Earlier this week, on June 28th to be exact, we celebrated four years since we moved into our home. Four years ago (and for many more weeks after that), our living room was filled with unopened boxes, excitement and renovation plans, and too many bits of furniture I’d strung along. Some all the way from California. Even now, as I write this, I cannot believe it’s been that long. It feels like only yesterday that I shared with you our home, and invited you all on our renovation journey. See our first post HERE.
Buying our first home was a dream come true, and we loved talking about all the things we’d do with it, the changes and the renovations, the parties we’d throw and the guests we’d welcome. From the beginning ours was to be a home where our family and friends would feel at home. We knew it would take time, and a lot of patience on my part, to make the rooms truly ours and functional for our lifestyle, but the prospect was exciting and fraught with possibilities.
Fours years in, a lot has happened and a lot has changed both inside and out. Naively, I thought we’d be done by now but, in many ways, we barely scratched the surface of what this home could one day be. Some goals morphed, priorities and feelings shifted, and a global pandemic has thrown us all into uncertainty. We had to reconsider our plans, more than once, as well as our budget. We had to be creative and make the best with whatever resources we had available, but through it all my love for this little house, and my enthusiasm for creating a home my daughter will one day remember fondly as her childhood home, have somehow, miraculously, survived intact.
These walls have allowed me to stretch creatively and grow as a decorator and homemaker, to experiment with colors and textiles, in ways I’d never done before. It’s also given me the confidence to pick up new hobbies, and develop a love for baking and gardening, sewing and upholstery. In this home I’ve explored sides of domesticity I’d never dreamed of exploring. But I did, and still am, and this little house has made me happier for it.
Many of the rooms have changed, but the cozy feel that appealed to us in the beginning has remained intact. We’ve added to it (memories, doorways, windows and layers of color), we’ve entertained friends and family, had houseguests (both human and four-legged that we fell in love with) and through it all the joy of having a house to call home has been the greatest blessing of all.
Thank you, little house!
Congratulations on your 4th year living and loving the “little house”. The things you’ve done are so lovely. I believe it pays to be patient and take your time.
Enjoy the 4th of July.
Karen B.
Author
Thank you so much, Karen! I hope you had a great 4th of July!
xo, Eva
You’ve done a fabulous job. It’s coming along beautifully.
Author
Thank you so much, Maureen!
xo, Eva
Congratulations! The transformation so far is beyond lovely!!
Sometimes it turns out to be a blessing when it takes longer than you thought or would have liked things to take. Your new house needs time to tell you what it needs and you need to get to know it so that perhaps the ideas you had at the beginning turn out to not be the best ideas after all and/or you dream up even BETTER ideas! I really believe you have to live in a house for a few years to see how you really live in it and then you can make the best decisions. Slow but steady wins the race!!!!
Author
Thank you so much for your beautiful words, Sylvie! I couldn’t agree with you more!
xo, Eva
I’ve been watching your progress. Congrats !! You’ve done an outstanding job !!
Author
Thank you so much!!!
xo, Eva
What color on the green paint …..Please ??
Author
It’s Cooking Apple Green by FB mixed locally in a Benjamin Moore cabinet and trim base, semi-gloss. A similar color, just a hair lighter, is Guilford Green by Ben Moore.
Apologies for my late reply!
xo, Eva
Creating a “home”..The recipe is not found in trends, but time. Add your taste, time and stir gently. Well done.
Author
Thanks, so much, Lisa! xo, Eva
Beautiful! Thanks for taking time to share.xo
Author
Thank you for following along, Annette!
xo, Eva