How We Fell for Our Home

Hooray, February is here. This is the month of love (and chocolate!!! But, I digress.)

I have a funny story to tell you about our home. We actually fell in love with our house before we owned it.

This story starts during a torrential downpour in 2001. We were driving around with our realtor looking at homes in Raleigh. The rainstorm turned ugly and our realtor pulled into the first neighborhood he could find. As he drove carefully down the tree lined streets, we saw a For Sale sign ahead.  As we drove closer, we saw a handsome two story home on a hill.

The landscaping was well manicured and there was an adorable little side porch.

Our realtor called the office to find out the details on the home. It turns out that the owners were asking 5K over our maximum search. The interior was equally well cared for, so the next day we put an offer on the house and moved in within 2 months.

We didn't realize how lucky we were to have found this house on a perfect little cul-de-sac. As the months progressed, we got to know all our neighbors on the street. Each and every one of them were warm and welcoming and oozed southern charm.

As the years went by we welcomed our first son into our house and then a second.

The home office, that we had renovated and installed built-in cabinets and a window seat into, became the nursery.

Feeling the pinch of squeezing all four of us, a dog and a home business into a three bedroom house, we began to look at other homes in the neighborhood, but dreaded having to move away from our location (did I mention how much we love our street?)

None of the other houses lived up to our picky needs (again, loved our street!)

Pretty Handsome Guy and I talked between ourselves about the one house on the street that we would love to live in. It was the charming dutch colonial house across the street.

He said, "Heaven forbid that our neighbors would ever move, but if they did we'd have to buy their house."

And one day that is exactly what happened. It was such a bittersweet moment because we really adored our neighbors and their children. And we didn't want them to move away. But, we basically said, "Tell us how much you want for your house."

Three months later, we literally backed out of our old driveway and straight into our new one! (Sadly we didn't win the Guiness Book's shortest move on record.)

Our new home needed some updating and a little TLC, but we still loved it! It fits our style (old, casual, comfortable.)

We have slowly transformed one room at a time to fit our personality and allow us to "love" the inside of our house as much as we love the outside.

Office Before

Office After

Living Room Before

Living Room After

Guest Room Before

Living Room After

This month I'll be sharing some ideas for turning your house into your dream home. Plus, I have a special giveaway announcement as well. But, you'll just have to be patient.

I hope you'll come back for some a-moré.