Well, a new-to-us house!

If you’ve followed along for a while, you know that John and I flipped a tiny country cottage in 2018 (I started this blog in 2019) and we’ve been living there since! With the help of some dear friends who did the actual flipping (we did the buying/designing) we maximized the 935 square feet into a sanctuary where our motto has been less but better.

That motto has been so helpful to me these last few years! It has encouraged me to have less stuff but better quality of what we do have. With less square feet to pay for, we had the ability to invest more of our budget into design elements. With less clutter, we could make the most of each little nook and cranny.

Each item brought into the home needed to be as useful as it was pretty, and if it had more than one function, even better!

Here’s a then-and-now look at our country coTtage

At the time, we were 4 years into unexplained infertility, with no end in sight. Before they put up the sheetrock, we prayed over the home, inscribing Scripture onto the plywood and 2x4s in Sharpie. On the door frame of the guest room, we wrote verses about children, and mustered up our biggest faith, hoping against the facts that this home would be the one where we would grow our family.

It hits heavy now, thinking that this little home is where we saw that complete miracle. Two kids in two years! First our miracle girl, then our miracle, — and complete surprise — boy. It has been both the awe of that miracle and the very practical, hard reality of learning to become parents!

I think that might be what growing up really is. Holding onto both the miraculous wonder of it all, and the practical reality of it all, too.

We really need both.

I’m very thankful that we’re keeping this little cottage, which we’ve named Firefly Cottage (and you'd know exactly why if you ever sat on our front porch any evening April-July!), as a piece of our history and a tool for blessing!

We’ll begin with a one-year renter, and then dive into our first Airbnb adventure! This area of the triangle needs a few more beautiful short-term rentals, and until we get ours up and running in 2023, check out this stunning one nearby by my dear friend Jess, who also happens to be the friend who reno’d our cottage with her husband!

The inside of our current home

(More pics of our new home to come!)

The housing market over the course of our search was such a challenge, as I’m sure you’ve probably heard of or maybe experienced, too. John and I had to refigure several iterations of what our budget really was in light of skyrocketing interest rates, and competition that was consistently causing sale prices to be around $100k above asking price!

Over the course of our searching, we considered more out-there locations to see if we could stay in budget for the kind of home we wanted. We prayed, we looked, and we waited, and although it was frustrating (I maybe cried actual tears more than once) we had the opportunity to fine-tune our understanding of what we really needed out of our house in this next season of life. We don’t need our forever home, we just need a practical choice for the next several years!

All together, it was about 10 months of searching. Thankfully our agent is also a dear friend, and he was a steady rock throughout the process, never pressuring us, always being game for showings, and being an open book of helpful insight.

And finally, right as the market cooled off, we found this house that checks most of our boxes! The two boxes that didn’t get checked (a fence and a shed) we can easily add — those are two things we added at the cottage, so we know the process and who we’d use again for the work. Praise!

Sheds really are so practical and helpful — next time I think I might try to make it even cuter with flower boxes or vines.

We didn’t have to deal with competition and our offer was near asking price, which made offering on this home super low-stress. It’s close to where we live now, and has so many helpful upgrades that will make life a bit easier.

The home is mostly one story except a second-floor bonus over the garage (hellooo, practical office/music space!), has a screened-in porch (does anyone else imagine having their morning coffees there?), sits on acre of beautiful even yard (perfect for letting the kids free-range and also continue our veggie garden hobby), and is in a neighborhood (so the kids and I can go on strolls right from our house.)

Our current 2022 veggie plot — lots of zucchini so far!

Us on the 4th of July — trying to get a few more family pics in at the cottage!

While it’s not the most design-forward of homes — it’s kind of one of those cookie-cutter build neighborhoods — I so appreciate that I have a blank slate to splash some of my style and infuse more functionality for our family!

And I’m really going to lean into it!

One thing I’ve been learning recently is to trust myself, my desires, and my instincts way more. I’d rather not look back and wish I had tried something that I really wanted to. I’m going to try to follow my gut for wall colors, tiles, fixtures, and furniture, and have a lot of fun doing it — while also staying in a reasonable budget and using thrifted/antique items when possible.

Some of our plans are to:

update the bathrooms (loving this, this, and this)
add some built-ins (here’s my idea for the breakfast nook)
and do some fun wall treatments (wallpaper, bead board, and maybe some lime wash paint!)
Eventually, we hope to update the kitchen, too.

I’ll update here along the way!

Samples on samples and a cutting board and mason jar ring for vanity and hardware reference :)

It is not lost on me that owning a nice-quality, safe home, let alone two, is such a huge deal. Such a life victory and blessing, and also a big invitation!

There are many who don’t, and can’t, have that same opportunity for many different reasons. We hope that these homes will be tools of comfort, safety, and functionality for our own family, and also blessings for others.

When you imagine a home that fits you just righT, what do you think of?

What are you wearing, what are you doing, and how do you feel in that daydream?

I imagine wearing comfortable but put-together clothing, walking barefoot from the kitchen to the breakfast nook, and feeling relaxed and happy. I imagine hosting family and friends and having great home systems of organization and functionality.

Are there any projects you’re working on, or planning for, in your home right now?

Tell me and show me your Pinterest inspo! I love doing life with you!

Sending all my love (and up to my eyeballs in excitement, cardboard boxes, and yesterday’s dishes),

Sam

P.S. Want more of my thoughts on all things home? Read Tales From A Wannabe Hostess, The Prepared Home: Sickness, and Birth Prep with Dollar Tree!

We Bought A New House!