An off-market house nobody else wanted, untouched since 1980, and the one they came back for.
Caleb found this house off-market, and we couldn't wait to see it.
The excitement lasted about five minutes.
It hadn't been renovated since it was built in 1980. Every room needed work. There were red carpets in the bathrooms, and so much stuff inside that it was hard to even picture the home underneath it all.
We walked away convinced it was just too much.
But we couldn't shake it.
We were completely in love with the neighborhood, and we believed that with enough vision, and a whole lot of hard work, any house could become a home. We had also just finished flipping our previous house, and the equity from that gave us the chance to dream a little bigger.
A few months later, we checked to see if it had sold.
It hadn't. So we took the leap.
Four years later, this house looks completely different. But that's not my favorite part.
My favorite part is that it's become the backdrop for our life together. We've welcomed babies home here, celebrated birthdays and holidays, hosted friends around our table, and watched this house slowly become our home.
Looking back, I'm so thankful we came back for one more tour.
Shelby
The house now
Room by room, over four years.
The kitchen
White oak, and stone with a little movement.
Rift oak cabinetry, a plaster hood built to the room rather than bought, and counters chosen for veining instead of uniformity. Unlacquered brass on the faucet, left to darken.
The island seats five because the table only seats six, and everybody stands in here anyway.
The study
Green to the ceiling, on purpose.
Walls, shelves, cabinets and ceiling all in one color, so the room reads as a single enclosed thing instead of four walls with furniture against them.
The books are the ones they actually read. The pottery, the globe, the landscape painting on the shelf, all found one at a time.
The playroom
A room for them that adults can sit in.
Woven pendants, a wool rug, and storage low enough that the children can actually put things away. Toys in natural wood and canvas rather than plastic, so the room reads calm even when it is a mess.
The small things
Where the house actually lives.
A tray, a clock, a plant that trails. Nothing here was bought as a set.
The spice drawer. Order counts as decorating when you open it daily.
The entry at Christmas, which is when the house is most itself.
Elsewhere in the house
Still being added to.
A plaster arch, softened at the corners so it looks original.
Quartzite run up the wall, and a portrait where a mirror would be obvious.
Fluted tile laid in a pattern instead of straight courses.
Checkerboard in the pantry. The room nobody sees gets the boldest floor.
The banquette is built in, so the table seats whoever turns up.
Brown walls in the main bedroom. Dark rooms sleep better than white ones.
