When considering a house purchase, we had to make some hard decisions. Our house in South Carolina was about 4,000 square feet. Too big for us, and hassle to clean. Goal for new house? SMALL. This house fits the bill at about 1,600 square feet. It's just enough space. We each have a large portion of personal space (I have two bedrooms upstairs for my office/craft space and Todd has the mother-in-law apartment). We still have a guest room that will double as a T.V. room/den. There is no wasted space in this house, which is first for us both.
One compromise made was a little difficult. Our house in South Carolina was full of windows, many of them wall-length. The guest bedroom had a whole wall of glass and we had a beautiful sunroom. I love light and fresh air, so it was perfect.
The new house does not have this feature. Two house-length overhanging porches on either side are picturesque and provide great shade, but they also keep out the sun. The inside of the house is fairly dim.
This has made repainting a challenge. I'm absolutely terrible at interior design, but I've been doing a lot of reading lately. White paint in a dim room = dingy. I don't like bold colors, and whenever I have chosen more muted blues and greens, they've always ended up too pastel or bland (every single bedroom and bathroom I've ever painted). I've decided to go with a very soft grey for the interior, going up and down a shade as I go room to room. After watching too many British interior design shows, I fell in love with the idea of a wallpapered feature wall in the bathroom. At first I decided to go with a muted William Morris print, which pairs perfectly with Benjamin Moore's Silver Satin, the color I've chosen for the living room.
It's a pretty pattern but a bit sedate. Like with fabric, I'm drawn more lively prints. I've been looking at nursery wallpaper for days. Some really fun ones!
So who knows what we'll end up with?
We've traded in spacious and light-filled for compact and a bit dim, but the property itself makes up for this, I think. We absolutely love the quiet. We were visiting last week and sitting on the long front porch, which overlooks the pond.
Fish were jumping, birds were singing, horses from the neighbor's farm were grazing at the edge of the fence - it was absolute joy. I felt a physical sense of peace - my body just sank into the chair in complete relaxation. I haven't felt that in a long time.
The back pond is 3 - 5 acres.
We're planning on clearing the brush and setting up a little seating area by the water's edge, just like we had in South Carolina. A winding path through the field eventually will lead here.
We walked the property last week...
...and found a stream with a waterfall. The stream is in a pure limestone bed. Future plans include cutting back the brambles and making a nice walking path.
The barns are in good condition and fairly new, but the grounds are kind of a mess. The homeowner got rid of her animals a few years ago and kind of let this area go.
Pretty grim, right? The good news is that the chicken coop in the middle can easily be shored up and painted, the junk has been hauled away, and the barns are in great shape. Just needs a good mow and a lot of flowers! :)
We've got similar beautification plans for the house. Paint the rusty trim a bright green, like our house in South Carolina. And I've had other ideas:
The side yard is a delightful blank slate.
This year, I'm going to add a trellis for climbing roses...
...and build a fire pit area, based on the plans in this link.
From this center, I'm going to expand outward, making paths and cottage garden-style beds. It's a huge project, but an enjoyable one.
So we've given up a lot, but I think we're getting a lot. We're excited to get our hands on this place and, as Todd likes to say, tear into it like a monkey on a cupcake! A lot of work but a lot of joy. Stay tuned!
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