With so many changes happening on the first floor of our house, I get so many questions every day about how it's all connected. So we thought it would be fun to share a tour of our main floor along with a floorplan that Chris drew up.
Can you believe the photo above is NOT a split photo? Ha! The stairwell wall line is strong in the center making it look like two photos together, but this is just a peek into how our house flows together. Here's a floorpan that may help you even more during the tour.
Our home is very much under construction, so you'll catch a glimpse of how it looks day-to-day right now. We've gotten used to the noise and boxes and floors covered, but do you ever get used to the dust? I don't think so. haha. Hope you enjoy!
See our phase 1 kitchen makeover here.
See our pantry makeover here.
See our dining room plans here.
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I love the buffet with vertical lines in your entryway at the start of the tour. Do you have the name of it, where you got it from?
Lulu & Georgia — linked here: https://chrislovesjulia.com/our-less-is-more-entry-reveal/
Thanks for the tour! What is the name of the art on your Frame TV (and what brightness setting do you have it on)? I'm thinking it will look great in our living room as well.
Your content is better than any TV I watch. You’re my main source of entertainment!
I love the powder bath you showed. Would you mind sharing where you got the wallpaper?
thank you so much!! It was actually there!
Where is your stair runner from?
Love it all!
Thanks so much for this post....it’s all making more sense now! Loving it all...what a fun journey!
Simply beautiful. Your project always come out amazing. Could you tell me where you got the basket that is on top of your Smeg fridge?
I got it from McGee and Co a few years ago!
I knew y'all had originally talked about widening that back entry area near the garage by stealing room from the pantry and cutting into the pantry for kitchen space, are y'all removing the pantry?
Yes. We are moving it to where the range currently is.
It’s beautiful. The spaces are huge but the rooms are actually few. I love all the arches & high ceilings.
Would love to know the dimensions of your living room??
Great job on the video! Am wondering if you plan on adding a sink/maybe a drink fridge in the dining room? Could be super useful!
Your first floor layout makes soooooo much more sense now! Also, I had a good giggle over the automated captions at 6:30 when you showed the floor tile crew. I am pretty sure you were actually not calling them whores!
Oh MY GOSH! NOOOOOOOO
LOL! I had to go back and check that out!
I am really glad you did this walk-through. Pictures and floor plans are wonderful, but there’s nothing like a video to show how everything flows. I love watching all of your progress, and I’m holding your family in my prayers during the renovations (safety and sanity).
Looks great now, will be even greater when it's finished! I kept wondering, "HOW are they keeping that white sofa in the living room clean with all of the construction dust that's flying around?!"
It's really durable.
Love everything you do! Not sure how often you use the back stairs, but that would make a really large walk-in pantry if you eliminated them.
We use them the most!
Love the update video. I noticed the symmetry on the b/w floor tiles by the new doors, and the door at the end. Did you plan for floor tiles to to be large enough for that magic to happen or was that just a happy accident? Thanks!
Just wondering now that I'm seeing your floor plan if you have ever considered expanding your kitchen renovation into the dining nook. You seem like you are people that like to entertain and I wonder if the cook/Chris would like to be more in the thick of things and have sight lines to the living room and dining room. just something to think about....
We're going to expand it the other way!
Just a note to please update the closed captioning when you get a chance. I watch the videos while at work and almost spit my coffee out when the captioning said "you have the option to walk through these whores" multiple times. LOL
Love it! It’s so inspiring to watch your creative process. Thanks for sharing.
Such a stunning house! If money (and the mess!) wasn’t an issue, would you consider extending the kitchen/pantry/mud room area into the garden to give the whole space more square footage to play with?
Perhaps you talked about this in the kitchen "rough draft" video - why not keep the sink at the windows and put the range/hood on the pushed back wall where the fridge currently is? It seems like that would be a really logical move and keep the triangle going, with a big, empty island in the center.
Then where would the fridge go? Having the sink in the island and range where the sink is allows us to keep all three nice and close!
Ohh, gotcha - I thought the fridge/freezer was going where the range is now, with pantry on either side. I misunderstood! It will be fabulous whatever you do - I just hate losing a sink/window moment. :) Clearly (lol puns), you aren't hurting for windows!
IT ALL MAKES SENSE NOW! You have a beautiful eye for design and I cannot wait to watch this transformation unfold (and duplicate all the things!). Thank you for keeping us informed.
I love the windows in the living room and the doors you have in the dining room and your bedroom. But I have been wondering, what will you do for fresh air? Will you just leave the doors open? (There's no way you'd put a screen on those beauties!) And I can't tell if the living room windows actually open. Every time you post, I'm hoping you answer this ! ????
The breakfast nook windows open and the kitchen windows. Also I can totally see us opening a few doors! (We actually don't have mosquitos)
Gosh, thanks for the floor plan, it makes so much more sense to me now. Your kitchen is actually small given the other spaces in your home. Your ideas to expand and reconfigure are going to make it so much more workable. I am loving your dining room, but I have a question. Are you going to have built-ins or sideboards for your feasts? There seems to be a trend towards having more casual dining rooms, but I really like a place where you can serve buffet style in the dining room rather than the kitchen.
You have a lovely home.
I definitely want a sideboard in there! I'd love to find something vintage?
I’m curious if you’ve considered swapping the music room and kitchen spaces when you do your full kitchen gut?
No, I really love all the natural light and space that the kitchen has. The music room is pretty small!
Is a 1/4 bath just a toilet no sink? Will you be changing that?
It's a 1/2 bath.
Have you considered just removing the wall between the kitchen and the mudroom and having a much larger, open space? I totally get wanting to keep the potential mess of a mudroom separate, but it also seems like you keep it tidy and will likely make it visually beautiful. It could be nice to be able to see the main entry, and kiddos getting ready from the range during the house's "rush hour" after school.
It's an option but I do worry about the mess. Plus, we'd lose a wall of cabinetry and that's where we plan on putting our fridge.
Is the half bath downstairs the only toilet you have downstairs? Is this what your employees use? Curious as a work-from-home-er.
Yes it is
Hi,
Just wondering what the revised timelines look like?
I feel for you living in the semi-chaos but I can definitely see the light at the end of the tunnel and it looks like it is going to be amazing!
We're still hoping mid-february for this phase!
Where is that beautiful linen/wood sofa from??
Downeast! It's their Cloud Sofa.
That sure cleared things up for me! Don’t know why I had the office in the basement and the girls homework room upstairs. I love that you are making your home fit your lifestyle...isn’t that everyone’s dream? The large dining area will be very useful to you and no it isn’t too far from the kitchen. We will sometimes entertain in the basement living area so we plan to put a small kitchen down there but in the meantime, we haul food downstairs on those occasions! Now that’s far!
Is there a doorway from the garage to the mud room?
Yes! That's the door straight (when you see the cleaning closet on the left and the mudroom to the right!)
Hi Chris and Julia,
Please feel free to delete. I tried sending a comment asking about your doors before actually getting to listen to the video. I was watching the tour on mute.
Sorry. You addressed my question. I know next time to actually listen.
Everything is beautiful! You and your team are amazing!
What is a 1/4 bath? Does it only have a toilet? Or only a sink?
Should say 1/2 bath
Hi Chris and Julia,
Love your blog and Instagram! Your work is amazing and I love seeing how you transform spaces.
I've been following along now for a couple of years and watching closely as you renovate your new home.
I've tried to look back and see, but can't seem to find it, do you have a plan for your interior doors? Keeping them wood? paint? Or replacing as part of your phased renovations?
Can't wait to see more come together! Everything is so beautiful!
We actually cover that in the video! We'll be replacing them.
Where are the pendant lights in your office from?
Rejuvenation!
Where are the bulletin boards from in your office (woth the golds frames)?
Pottery Barn!
Love! Question. I’m guessing you will not cover any of your living room or dining room windows. How are you planning for sunlight and privacy?
Privacy isn't a huge concern but we'll see how sunlight is an issue.
Hey! I dont understand anything about vídeo câmeras (so i dont know if what i’m going to say is possible), but I wish I could see what you were talking about ~while~ you were talking about it?! It is soooo frustating to listen to you talk about a door, for example, and only see...you! You are very pretty to watch, dont get me wrong lol! Maybe Andi could back off a little, so its possible to frame the whole space and have the bigger picture (literally)? Because otherwise it’s harder to really understand the spaces and how they are connected (which is the point of the video)! I remember having the same “issue” with the pantry tour video! I really dont mean to sound rude with this commet, really it is no big deal, just a little detail! Hopefully you’ll take this as a friendly feedback from a long time fan!
Cheers!
(Sorry for the grammar, not my first language!!)
Great feedback and we really feel the same!
I so agree! Definitely noticed a change when Jordan left. Hoping Andi settles in alright with what I am sure is a huge learning curve!
I agree with Aline, it was really hard to understand the spaces with the camera angle, wish they are wider shots.
Same here. I actually stopped watching the video because I felt like I was only seeing the middle third of the the room.
I agree too! There were quite a few things you said (e.g floors are covered) that we couldn’t see when you said them! The whole video felt like it was too close to you and we therefore couldn’t see the spaces you were talking about properly.
Agree! I usually don’t read the comments and came down to see if anyone else mentioned it. At first I thought it was just because I was watching on my iPhone and don’t have it set up so I can flip my screen, but switched to air play on my tv and it was the same.
So excited to see all of the changes!
The layout really flows now more so than I thought on the old tour. I am excited to watch it all come together. I think your vision is great. Weird question - why are you calling the powder room/half-bath, a 1/4 bath?
Keep up the amazing work, we love following!
It's a half bath. Oops!
Haha - I thought I was missing something!
Quick tip from a real estate appraiser! Your 1/4 bath is actually a 1/2 bath! There are 4 quarters to a bathroom- sink, toilet, shower and tub. So if you have two of those things, it's a 1/2 bath. Loved the tour- it is such a beautiful floorplan!!
Great video. Your home is going to be amazing.
I love the pictures in the office (black & white portraits). Would you share where you purchased them?
Thanks.
I got them from etu home
Looking GREAT! I was thinking, when you redo the arch leading into your office, maybe a big arched door would look grand and differentiate it from the more "residential" areas of the home. Just a thought! LOVE the updates! :)
Love that idea
GAH teaser of that amazing floor in the dining room; I am so excited to see that all finished and dressed to your usual gorgeous standards. I'm sure you probably shared pics already on IG but I'm not on IG, so this is my first glimpse. I'm so curious about that fireplace! Any time frame on that?
This is all looking so great! I love it all so much!
They are just waiting for the floors to finish
Great tour! Have you considered putting that mirror from the office on the wall coming into the kitchen where all the holiday cards are until you get to the kitchen remodel? Might be nice to reflect on the light from the entryway and better than approaching a giant wall!
That mirror really goes in our bedroom. It’s just under construction now .
This was great to see the layout of the home but I felt like you were talking about all this stuff that we didn't get to see because the person taking the video only showed the middle of the wall and that's it. Maybe it needed a wider angle? I love watching your videos though, just wanted to give another perspective.
Chris's floor plan and first floor tour helped so much. I can see your vision for the future. That huge office is already overcrowded, wow! CLJ is growing fast. Before you get too attached to the music room … have you thought about shifting some of your office functions into there? Perhaps the conference table and group meeting area. You were planning on having a puzzle table in there anyway. You don't want desks in there since it clearly functions as part of your living / entertainment space, but this would free up room for more desks inside the designated room.
I'm excited for both the day to day and the future!
I’m curious if this is something on my end, but I only notice it on this blog so figured it wouldn’t hurt to ask. Every video I watch is partially blocked by multiple ads and I am unable to fully close the ad to expand or view the video in its full view. I prefer to read blogs using my iPad. Any tips?
Rotating the screen does the trick for me :)
I use an rss reader and have a similar problem. I click the title of the video, which opens it up in YouTube.
It is looking SO GOOD. Honestly when you bought this house I was so unsure of its potential but you are showing us how to put some charm in to these 1990’s homes! One question for you: Any plans to make your kitchen counters taller than standard to accommodate your height? You can basically sit on the counters now without jumping up! Just wondering, seems like it would make sense for you tall folks.
Definitely!!! Our backs are killing us. Lol