I thought the home-selling process was difficult, but the home-buying thing (while often more fun) hasn’t been so easy. But we didn’t exactly start off on an easy foot. You see, I made myself a promise not to physically look at a house until our home was under contract, and we broke that rule. My dad told Micah about a house up the street from them that had come on the market. It had been listed last fall at the top of our price range, but this time they were asking for quite a bit more.
Our relator assumed that we’d have some wiggle room unless they had made some major changes, so she showed us the listing. From what I gathered from the pictures I was totally uninterested – it looked small and really cut up – but Micah thought otherwise. He wanted to see the house and I obliged because it was in one of my ideal neighborhoods and I could just walk to the showing from my parents house while I was visiting them.
The house sits on a corner up the street, and I really hadn’t paid much attention to it all of these years, but when we walked up I realized that behind the big tree in the front yard was a really lovely Colonial. I wish I had a full picture of the front, but I only managed to find this detail shot of the porch. I’ve always loved a Colonial and I’m sure it has something to do with most of our extended family living in Virginia and the visits to Williamsburg as a kid.
We walked in and I was shocked.
There was so much potential. The rooms were large, the ceilings were tall. And there were hardwoods throughout.
And so much detail: character that can be really hard to find in the suburbs. This living room particularly had me interested. I’m not usually a fan of this much wood, but with all of the south facing windows it was light and bright. Some modern furniture and art would have this space looking fab in no time.
One room after the next felt more and more like home. This sun room off of the living room would be ideal for kids to play and plants to live.
And then there was the piece de resistance, a second sunroom connected to the master. This space was PERFECT for making. The light and bright feel (10 windows!), the longer layout ideal for a few different work areas (crafting, computing, sewing), a cabinet with sink for easy clean up, and a somewhat secluded area of the home. It really was the deal sealer for me.
I loved that the home was not perfect, that it needed some work but was definitely livable and something I would enjoy being in from the start. Within a few minutes of the showing I knew where the Christmas tree would go, I saw us entertaining in it, doing life in this house. And Micah couldn’t have been more happy about this…
A pool and more outdoor entertaining space than you’d ever need.
We came back for a second look with his dad, who has built a lot of houses and sees problems most people don’t. His parents both saw what we saw in the house so we offered them what they were asking for in the fall that night. Unfortunately, after a bit of negotiating we just couldn’t move any more, and they weren’t willing to budge. We just couldn’t see paying more for something they had done nothing to since listing it at the price we offered.
We searched high and low for anything that would compare, but not a single home came close to the feeling I got in that place. It’s still sitting there with a “for sale” sign in it’s yard (with a small and outdated kitchen – I don’t like to cook so I didn’t care about the size – updates needed, and the lack of an open floor plan I’ll be surprised to see it sell any time soon), but it’s time for us to move on. So we’re doing something I never dreamed of doing…
We’re building our own home. A lot of mixed emotions go into that statement. I always pictured us buying an older home and making it our own, but I’m loving this idea more and more. I’m sure it will be quite the roller coaster ride as we live life in this pre-civil war cabin while trying to build a house on our own (Micah is a general contractor, so he’ll be running the show and we’ll be doing lots of the work ourselves too). We’ve been meeting with an architect to put together a set of custom plans and I’ve been gathering up all the inspiration I can find. See, all of those hours on Pinterest were not in vain.
Jennifer@The Chronicles of Home says
This is going to be amazing! I'm really drawn to the charm of an older home but being able to customize everything – fantastic. New construction in our town is crazy expensive but otherwise I would have gone that route. Congrats!!
Ashley Brown says
How amazing!! Do you have your lot yet? Or are you tearing down an existing house?
themakerista@gmail.com says
Thanks, Ashley! We do have a lot. I'll share more about it in an upcoming post. Should be a fun adventure!
Jessica says
How exciting! My parents built a house right before I went to high school and I remember what an exciting thing it was to help them pick out every little detail!
26 and Not Counting
sarah m. dorsey says
How exciting!! Can't wait to follow along!
Bethany DeVore says
wow! So exciting!
themakerista@gmail.com says
Thanks, Bethany!
Haley says
So exciting! I can't wait to see what you do.
Autumn Beach says
Sooooooooooo exciting, Gwen!! Oh my goodness…just reading that post was quite the roller coaster ride! Oh boy…SO much good stuff going on here. Cannot WAIT to follow along in this journey! It just got even better. 🙂 Oh, and I'm going to send you an e-mail on my Carrera source. It might get a little lengthy! 🙂
themakerista@gmail.com says
Thanks, Autumn! I really appreciate the email and will get back with you on that in the next few days…I appreciate the info…the more the better! 🙂 Have a great weekend!
Kaylee Randall says
Oh man, I'm so excited for you guys! What an awesome adventure!
themakerista@gmail.com says
Thanks, friend!
The Spiffy Company says
What an exciting journey you are about to embark on! I'm excited to follow along! Congrats!
themakerista@gmail.com says
Thanks, I'm excited to have you follow along!
Meghan says
This is going to be an amazing adventure! I can't wait to follow along and see what you do!
Jennifer @ Dimples and Tangles says
How exciting, Gwen! Can't wait to see your new home come together!
Shavonda@AHomeFullOfColor says
Wow! How awesome Gwen! That's so so exciting. Theres nothing quite like customizing a home perfectly to your specifications. Im so excited for you and your family. Happy planning and building!
Julia Konya says
SO exciting!
themakerista@gmail.com says
Thanks, lady!
Amy Krist says
Wow! Building a home from the ground up is on my bucket list, but for now I will live vicariously through you! 🙂 Wishing you the best of luck!
themakerista@gmail.com says
Glad you'll be following along, Amy! Thanks!
Kimberly says
That is SO exciting!
themakerista@gmail.com says
Thanks, Kimberly!
Summer Hogan says
This is so exciting Gwen! It would have been hard to walk away from that adorable house but building a new one isn't a bad trade off. Can't wait to see what you come up with!
themakerista@gmail.com says
Thanks, Summer!
Misty Schmidt says
Congratulations! I've just recently started following your blog, so I'm very excited to watch the progress of this adventure! How fun!
themakerista@gmail.com says
Thanks, Misty! Excited to have you!
Mandy Beyeler says
congrats! we're in the middle of building our own home as well, one we designed ourselves, being our own general contractor, and doing lots of the work ourselves – – parallel world! Good luck with yours!
themakerista@gmail.com says
Thanks, Mandy! You'll have to let me know how it's going, and what not to do! Ha. Hope it's been smooth thus far!
Melanie Knopke says
I am so jealous! Building our own home is a dream! You get to make it just the way you want it. Can't wait to hear about the process along the way…
themakerista@gmail.com says
Thanks, Melanie! Should be fun!
Karen @ a house full of sunshine says
So exciting. I love the building process! We've done it quite a bit as my hubby is a property developer. It never gets old! There's just something about planning everything exactly the way you want it and then seeing that vision get built up from the ground right in front of your eyes. Can't wait to follow the journey!
themakerista@gmail.com says
Thanks, Karen! Good to hear you've had good experiences with it. Thanks for following along!