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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
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Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Setting up home with husband away
Oh my goodness. Where do I begin!?!! 
My husband is away and I'm not sure what to do. We painted an accent wall that I wanted before he left as well as tiling our kitchen floor, re-doing our cabinets and bought a couch for the living room. We have limited closet space and I have NOOOOO idea where to hang all the picture frames and such.
Where do I begin? Advice?
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Re: Setting up home with husband away
This is the 3rd time I've set up our place without my husband, but even when he is here he could kind of care less where I put pictures and such. When he's here of course it makes it easier because I tell him where and he hangs it.
I don't know what you're really asking.. decorating advice? We would have NO idea where to put your pictures/decor without knowing your home.
I said in my OP what I am asking for, advice. Wwithout knowing my home you could easily tell me what room you started with, what you consider must-haves, perhaps you'd have suggestions for the limited space issue I mentioned.
You've done it 3 times, I've done it 0 so I'm not sure exactly what I need to know
What room did you start with? Did you paint any? Did you make use of what you had before buying new things? Did you buy anything for storage?
Any advice on anything you have...that's what I am asking.
Thanks in advance!
Right. Eveyones must haves are different. Personally I set up my kitchen first then living room and last the bedroom. I always hang curtains and others don't. It's all about personal preference. I've painted before but didn't here. I obviously use the things I have before buying new because what sense would that make.
I guess I still don't understand what you need advice on? It's YOUR place. Make it home for you. You don't have to do it all in one day either. Take your time.
I'm assuming this is your first time living on your own? Have fun with it. Just because you hang a picture in one place doesn't mean it needs to stay there.
For the 'limited space'.. most of us probably suffer from that. Go through what you have and decide if you need it and if not then donate it. Things you want to keep but not display can be put in storage.
ETA: Do what you would do if you husband was home. Just instead of him doing the work, you have to pick up the hammer and nail yourself.
We can't decorate your house for you, if that is what you want. We don't know you, what you like, how you like to live, exc.
Like E&M said, everyone is different. Find what you like and go with it.
The Nest has some nice pictures of different rooms that you can look at to get some inspiration, and you can ask the Decorating and Renovating board if you need help on certain things.
Some other great places to find decorating tips that I like are:
www.bhg.com (Better Homes and Gardens)- pretty sure they teach you how to hang a picture on this website.
www.realsimple.com - They even have great "how to fold fitted sheets" tutorials.
If the biggest problem you have is that your H isn't here to help you, don't worry. You just have to start somewhere... anywhere.
You have no idea where to hang pictures, and you want advice from us, internet strangers, who have no idea what your home or pictures look like? Are you high or just a child?
See, kids. This is the reason you shouldn't go straight from living with mommy and daddy to living with hubby. By the time you get married you can reasonably be expected to know what to do with pictures and a bare wall.
I like to look at Houzz for decoration inspiration.
I can't help you, but only because you don't want my help. I'm down for planks of wood and cinder blocks for book cases, and I have anti German Soviet propaganda on my walls. No one wants decorating help from me.
OP, if you want some specific advice I'd recommend starting with whichever room you'll be spending most of your time in when you're home.
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Did you move into a major fixer-upper, or did you just get in over your head with home renovations? Painting, retiling and redoing the cabinets are big projects.
Anyway. Put the big, important stuff together first, like your bed. Then tackle one room at a time. Like a previous poster, I do the kitchen first so we can eat. Then just go one room at a time. It's really, really not as panic-worthy as you're making it out to be.
I've heard you can get artistic inspiration at pinterest.com, but I've usually got a pretty good idea of where things are going to go before I start. It's not that difficult to visualize where to stick the couch, IMO.
If you don't have enough room for everything, get rid of some crap. Ta-da! And yes, use what you have before you buy anything. That you even need to ask that gets a bit of a
from me, I have to be honest.
Oh my! I'm sorry if I gave that imression? I moved out when I was 19 though
I lived in our apartment together when he deployed in 08, so I've decorated once before as well as lived alone before.
I have several friends willing to lend their hubbies to help with the actual hanging process, I suppose with more space I feel a bit overwhelmed, not sure where to begin.
What I was asking was more where people started- what room? Did you start with paint or hanging? What sort of things do you use for organization? Baskets, shelves, storage benches? I was hoping to gain inspiration from hearing what others had to share, not asking strangers to decorate my home. Hoping for inspiration is all
Thank you all who have answered so far!
ETA: I would rather go in with a clear idea so things go a little more smoothly. I know pictures are furniture are easy to move, I know I can re-paint things, I don't mind doing things...I'd just rather have a game plan.
I'm not complaining, I think my OP led people to believe I am stressed or upset perhaps? I'm glad to have a home, just need some inspiration
You begin wherever you want.
I get decorating ideas from watching HGTV or looking up blogs and other websites. Take your time and see where you like or don't like the placement of certain things. Hell, it's taken me a year and a half to get my house decorated the way I want it.
As for space issues, stores like Walmart, Target, and BBB sell nifty space-saving/organizing closet hangers for clothes, cheap storage drawers, etc.
Come on now. College freshmen figure out how to decorate and be creative with space in a tiny dorm room; I think you can find a way to do it in your home.
In the 5 years since I've lived with H, I will be moving into my 7th apartment next week (and I'd had at least 5 places I'd lived on my own in the years before that). It's seriously a different process every time. We've only owned once, and that was the 1st place, so we don't usually paint. But if you're going to paint, of course do that before hanging artwork.
As for space, that's been different everywhere, too. There's really no easy what to tell you what to do since it's so unique to the situation. Absolutely use what you already own first so that you can save money. Don't just going buying something you think you need. Live in your place a bit first, and your needs will become apparent.
Next week will be the first time all our stuff has been in 1 location in 4 years due to overseas moves, so I get how daunting it can be. I don't even remember what furniture I have other than knowing somehow that we've ended up with 4 desks when we only need 1. I'm sure I'll be listing stuff on craigslist just to get rid of extra, but I may also sell furniture that fit in one home but no longer works in small Hawaii spaces, and replace it with something more appropriate for the location. You'll figure it out as you live in the space.
I'm not saying I can't
I am getting the impression I've worded something wrong or perhaps my OP is just being misunderstood because I never meant to make anyone believe I was complaining, stressed, worried, incapable, etc.
I thank you all but I think I'm going to respectfully bow out although I did take note of the stores and webpages posted, again, thank you all
I always start with my kitchen. It always makes me feel better to have that one room done because I can take a break and make a snack or coffee etc....
Next, I do the living room and then the bedroom. Curtains always make it feel like a home to me, but I always do that last. Pictures are always hard for me- I figure out which pics I want to go into what room but then it takes me forever to figure out how and where to hang them.
I've set up the house without my DH once and it isn't fun but I promise it makes everything a little bit better when it's done!
Good luck!
Okay this makes a little bit more sense. I started with the kitchen so that we could cook and eat off of our dishes without everything being in complete chaos. Then I moved to the living/dining area. I just got an idea of where to hang our stuff and hung it myself (it's really not hard; I literally did it all by myself). Then I moved things around on the walls if they didn't look right.
We store extra stuff in drawers or closets. My closet isn't huge, so I bought some cheap hanging cubbies for my shoes and some clothing. They work almost like shelves or drawers. I also bought some of those rolling plastic drawers to stick in our coat closet to organize my purses, hats, scarves, and gloves.
It really comes down to your personal style. If you like baskets, find baskets that look decorative and can also be used for storage. Storage benches can be nice as well as functional. Just keep your eye out for decorating ideas, and you'll figure out your preferences over time.
Just pick a place and start.
I like to get the bedroom, kitchen and a bathroom set up first, but to each their own.
The picture frames...don't even think about those yet, those are at the end.
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This is how I felt. I had a slipped disk and yet, I still managed to hang some pictures and gasp even the curtains.
I promise, you can hang pictures by yourself. Maybe you need some help though.
http://www.viewalongtheway.com/2011/08/frame-hanging-hack-how-to-get-ikea-ribba-frames-to-behave/
http://www.younghouselove.com/2011/03/the-hallway-full-monty/
http://www.younghouselove.com/2009/08/getting-the-hang-of-it/
http://www.housetweaking.com/2010/03/28/a-labor-of-love-our-family-photo-wall/
http://ana-white.com/search?keys=hanging+frames
Granted, a few of them are guys doing it, but their wives have shown they know how to hammer a nail into the wall just as well as their husbands do.
My H could be deployed or here and his input would be about the same I think, lol. Actually I probably prefer to just hang pictures and things myself, DH is not into the strict details and such things that are important in hanging things.
I started with the living room because we were going to have people stay over, and then did guest rooms for the same reason. My kitchen isnt really "decorated" really other than things on the fridge. There is actually not much room to decorate. I still have not done anything really to our room, I just didnt care that much, and then when I got the inspiration, we found out we were likely going to move soon so I didnt do anything. I also have three paintings throughout the house just proped on the floor nest to the wall I would want to hang them, because I put them there when trying to plan it out, and then decided I didnt want to put holes in the wall so close to leaving.
I changed my name
Oh, wait, I forgot. I own a bunch of power tools, and none are pink. H didn't even have so much as a drill when I married him. And hopefully I get my HHG next week and see my precious toolbox that has been in storage the past few years. Sigh, I missed it.
You can hang things yourself. The only things I have had E hang in our new house are the blinds, and two pictures that I have up higher than I can comfortable reach on a step ladder. And now that I think about that I actually rehung one of those myself because he hung the wrong one in that spot.
Anyways, start small. I hung a picture from our wedding at the top of the staircase because you can see it when you walk upstairs and I like that. I tackled the half bath down stairs next, hung a few pictures and put a towel bar up. We set up our living room next and I put the pictures I love in places I could see them most easily. I did our bedroom next and did the same thing with the pictures. Our office took me a while longer because I needed to reorganize stuff because I put things anywhere. The guest room I set up the same way our last guest room was set up, easy peasy, and the same thing with the guest bath. Then on to the dinning room and lastly the kitchen, which I did a little at a time as we moved things over from the old place. Its just about making your home a place you love to be, surrounded with things you love. It doesn't have to be complicated.
Good Luck!
I've been in my current apartment for over a year, DH has been here at least 75% of that time, and the only two things I've put on the wall are my calendar and DH's organizer.
So, the room I would start with is procrastinate until it's time to move again.
Photo bomb, yeah!
I will. It's important for the balance of our marriage. I can't expect you to be the man all the time!