toilets and decided to purchase the Entrada Close Coupled Elongated 2-Piece Toilet (guest bathroom) and Drake II 2-Piece Elongated Toilet with a double flushing cyclone for the master bath. Yes, double cyclone flushing is what excites us now.

We also moved over more things from our apartment into the garage, and plan to continue moving things tomorrow and paint another coat on the cabinet doors.

After years of paying rent, it still feels weird to say we have a mortgage. On top of that, we’re budgeting for the renovations and planning our wedding in September. We’ve been saving up for this moment, but now that we’re living it, we’re still looking for ways to save as much as possible. Here are a few spending rules we abide by.

1. Make budgeting spreadsheets. Spending trackers are essential to saving. It’s so easy to swipe a credit card here, Venmo someone there… but before you know it, all these little expenses really start to add up. Keep track of how much is going into your bank account, factor in your monthly bills, and figure out how much spending cash you really have.

2. No shopping for clothes. Period. As much as I’m tempted to buy a new pair of shoes or cute sundress, I have to remember that we’re spending thousands on a HOUSE. In the long-term, I’d rather have a quality shower head than a new pair of jeans. But I admit, sometimes I'll add things to my online shopping cart just to get it out my system, and then immediately close the window.

3. No splurges. As much as it saddens me, we will not be renewing our Disneyland annual passes this year. We’ll be too busy with the house and the parks are going through some major construction anyway. Instead, we got Moviepasses which are still a bit of a splurge but pays for itself once we watch a few more movies. We also cancelled our Barkbox subscription (but we’ve saved up a ton of treats and toys from previous boxes for the dogs). We consolidated our Spotify accounts into one family account (that saves us $60 alone). I also cut my own hair and Alex’s. We only get Starbucks on the weekends when we’re running house errands. And when we’re craving dessert, we eat cereal or fruit.

4. Pack lunches. We take our menu planning very seriously to make sure we have enough food to last us for lunch and dinner throughout the week. We only go out with friends on the weekend or with coworkers for special social events.

5. Keep it minimal. Our goal for the new house is to keep everything very simple and clean. We try to spend very responsibly to minimize hoarding clutter and junk. Plus, that means less things to move or shove into storage containers later!

We’re about one month away from our projected move-in date, and here are just a few things I’ve learned since we started the process in October.

Create your vision. When we were in escrow, I created vision boards for each room to have general ideas. I’m a huge planner and these vision boards were a great way to start projecting what was possible within our budget. Plus, our families were hyped to get a first look at how we would transform the house.

Nothing will go according to schedule. Inspectors will cancel on you, window specialists/gas installers/kitchen island designers/etc. will show up late. As a result, your timeline will likely be delayed, and it’s gonna annoy the hell out of you.

You will get into fights. It doesn’t matter how much you love each other or how optimistic you are. You’re making permanent and often very expensive decisions. Just take it day by day and remember that it’s an investment for your future together.

It’s not like “Fixer Upper.” I’ve watched my fair share of renovation/DIY shows, and it still could not prepare me for what we’re going through now. There are tons of phone calls, messy number crunching, and meetings with your contractor in the morning or during work hours. 

You will learn new vocabulary. Rough in-valves, jambs, side lights, waterfall islands, jumbo slabs, bypass doors. It’s not “the big wall thingy above the sink”... it’s a soffit.

Finding hardware and appliances will not be easy. They will be out of stock or not follow specific guidelines. For example, California passed a law this year that requires all newly installed shower heads to be 2.0 GPM or lower. The vast majority were 2.5 GPM and seriously limited our options.

It will be expensive. We installed gas (yes, the house didn’t have a gas line), re-did all the electrical and plumbing, and are remodeling the kitchen and 2 bathrooms. Also replacing the front door and all the windows. The cost of the labor and materials is one thing… but there will always, always be unexpected costs. For us, we were hit with extra charges to remove molded walls. And because of that, we'll need more drywall and stucco to patch up all the holes. $$$

You’re going to think about things you never thought about before. Where do you want the bathroom sinks? Which windows do you want to keep or close up? Should they swing open or slide open? Do you want the door to open inwards to the right or left, or outwards to the right or left? Where do you want the light fixtures and switches?

Brushed Nickel vs. Stainless Steel. The finishes of your hardware will dramatically change the look and feel of the room. Also, there are huge price differences between finishes and matching them all together can be tricky.

Take lots of pictures. Even though it may not feel like it, you ARE making progress. Try to document the journey with lots of pictures and videos. It’ll make the final transformation that much sweeter.

It won’t be easy, but it will be worth it.

Our learning continues this weekend when we pick out our quartz countertops. We’re also purchasing our kitchen sinks and toilets this weekend and trying to pack up our apartment as much as possible so we’re not overwhelmed with the move at the end of the month.

Meanwhile, the inspector has cancelled twice on us this week and is supposedly scheduled for tomorrow. Ugh.

We took it a little easier this weekend and only visited Home Depot once and Lowe’s once! We returned some hardware and light fixtures that we don’t need anymore or have found better options.

We finalized our tile choices for both the guest bathroom and master bathroom.

To-do:

• Choose light sconces for entryway and hallway.

• Choose granite slabs for countertops.

• Choose baseboards.

• Follow-up with windows (measurements have been finalized, but we’re trying to expedite the order).

• Flooring is ready for pick-up.

• Appliances are ready for installation.

Framing began this past week. Wtf is framing? It’s basically the skeleton of the house where you figure out where you need structural support.

Now we’re slowly watching the house get put back together again. The last wall in the kitchen has been removed so we FINALLY have the open space concept we envisioned from the very beginning. This is the progression from when we bought the house to now.

The wires and copper pipes running along the beams have now been “boxed out” — which means they’ve been covered by wood to make them look like their original state (left photo). We’ll stain them darker once we move in. Again, here's a progression from what it looked like last month to what it looks like now.

The electrical boxes for the recessed lights, fans, and outlets are installed throughout the bathrooms and kitchen.

Concrete has been poured in the bathrooms and rough in-valves have been placed for the bathroom faucets. The small pony wall for the tub (not pictured) and the shower area are also framed. All old, nasty plumbing has been removed along with the very dated wall heaters.

And finally, the framing for our sliding french doors have also been completed.

Lots and lots happening as we hope to move in at the end of the month.

We spent the weekend running around for house errands. 2 trips to Home Depot, 2 trips to IKEA (Burbank and Carson), 1 trip to Lowe’s, 1 trip to Best Buy, and 3 trips to Costco. We’ve bought our appliances, bathrooms sinks and vanities, and kitchen sinks. They delivered the lumber on Saturday and framing is happening today. The bathrooms are completely exposed from the outside. We spent a good 3 hours searching for rough in-valves for the bathroom hardware only to realize that they’re brand-specific and only sold online.

Next up is getting estimates for the shower configurations.

Took a sick day because I caught a nasty cold over President’s Day weekend. But, since we can’t sit still, Alex worked from home and we drove up to the valley to purchase our front door from Urban Doors. Initially, we were going to keep the current door and save up for a new door later; but since we decided not to go with the side light (it’s an extra glass panel on the side), we were able to save a bit.

Also, windows have been ordered!

We set up shop in the garage with Alex’s co-worker Daniel and applied more layers of paint and primer to the cabinets… followed by fish and chips for lunch. :)

Both bathrooms are completely demolished, and they’ve dug beneath the concrete slab to expose the plumbing.

This weekend, we went to Ikea, Home Depot, and Lowe’s to return items, gather more ideas, and get a few more supplies to work on the kitchen cabinets. Feeling very exhausted today.

We’ve met with a couple cabinet designers and have gotten 3D renderings of our vision for the island (which will house the stove, microwave, and a pull-out cabinet for the trash) and fridge panel. Now it just comes down to pricing and figuring out the countertops.

Both bathrooms are completely gutted and after much brainstorming, we’re ready to move forward with new layouts! (guest bathroom on left, master bath on right)