Taking Chances, Part 2: Our New Home
My computer is once again working, & we finally have internet. Hooray! Hoping that my posts will be a little more regular from here on out.
I wrote in this post about how I tend to play it safe, & rarely leave my comfort zone. But taking the risk of starting my business & blog has blessed us many times over already, & if nothing else, it has taught me that a little stretching & growth is not the scary experience I usually predict it will be. The purchase of our home is no exception.
In early May, I was invited to attend a Designers Lunch & Learn (wrote about it here). My cottage client happened to be Julie's (from Milk & Honey Home) neighbor & when I told her what a fan I am of Julie & Anisa's work, she encouraged me to contact Julie. After emailing back & forth a couple times, Julie graciously invited me to the Lunch & Learn. She & I were chatting, & I mentioned that we had been looking to buy in her neighborhood, but we were having a hard time finding the right place. In fact, we had resorted to putting notes in the mailboxes of some of the homes in the neighborhood, hoping someone might be so flattered they'd want to sell their home to us (or they might think we were creepy stalkers. It was a 50/50 chance). Julie asked if we would be interested in looking at her home. I knew it wasn't on the market, since I had been memorizing the real estate listings for months, so I wasn't sure if she was serious (plus, c'mon. This is a home designed by a talented team, and it's been published. It already seemed surreal that I was at a lunch with ladies whose blogs I read on a regular basis. The possibility of buying one of their homes seemed totally improbable). But she encouraged us to come look at it, we did, & the rest is history!
It still seems a bit unreal - at this time last year, I was simply a blog reader & design fan. Now, I have my own design business, blog, & we own a house designed by someone whose work I have long admired. There's no way that God & my mama didn't have a hand in this - it seems too improbable a story otherwise. We feel incredibly blessed & undeserving but oh so grateful.
As for our plans, I am already tweaking what I said in this post (did you guess I was talking about my own home?). After having lived in the house for a month, we are starting to get a feel for how the house works, & what we would really like to do to put our stamp on it & truly make it ours. I completely respect all the work Julie & her family have put into this house, but I wouldn't be worth much as a designer (or be true to myself) if I didn't implement my own ideas. It will be slow-going as we will be saving up for each project as it happens, but I will be sure to share all of it here.
Here are just a couple before shots from move-in day. Excuse the poor quality: my good camera was stolen on vacation last year, & we still haven't replaced it. I also was in a rush to get the photos as movers were bringing furniture in while I was taking them so I had to be quick!
I wrote in this post about how I tend to play it safe, & rarely leave my comfort zone. But taking the risk of starting my business & blog has blessed us many times over already, & if nothing else, it has taught me that a little stretching & growth is not the scary experience I usually predict it will be. The purchase of our home is no exception.
In early May, I was invited to attend a Designers Lunch & Learn (wrote about it here). My cottage client happened to be Julie's (from Milk & Honey Home) neighbor & when I told her what a fan I am of Julie & Anisa's work, she encouraged me to contact Julie. After emailing back & forth a couple times, Julie graciously invited me to the Lunch & Learn. She & I were chatting, & I mentioned that we had been looking to buy in her neighborhood, but we were having a hard time finding the right place. In fact, we had resorted to putting notes in the mailboxes of some of the homes in the neighborhood, hoping someone might be so flattered they'd want to sell their home to us (or they might think we were creepy stalkers. It was a 50/50 chance). Julie asked if we would be interested in looking at her home. I knew it wasn't on the market, since I had been memorizing the real estate listings for months, so I wasn't sure if she was serious (plus, c'mon. This is a home designed by a talented team, and it's been published. It already seemed surreal that I was at a lunch with ladies whose blogs I read on a regular basis. The possibility of buying one of their homes seemed totally improbable). But she encouraged us to come look at it, we did, & the rest is history!
Something else that seems a little crazy - I have had the below image on my Pinterest boards for forever because I loved the shelf over the range instead of the usual hood. I will now be cooking from this spot. How wonderfully bizarre.
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| http://milkandhoneyhome.com/portfolio/ |
As for our plans, I am already tweaking what I said in this post (did you guess I was talking about my own home?). After having lived in the house for a month, we are starting to get a feel for how the house works, & what we would really like to do to put our stamp on it & truly make it ours. I completely respect all the work Julie & her family have put into this house, but I wouldn't be worth much as a designer (or be true to myself) if I didn't implement my own ideas. It will be slow-going as we will be saving up for each project as it happens, but I will be sure to share all of it here.
Here are just a couple before shots from move-in day. Excuse the poor quality: my good camera was stolen on vacation last year, & we still haven't replaced it. I also was in a rush to get the photos as movers were bringing furniture in while I was taking them so I had to be quick!
I hesitated to write this post, because I didn't want it to come across as boastful. But, I decided to go ahead because 1) I want to encourage others to take chances & not let fear stop you from following your dreams, 2) I want to document what we do to our home & what better place than my blog, 3) my own home is the best place to experiment with my ideas, so that I can share the successes (or failures) with my clients/readers for ideas in their own homes.