Turning A House Into A Home: Quarantine Renovations and House Projects | Northport NY Photographer | Apollo Fields

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Cardboard boxes, microwave meals, and a mattress on the floor. Vacant rooms and cleaning products, an empty fridge, and fatigue. The first few days you spend in a new space is like looking at a canvas that has already been used. The imprints of the furniture on the carpet, the nicks and scuffs that adorn the walls, the random objects that the previous tenant has left behind. Reinventing a space is a project of collaboration and vision, a process of keeping that which is immutable and bending the rest to the will of your lifestyle and taste.

Our Kitchen:

Heather and I spend most of our time in our home in the kitchen and dining room. We move between counter tops and table tops like little worker bees, carrying hot dishes trying not to burn ourselves, or setting up board games aside craft beers and cheese boards. The kitchen and dining room are our most important spaces and they need to be large, functional, and comfortable. They puts our hearts and relationship at ease and are the focal point for our dinner parties and large gatherings.

Our Living Room:

It took us a little while to get our current living room together, as we tend to be outdoors as much as possible and wouldn’t have an actual TV if my father didn’t have an extra one. However, we do enjoy cuddling on the couch with our pups, so aside from having a sleeper sofa beneath the cushions, comfort in the living room is our number one priority. We also have a tendency to fall asleep in a big dog pile on the pullout bed during busy seasons so our friends and family can rest assured of its sleepability. When it comes to coffee tables, Heather has a knack for scoring big at thrift stores, and this white granite and gold metal is probably her best find yet. Both classy and easy to clean, this flat surface is battleground number two for our board game bouts.

Our Office:

Our office has sneakily turned into my favorite room in the house. Part-inspiring, part-comfortable, the bold blue wall we just painted ties the room together and now the entire space just screams Apollo Fields. No bull shit, I even had fun doing our taxes over the phone with our accountant a few weeks back (see pictures). This room taught me the power that an accent wall can give to a room can change the entire space. Heather has a keen eye for envisioning what color will do what for a room given her understanding of the way light comes through the windows (I’m about as useful a mole—I think their vision sucks).

Upstairs our bedroom is a simple space because we’re not up there much. I have a small writing corner to isolate myself when need be, but other than that it’s just closets, storage, a couple small armoires, and our queen-sized bed. Given how much Rumor sleeps with us, we’ll definitely be upgrading to king next time around. I personally enjoy having a bedside lamp to scare away the monsters under the bed that also gives me the opportunity to do some reading before bed (It also helps in not stubbing your toe on the baseboard of the bed).

Our Backyard:

Our backyard is something that we’re super grateful for during this quarantine. With a small deck and patio set we can have prototypical suburban barbecues with a Terrence- and-Heather spin. In Colorado, we had our chickens (RIP) running between our friend’s legs, picking up scraps while avoiding Riddle and Rumor. Who knows what (or when) our first barbecue will look like on Long Island! Our next project in the backyard is adding a potted vegetable garden on top of the large stone slabs that I dug up and DIY-ed into a rough patio. After getting a taste of making fresh bread at home I can’t wait to have an entire meal that we harvested, made, and cooked ourselves. I think pet hens will have to wait until our dream farm but Heather is one step away from coming home with a box of baby chicks again.

Slowly but surely we have turned my father and stepmom’s former place into our home. It didn’t happen overnight and we weren’t quick to buy retail furniture. We prefer to work on the property, repurpose as much as possible, thrift (and haggle if you’re Heather), build, and paint to make a space our home. Just like any of our dinner parties sometimes we bite off more than we can chew, but in the end we know the space will come together just as our friends and family will eventually get fed. Once this quarantine is lifted, we can’t wait to welcome anyone who would like to, to join us for a delicious homemade dinner and a (probably) raucous party!