The Big Reveal: Why We’re Moving & A Sneak Peek of Our New Home!

About a month ago, I dropped a bombshell announcement in this blog post: we’re moving! The decision has brought a whirlwind of emotions for our family, but I was genuinely floored by the outpouring of reactions from all of you. Your heartfelt messages and countless questions flooding my Instagram DMs made it clear just how invested you are in our journey and our home. It was a beautiful reminder of the community we’ve built together.

Faced with so many questions about every detail of our upcoming relocation, I realized the best way to address everything thoroughly was to revive our beloved podcast. Thea and I had been eager to restart Colorful Conversations, and this momentous life change provided the perfect catalyst. We’re back, and we couldn’t be more thrilled to share all the behind-the-scenes insights, challenges, and excitements with you.

While we’ve poured our hearts and souls into our current house, transforming it with countless DIY projects over the years, we are beyond excited for the new chapter that awaits us. This move promises fresh beginnings, not only for our family life but also for the creative direction of the blog and the amazing DIY home improvement content we’ll be able to bring you. Tune in below as Thea and I dive deep into the core reasons behind our move and tackle all your pressing questions head-on!

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Unpacking Our Move: The What, Why, and Where

Your Amazing Reaction & Our Podcast Comeback

• When we first announced our move, your response was overwhelming, in the best possible way! It truly underscored how deeply connected you are to our home and the journey we’ve shared over the past seven years. This house has practically been a co-star in our story, serving as the backdrop for countless DIY home improvements and projects we’ve documented on the blog. I genuinely underestimated how significant this news would be to our community. Turns out, it’s as big a deal to you as it is to us, and your flood of questions inspired us to bring back the podcast. Thea and I are beyond excited to be back behind the mics, even with the current audio challenges due to social distancing – we promise it will improve!

Seeking a Quieter Community: Our New Chapter in Oak Ridge

• Our decision to move stems from a variety of reasons, but a primary motivator has been our desire for a smaller, more serene community. We are relocating to Oak Ridge, a charming small town nestled just outside of Greensboro, where we currently reside. What drew us to Oak Ridge is its self-contained nature and, crucially, its outstanding school district. The sense of community, combined with excellent educational opportunities for our girls, felt like the perfect fit for our family’s next phase.
• For a long time, I resisted even discussing the idea of moving, despite Joe subtly bringing it up over the last two years. However, I eventually realized there were inherent challenges with our current home that could only be resolved by a fresh start in a new space. I touched on these in more detail that initial blog post, and I’ll elaborate further below.

The Home Office Dilemma: A Need for Dedicated Space

• One of the most significant challenges in our current home has been the location of my home office. Situated right in the heart of our home, it has become incredibly stressful. While I cherish my family, having constant access to me has made it exceedingly difficult to focus and get substantial work done. As many of you know, running a blog and a business from home requires dedicated concentration, and the lack of a truly private, distraction-free workspace has been a growing pain point. We envision a new office setup that fosters productivity and creativity, allowing me to fully immerse myself in content creation without interruption.

The Overstuffed Garage: A DIY Business Needs Space

• While our current garage isn’t technically “small,” its functionality has become a significant hurdle for us. It serves as the storage hub for an extensive collection of tools – absolutely essential for a business centered around DIY home improvement – alongside Joe’s home gym and parking for one car. It is perpetually filled to the brim, making it challenging to organize, access equipment, and undertake larger projects. We urgently need a more spacious, dedicated workshop area to support the demands of our growing DIY business and allow for more ambitious projects. The new house promises a garage solution that will elevate our crafting and building capabilities significantly.

Decoding Oak Ridge: A Glimpse into Our New Town

• For those curious about Oak Ridge, here’s the lowdown! Yes, it is indeed an incorporated town, though it operates without a traditional mayor. Instead, it is governed by an active five-person town council. So now you know! (Thanks, Google!) And apologies to Thea, but it seems being mayor won’t be in her immediate future, much to her humorous disappointment. It’s a charming community with a distinct identity, and we’re excited to become a part of it.

A Canvas of Brown: The New House’s Aesthetic Challenge

• We’re incredibly excited to embark on new projects in our new home. However, the initial focus will be less about major structural renovations and more about extensive cosmetic transformations. Every single wall, surface, and fixture in the house is, well, brown. As those of you who follow my colorful style know, this is absolutely NOT my aesthetic! The thought of painting every single room is daunting, almost enough to make me shed a tear, but it’s a non-negotiable step to infuse our personality into the space. Seriously, there is So. Much. Brown.
• Despite the extensive painting, the DIY projects themselves will be incredibly approachable and won’t require a massive financial investment. I’m thrilled about the feasibility of these DIYs, which will allow us to showcase what’s truly possible with paint, creativity, and elbow grease. The color lover in me is practically bursting with anticipation to get started, and I cannot wait to share the vibrant transformations with you all!

The Perfect Fit: Our Dream Floorplan & Outdoor Oasis

• Once we close on the new house, you’ll get to see all the pictures! I’m holding back on too many details until then, as this is the third house we’ve made an offer on, and we want to avoid jinxing anything. But this one, this house is truly perfect. The floorplan aligns exactly with everything we’ve envisioned and needed for our family and business. And the outdoor space? It is nothing short of AMAZING. So, if you’ve listened to the podcast and read this far, consider this your special reward! Here is the very first official sneak peek of our new home – behold the incredible outdoor space that has completely captivated us! This area alone made us fall in love and cemented our decision.

A Double Move: Thea’s Journey and Family Excitement

• Adding to the excitement, Thea is seriously contemplating a move herself, and I finally think she’s genuinely going to do it! It’s almost unbelievable that both of us might be relocating during such an inherently stressful time, but then again, why not seize the moment? For her, the “minor” task involves purging a decade’s worth of “home shrapnel” and staging her house. No big deal, right? We’re sending her all the positive vibes!
• Our girls initially mirrored my own emotional rollercoaster about moving. There were tears and apprehension, which is perfectly natural. However, they’ve come around beautifully! Once we started discussing the exciting possibilities for decorating and personalizing their new rooms, their sadness quickly transformed into enthusiastic excitement. I constantly remind them that it’s okay to feel both sad about leaving a beloved home and thrilled about new adventures. They now have precise visions for their new spaces and are fully on board with the move.

Staging Our Current Home: Neutralizing a Colorful Canvas

• When you look at our current house, it might not strike you as neutral at first glance, given all our vibrant decor. However, if you strip away our personal touches, most of our paint colors are, in fact, quite neutral. Perhaps my navy blue doors stand out a bit, but even blue can be considered a versatile neutral – like a good pair of jeans, it goes with everything, right?! The wildest element is probably the powder room mural, which I simply ran out of time to paint over. But for any prospective buyer, that’s an incredibly easy fix!

• Striking the right balance between neutralizing a house for staging and retaining unique elements that are acceptable to leave behind is always a tricky endeavor. You can glimpse Thea’s bold red dining room and the curtains we frequently reference here. It’s all part of the fascinating, sometimes hilarious, process of preparing a cherished home for new owners.
• I was so incredibly happy when we finally completed the guest room, achieving that perfect balance of comfort and style. However, I realized the laundry room, the very first room I tackled in this house (you can see that initial makeover here), needed a quick refresh to feel truly finished and cohesive with the rest of our revamped spaces. It was a small but satisfying makeover to tie everything together.
• You can find numerous before-and-after pictures of our kitchen transformation here. To this day, I’m still amazed that some people were upset when we painted those cabinets. It’s a reaction I’ll probably never fully understand! But rest assured, if anyone dares to criticize our design choices in the comments section, my amazing readers will always have my back. Consider this your friendly warning!

• One thing is for certain: my personal style and cherished possessions are coming with us! I absolutely LOVE our curated collection of decor and the design choices we’ve made for our current house. Therefore, you can expect to see much of our distinct style and many of our favorite pieces seamlessly integrated into the new home. Unlike Joe, who’d happily sell anything for the right price, I have no intention of starting from scratch! I’ve painstakingly curated things I adore, and they’re all coming along for the ride.
• If you’re curious about the rather unconventional setup we adopted to record this podcast episode, be sure to check out our Instagram stories. We were diligently practicing social distancing in the guest room, which, unfortunately, did impact the audio quality a bit. Our apologies for that!

Connect with Us & Our Community!

• We absolutely love hearing from you and seeing your engagement! Please tag us at @tasha.kaleidoscope in your photos, or screenshot your favorite episode and tell us what you’re up to while listening. Your shares brighten our day, and we always try to feature them as often as possible. Make sure you are following me on Instagram to catch all my stories and get exclusive behind-the-scenes glimpses into our move and beyond. I share all sorts of things, not just home decor and DIY, and it’s always a lot of fun!

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For exclusive content, behind-the-scenes peeks, and to ensure you don’t miss any exciting updates on our move and future projects, be sure to subscribe to our newsletter before you go!

More Podcast Episodes You’ll Love

• How to Blend Decorating Styles Seamlessly
• Budget-Friendly DIYs for Every Room
• Maximizing Small Spaces with Smart Design
• Finding Your Personal Decorating Style