Surprise!

So I have a secret that I've been keeping from you guys....no, Mom, I'm not pregnant...Here's a hint:

Enter sad face here...

We are preparing to put our little gray home on the market this spring. We have discussed it for awhile and knew eventually we would need more function out of a home. Last week we went to look at a series of open houses, just to see what was available in our price range, the answer was not much. We thought about a fixer upper, but what we have found available all needed more than just cosmetic work, which is something we are in no way prepared to take on right now.We talked to the builder that built our house and have  come to the conclusion that probably the only way we will get what we want out of a home is to build, so that is where we are today. We don't necessarily need more space, but we need more functional space for us. We would rather have smaller room sizes but have an extra bedroom, and have a smaller great room but have some sort of recreation/media/family room too. I realize this isn't the idea for everyone, but we think this is what will work for us. We love our house, and are both going to be heartbroken when it sells, but I think this is the best thing for our family right now. Nothing is in stone yet, we haven't signed anything and are still in the very beginning of this process...and of course I will share every detail with you along the way. In any case, I've already jumped ahead 6 months into the future into designing mode...what can I say? 

I have visions of what our next home will look like, and while these will most likely change throughout the process, I'm excited to get started. Here's what I'm thinking at this time:

It's no secret that blues, greens, and golds make up my favorite color story, and I don't see this changing anytime soon. I'm dreaming of gray walls (definitely no surprise) and a fireplace wall with our television mounted above painted this gorgeous navy/peacock blue. This painting is from ZGallerie, and I've loved it forever, but could never justify the price. It isn't insanely expensive, but I've always had trouble spending any money on art that wasn't original. In our next house, however, I'm determined to do away with all of our "starter furniture" (at least in the living room) and buy what we want, not just what is the least expensive....I know gasp. In any case, I feel like in every house there is one awkward wall that screams for a very large and long piece of fantastic art, so this would be mine. Under it would sit these gold nesting tables, simply because they are beautiful. The gray sectional is from Nebraska Furniture Mart, and is only $699, which I think is a pretty good price. I don't really love the look of sectionals, I do however, love sprawling out like a cat in summer to watch television, so they have kind of become a necessary evil. These green chairs are from Target and have a great brass nail head trim, that I love. I'm obsessed with this apple green zebra rug from Zgallerie. The hubby and I are dreaming of a see through fireplace in our next home, that would divide our living and dining rooms. This one is in NO way our style, but it gets the point across, found here. The stallion bust and white ming boxes are both from Z-gallerie, and just an example of the gray and white accessories I would mix in throughout the space. I will be looking for a simple espresso dining table, similar to the one in this mood board, but probably with cleaner lines and would love to use these gorgeous x-benches I found on overstock.com as seating for the dining area. The white chandelier is, again, from Z-gallerie, and I love the bright and airiness it would bring to our future dining area. This image at the top right is just inspiration for a great layout, and a great use of wall space with all of those giant framed art pieces. Found it here.

Like I said before, this will most likely all change, so don't hold me to it. This mood board was really more for fun, than anything. For the next few weeks you will probably find a few less DIY projects on this blog, since we are currently trying to de-clutter every inch of our house, and spackle every hole in our walls. In the meantime, I will keep you posted on the process and everything else that is going on. 

What about you guys? Anything new. Anyone else create moodboards for a home they don't have yet? Bueller? Bueller?