It's high time I blog some "before" photos of our new home. But first, I have to let you in on the history...
We bought our first home in Lubbock about 6 years ago. Our basic reasoning was that it was smarter to be paying a mortgage than it would be to rent (and it was actually less expensive for us, too!). Some friends of ours were selling their house, and once looking at it, we decided to go for it. A month later, we had a house!
Fast forward 5 years. Add a baby. Add a home-based photography business. Add friends and relatives sleeping on our floor, our couches, our toddler's plastic-sheet covered twin bed. Like in any home, things broke. Repairs were made (remember that time we had to replace the entire sewer line? Yeah, that wasn't fun). Every surface had been painted at least once. My various attempts at gardening/keeping plants alive had failed (except for that honeysuckle! Thank God for the honeysuckle!). We felt like we were busting at the seams.
Then we began an adoption. Something like that will put things into perspective very quickly. Suddenly we had all we needed. A roof over our heads. People present to hug. A pantry that was full of food. God placed a real peace in my heart, and it was wonderful. It still is.
This past year (for the first time ever) I actually met my goal number of weddings I'd like to shoot per year. Clients, THANK YOU. I'm not sure you totally realize what a gift you are giving our family when you hire me. I get to do what I love, and also pay the bills. That is nothing short of a miracle.
Having met our initial goal to raise for our adoption, we were able to turn our focus back to a big downpayment on a new home. Before we knew it, it was there. God had provided it. We couldn't believe it!
So we set out with our awesome Realtor, Donna Isbell. Lubbock people- she is the BEST! Donna showed us at least 30 homes. She never quit. She had high expectations just like we did. She negotiated her tail off. We made 3 offers on 3 different homes. Every offer was met with the response that they sellers had already accepted another offer (talk about a booming market!). Then this house. It had been on the market for a year. The sellers were an older couple who were wanting to move out-of-state to be closer to their kids. They weren't too keen on negotiating (this is when I was SO thankful to have Donna on our side!). In the end, everything worked out perfectly.
OUR GOALS WHEN BUYING THIS HOME:
• More square footage.
• More storage. 1 hallway closet just wasn't cutting it anymore.
• Grass. This was a big deal since we couldn't seem to get it to grow in the last house.
• No galley-style kitchen.
• Great window light. Hello?!? I'm a photographer.
• Fireplace
• An older home. It's just our style.
• At least 3 bed, 2 bath, 2 car garage
• A home we can see ourselves paying off and living in for a long, long time.
We ended up getting all of this and many more perks! One in particular is that this house is just 4 houses down from some of our good friends from church who also have a son around Knox's age. Already it has been so fun to let them play. And, we found out while moving in that some other friends we know are just down the street on the other side. Another perk is that this home was built in 1965. I love that era and have so enjoyed decorating with a nod to the style and colors of the 60's.
Now on to the photos. Please put on your "vision goggles"…this baby had a good bit of "old lady style" to it, and much has already changed. Pardon the mess and extra people in these photos- I took them while the estate sale ladies were cleaning it out.
The exterior. Not super in love with the orange-y brick, and the yellow shutters have already been painted black. They don't look as "caution tape" in this photo as they did in real life, so that had to go! But that tree in the front yard! Knox loved it the second he laid eyes on it.
The entryway. When I saw the photos of this in the online listing, I thought it looked dungeon-like. But in person, it was much larger and I liked the texture.
Main living area. Built-ins, fireplace, GIANT windows, open to the kitchen area. I loved it. Except the carpet,
Dining room. This room has a big window that faces the front of the house, and doors that open into the entryway on one side, and the kitchen on the other. The far wall on the lower image had now been opened, so that this room is open to the living area!
Kitchen. It's so roomy. I even love my 60's oven and stove. I imagine that we'll be doing some updates to this space in the future, but not for quite a while. I love how it functions as-is.
Additional view of main living area from the breakfast table space. Shawn is wondering why the previous owners only installed crown moulding in part of two rooms- ha! There is also a cute little built-in desk he is facing in the kitchen that you can't see in the photo above. It's one of Knox's favorite spots.
2 of the bedrooms are identical. Both huge- like 14x14 ft! When I saw the size of these rooms I knew I'd have no problem making kiddos share bedrooms. This is the guest bed.
Knox's bedroom. The froggy border is now gone, but sadly the pastels are still there. :/ I've got a ton of ideas for his bedroom, I just need to plan a weekend to do it all!
The guest bathroom is in the middle of the guest bed and Knox's bedroom. It has a kind of funny, unique layout that is actually working really well for us. The toilet, sink, and tub are all in 3 separate spaces. So far, it's been great during potty training, kids baths, and when guests are over. And I love the wall heater, however dangerous it may be. Knox has always ben unusually aware of the dangers of hot things/burning himself, so it wasn't hard to emphasize safety with it.
The laundry room! It is actually 2 rooms. This was a HUGE perk to me, seeing as our old laundry room had about 1 foot of walking space and was pretty much in the garage. This one has a SINK and a TON of storage in the back room, plus a window to let in light and I can monitor Knox in the living room while doing laundry.
The master bedroom. Guys, this thing is LARGE. It was never a huge priority for me to have a huge bedroom, but we will literally be able to have a king side bed AND a seating area when it's all said and done.
Master bath and closets. Shawn and I both have walk-in closets (ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!? Never imagined!) We don't have a double vanity, but that was never a big deal to us. The jacuzzi tub has been experienced by all 3 of us now- and I think Knox loves it the most!
The backyard. The two huge windows in the living room look out to this. We have TREES! And GRASS! Waking up in the morning and seeing this view is a huge blessing.
So, there you go. SO much more than we'd ever imagined. And we are still amazed that we get to live here. It's been an incredible blessing to us and I am so excited to be a family under this roof. Much has changed since these photos and I'm excited to show you little by little!
What do you guys think?