Welcome back, friends, to another installment of my California to (North) Carolina moving saga. While I may have shown a peek into our new home in the last post, today, I’m going to dive a little deeper into where my head is at with designing. Because let me tell you, when you move across the country and sell half of your belongings, you’re kind of forced into a reinvention and redecoration mindset, whether you like it or not.

I partially like it because it’s fun to think about how different my home could look since I last picked all new furniture eight years ago. I was a different person then—my husband and I were newly married and child-free, but now with an active preschooler, our needs both functionally and emotionally have changed. My beloved velvet blue Interior Define sectional stayed back in LA (it found a new home with one of Jess’ best friends, and I feel so comforted knowing she gets to visit my old sectional!), and honestly, as much as I loved that cobalt and still do, I was ready for something new visually.

But first, let’s revisit a mini “before” tour of my new place, which we plan on renting for one to two years max before we buy our first home (!!!). I include that detail early on because, as this isn’t meant for the long-term, that limits how much time and resources I’m willing to put into this place. It’s fairly pleasant as is and mostly just needs some styling. left: the view from the dining room into the living room. right: standing in the left-hand corner of the living room, looking toward the stairs and the dining/kitchen area. the fireplace has two nooks flanking it, which I’ll talk about later on in the post. some angles of the kitchen. there’s another area i forgot to shoot, which houses the sink and more cabinetry. whoops. my daughter’s bedroom and bathroom. there’s a cozy little nook off to the right you’re not seeing in this photo that i have some fun plans for. our primary bedroom. and no, it *still* doesn’t fit our armoire. but i have other plans, fear not. left: my petite office. right: the downstairs “basement” guest bedroom.

What I Kept, What I Need To Replace If you’ve ever made a giant move, you’ll know what happens to your brain a few weeks (and even worse, a few days) before the movers arrive. Suddenly, you’re convinced you should take nothing with you and start becoming the world’s most charitable philanthropist with your stuff. I’m telling you, the neighbors in my Buy Nothing Group were some of the luckiest people.

WHY OH WHY did I get rid of my armless desk chair that I so desperately need now? Why exactly did I decide not to bring my deep chest freezer? Or my daughter’s cushy Pottery Barn toddler chair?

Or her bookshelf? Or sooooo many other things? And even though I sold some pieces for money, I’m bemoaning those, too. The green cabinet in my kitchen was so gorgeous, and I let it go for so little money.

There’s a perfect little nook in my current kitchen that it could have lived in, and I’m kicking myself. But such is life, and I have to give myself grace for decisions I made under duress. One of the only rooms that didn’t feel the wrath of purging desperation was my bedroom.

THANK GOD. Every single item in here made it to the other side. Well, not the rattan footstool, but that thing was too high to actually be comfortable for my legs and feet, and was a lightweight hazard for my daughter, who loved to climb it.

And like I said, no, the armoire, once again, does not live in my bedroom, but remember those fireplace nooks I mentioned above? YES!!! It’s going there. design by arlyn hernandez | left: styled by emily bowser, photo by veronica crawford, from: arlyn’s kitchen reveal | right: photo by sara ligorria-tramp, from: arlyn’s living room reveal My little breakfast nook table came with me, but not the chairs, because they were hanging on by a thread.

So rickety, sadly. RIP green cabinet, though. On the flip side of my bedroom, there are nearly no remains of my living spaces because they were the bulkiest pieces that would have cost the most to move.

The one survivor was my Article Seno sideboard. Everything else was donated (and my dining room set was sold). design by arlyn hernandez | photos by sara ligorria-tramp | from: arlyn’s dining room reveal Because IKEA Bestas are the best bang for your storage buck, I kept that whole piece, and it just may have another life in my new dining room again. (Reminder, it lived in my living room for the last three years). I also still have those emerald green velvet curtains, which didn’t have a home in