It has been our dream for many years to build a home on this piece of land. We've had house plans drawn up three times, but each time we'd get close to start to build, something would come up and those plans had to be laid aside.
About a year ago, we had our latest house plans done, and requested a price from a builder. It turns out that to build a new house in our area was going to be very costly. It actually would cost more to build a new house on our own property then to buy one already built! So we started our search.
We visited many homes, some were nice, some not so nice. And we always came away thinking, nope this one is not for us. Until a month ago.
My hubby found this house in an area we had not looked before. We never even knew there were houses there. But he found it, and we took a tour. And we all fell in love.
But as in all things, it did not go as easily as we thought. We had a certain number we were working with, and this house cost more then our allotted figure. But we made an offer, which they turned down. We took another look around at the house, and made another offer, which they again turned down. So we walked away.............. Isn't that what we need to do sometimes. Just walk away. Let our heads clear and seek the Lord's direction in such a big decision.
But it would not go away. I kept thinking about this house. No matter how much I tried not to, it kept drifting into my thoughts. I prayed about it, but never said anything more about the house to my hubby. Until one day he asked me! And with that discussion, we again approached our realtor. He told us that the sellers realtor had contacted him two weeks before asking if we were still interested in the house. They had made repairs to some areas we had pointed out on our inspection. And come to find out, they had bought a house in Georgia! So we made another offer, and this time they accepted!!!
So now it begins. A whole new process. We've never moved since we married, so this will be our first adventure. And I have a question for you! Part of this house has tile, and as I have always lived in a house with hardwood floors, I would love to hear any and all suggestions on how to warm up a house that has tile floors :-) Call out the troups and send help! I need Ree the Pioneer Woman, Jennifer from the Old Painted Cottage, Cynthia from Cynthia's Cottage Design, and anyone else who can lend a hand! I am not a decorator, so if you have any kind of decorating websites, please share.
In the next few months I would love to share about this house. Thanks for any suggestions and advice that you can lend me.
Have a wonderful weekend!
16 comments:
Congratlations!!! I'm sure this house will be perfect for you and I look forward to hearing and seeing more about it!
Congratulations! Blessings on your soon to be new home. I've never lived with tile floors so I can't suggest anything, but with all the good hearted bloggers out there I'm sure your home will be brimming with blogger love.
Congratulations Jocelyn! The house and lot look beautiful on the outside (love the trees!) and I can't wait to see photos of the inside.
On the one hand, I know you are excited but if you are like me, you are a bit overwhelmed at the thought of moving after so many years in the same place. I went out to the "My Cottage of Bliss" garage the other day with the intent of trying to sort through some "stuff" to prepare for the move to the "house in Hooterville." I took one look around, got totally overwhelmed and went back into the house saying, "I'll deal with this another day." Since there is no huge rush to be out of "My Cottage of Bliss", I'm procrastinating doing a job I absolutely dread but will have to eventually face.
Regarding the tile...I'm personally not a tile fan at all. I promptly covered up some of the tile at the "house in Hooterville" with wood-look laminate. I thought I would like it but I don't. (Expensive mistake.) I do like the way it looks (and cleans) but it is slippery and VERY noisy when the 3 big German Shepherds' nails click across it. They also have trouble walking on it because it's slippery. It is going to absolutely FREAK our weird calico cat out when we finally move her over there and she has to walk on it. (Something to think about if you have cats or dogs.)
Although it has fallen out of favor with decorators and homeowners over the years, my personal favorite is still good 'ol sheet vinyl. It's resiliant, very low maintenance, great in wet areas, affordable, and soft/cushiony underfoot. I used it in the Hooterville laundry room and I've decided I'm going to put it in the bathrooms.
In the meantime, about the only way you can warm up and soften the look of tile is with area rugs but big rugs are REALLY expensive, and smaller rugs can be dangerously slippery on tile unless you use a rug pad or carpet tape to hold them in place. (Voice of experience here.)
Again, congrats...(and sorry for writing a "novel" here. :)
How exciting!! Congrats!!
Lovely house, hope you have many happy years there! As for tile, I love it! You can warm it up with underfloor heating, coiled pipes put down when the floor's being laid. I don't have it - we just have very un-ecofriendly oil central heating in our house but as the house is old and has thick walls and a lot of passive solar in the south facing rear sunroom extension, we don't use the heating a lot. I find the tiles very warm looking if they are in cream or beige/tan colour (as our kitchen is) and the sunroom is cream different sizes tesselated to a nice design - nothing very fancy. It is easy to clean tiles, and where we don't have tiles downstairs we have sold pale oak planks, not too wide. (4" I think) and it looks lovely and warm, honey coloured. We have vinyl in an upstairs bedroom which had a very bad uneven timber floor - probably as old as the house, 180 years old. We had to cover it, and another upstairs bedroom and landing has pine planks, stained dark and light oak respectively. So it's all a preference, what you like, you should get.
Good luck! Catherine. (drop by my blog sometime and leave a comment if you like!)
WOW! Is that the house! That is amazing, you will have a lot of room in that house. Oh what I could do with all that room. Ok...house envy!
Enjoy!
Well first, CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!! This is huge! I'm so excited for you! I love tile, it's easy to care for. I would suggest area rugs...with a rubber backing.
Hi Jocelyn,
You house is beautiful, I am so happy for you! It is so nice that you will not have to wait for it to be built. Can't wait to see the inside!
Valerie
WOW! & how exciting for you! Your first big adventure ... you are going to have a blast decorating. Tear out those tiles & get hardwood installed ... you'll never regret it. Do not use rubber backed carpets as they do stick to tings when wet or humidity gets to them.
I am soooo happy for you, sweet Jocelyn. Dying to hear the updates as you go along.
May your Memorial weekend & celebrations be safe & enjoyable, filled merriment ... as you solemnly remember those that have passed before us & our military that protect(ed)s our freedoms. LET FREEDOM RING!!
TTFN ~ Hugs of love, Marydon
How exciting is this!! Cngrats on finding this beauiful home! I can't wait to watch the progression!!
Good luck with the house. It looks amazing.
Beautiful looking home!!! I've had tile and hardwood floors. I loved the tile in our home in Texas. The tile was on the first floor. We have a house on a basement here in Atlanta. We have hardwood floors. They both have to be mopped often :) Enjoy the transition to your new home. It will be fun to decorate and make changes. Good luck!
Yea! I am so happy for you guys! You will have fun moving into a new space and figuring out new ways to incorporate all of your current decorations and furniture, plus "hunting" for the new items you'll need. And, you'll take 30 years of precious memories from your current home with you, so nothing will be lost. =)
What sort of rooms have tile? Personally, I like it fine for kitchens and bathrooms--a few rugs soften it a lot and it is easy to clean. But, I have some relatives with a house that is tile in all the rooms, and I must admit I hate that. More than it seeming cold, any sound reverberates through the whole house. You cannot have a conversation anywhere that the whole house doesn't hear. Or, if someone needs to go to bed early, he better hope no one else is doing much in the house, because he will hear every move. NOT to discourage you in the slightest! It will work out one way or another... it has to... it is God's special house for you!
I will be excited to see more pictures! From the front it looks quite charming. I especially like the front entrance and the arched windows. Great find!
~Mary Kay
Congratulations Jocelyn, It's a beautiful house, can't wait to see how you decorate it. I'm sure it will be lovely with lots of your beautiful quilts.
Just a thought, tile is easy to clean and you never have to refinish it like wood. I have tile and I use area rugs in every room. I use a few rubber backed throw rugs, but we have a dry heat. If your whole house is tile, you can always use drapes, curtains and a few quilts on the walls to help with any sound problems.
What a beautiful home. I hope your move will go smoothly and you can settle in comfortably.
Post a Comment