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A Crafty Fox

Quilting. Books. Lifestyle.

  • About
    • About Amanda
    • Resources
  • Tutorials
    • Quilt Patterns
    • Home & Decorating
    • Sewing
    • Recipes
  • Shop
  • Contact
    • Collaborate
    • Ask Amanda

Let Me Introduce You… {A House Story}

May 27, 2016

Buying a house is a big {kind of scary} deal. Three years ago today, we found our current home. When we went through the process, I was afraid to share it here. But the story is miraculous and I still get emails after mentioning it on the Modern Sewciety podcast, so I thought I would introduce you to our home.Green House Befores & Afters - 1 (4)

Two years ago, my little shop had grown from a small closet shelf to completely filling the spare bedroom, the master bedroom, and the mudroom. We cut fabric on the kitchen counter and folded it on the dining room table. We used our garage for extra storage and our little boy slept in a crib in the master closet. The business I had started had taken over. This was an awesome ‘problem’ to have, but a very hard problem to live with.Green House Befores & Afters - 1 (2)

One day, while cutting 5 inch charms of Tula Pink’s Prince Charming on the kitchen counter, I felt a very sudden, strong need to get my kids in the car and go for a drive. I’ve gotten that feeling before and had learned to listen. Quickly, I buckled my little people into the car and started driving. After 40 minutes of winding through neighborhoods, I found myself ten minutes from where I started on a road I’d never seen, staring at a sadly neglected craftsman home.Green House Befores & Afters - 18

I snapped a picture and sent it to my husband who forwarded the picture to our real estate agent. Then came the news. Even in it’s sad state, this home was way out of our budget. I turned my car around and went back home, but the feeling wouldn’t stop.

Our real estate agent called later and asked to meet us at the home. We agreed. When we walked inside, it was obvious the home needed work. Abandoned several years before, the previous owners left it open to the elements & animals when they left. But the home had a good floor plan that included a separate recording studio – a great home for our fabric! I loved it immediately. Our agent asked if the current owner came down in price, if we would want it. We looked around, surrounded by the mess and the chaos and said no. Luckily he had a hunch this home was meant to be ours, and he didn’t take no for an answer. Nearly a week later, he called and let us know he’d been back and forth with the owner, and the house could be ours at a price that would allow us to move in. Despite the work ahead of us, we smiled at each other as we signed the contract. Green House Befores & Afters - 1 (6)

We got to work as soon as we moved in, repairing one part of our home each month. If we weren’t cutting fabric, we were fixing plumbing, or electrical, or putting in a landscape. Now, nearly three years in, it’s finally starting to feel like a home should. The rooms we anticipated moving our shop into have now allowed us to grow our business. It has truly been a blessing.

Green House Befores & Afters - 1 (7)

(our shop before)
Green House Befores & Afters - 1 (5)

(our shop after)

Since we purchased the home we’ve:
Finished an unfinished dining room
Repaired plumbing in all of the bathrooms & kitchen
Repaired electrical on the outside of the home
Repaired stucco & stone on the outside
Solved the problem of basement flooding & cleaned up mold
Replaced {absolutely disgusting, cat smelling} carpet
Put in a landscape (this was one of my favorite projects!)
Updated the cabinets
Updated the front step (another favorite! and very inexpensive!)
Remodeled the pantry/powder bath
Put a sliding barn door on the door-less bathroom (why do they make bathrooms without doors?!)
And now we are converting a small, awkward nursery off of the master in to a master closet (My own closet! I’m so excited!!)

Green House Befores & Afters - 16And can I confess something? I love that it isn’t ‘perfect’. It is perfect for our family. This home allowed me to use my imagination to create a place we love to be. I’m not sure I’ll ever get tired of tweaking it, making it more ‘us’. The joy in this journey is seeing something become new again and leaving it better than we found it.

Green House Befores & Afters - 11

I have a couple of little, inexpensive remodels that have made a big impact on the function and fashion of our home, and I’ll be sharing those in the coming weeks & months. One of the biggest ‘fashion’ changes we made were updating our cabinets, and it cost less than $300. 

Green House Befores & Afters - 6

(My husband built our new dining room table! I love it to pieces!)

Green House Befores & Afters - 10

Thank you for reading! I can’t wait to share more and I hope I share a little bit of inspiration (on a budget!) along the way!

signature

Related posts:

  1. My First: A Quilt Story
  2. Our Shop: How It All Began
  3. Bangles and Bling
  4. The Green Dress – The Whole Story
   

Filed In: Our New House

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Comments

  1. Mama spark says

    May 27, 2016 at 5:14 am

    Beautiful, Amanda! Thanks for sharing!

  2. Barbara says

    May 27, 2016 at 5:41 am

    Great read. You have done a amazing renovations. Looking forward to seeing more!

  3. Debbie says

    May 27, 2016 at 6:39 am

    Enjoyed reading about your journey and your home. Thanks for sharing..

  4. Christa says

    May 27, 2016 at 8:02 am

    Loved your story and your house, it is beautiful.

  5. Mary Ann says

    May 27, 2016 at 8:31 am

    A lovely place to call home and have a terrific business! I heard the story on podcast and it’s fun to see the house. Thanks for sharing.

  6. Cheri says

    May 27, 2016 at 8:32 am

    What a lovely home your vision and creativity has crafted for your family. So glad you shared the process.

  7. Dori says

    May 27, 2016 at 8:41 am

    What a great story and vision. Thank you for sharing with us.

  8. Diane Woodward says

    May 27, 2016 at 10:44 pm

    Thank you for sharing the journey of your house into a home. I especially love the fresh flowers and the sectional makes me swoon! I enjoyed meeting you at quilt market (lagging behind cute Melissa of Sew Shabby fame.)

  9. Pat says

    May 27, 2016 at 10:51 pm

    So important to listen to these “feelings.” Many years ago, when my oldest was 5 years old, I had a feeling that something was wrong…long story short, the big kids had unlocked the gate to the pool at the apartment complex and our son was on the diving board! No, he couldn’t swim. I believe my “feeling” was directly from God and that it saved our son’s life. I also had a “feeling” when our son was in Afghanistan that I needed to get to SC asap…our grandson was due in two months, but arrived 15 minutes after I got to the hospital. Love your story and thanks for sharing!

  10. Shelley says

    May 27, 2016 at 11:51 pm

    I love that you followed your “feeling” to find your home! I think is beautiful and will mean so much to the kids as they grow up and see y’all building a Home Together!

  11. Beth T. says

    May 28, 2016 at 12:37 am

    I’m really looking forward to hearing about the changes you made in greater detail, and seeing photos. I don’t think there can be too many photos or too many details, especially since this is something you did yourselves. I would also love to hear how you made your color choices.

  12. Patti McGarry says

    May 28, 2016 at 3:10 am

    Beautiful home! You and your husband have done an amazing job!

  13. Rosemary B says

    May 28, 2016 at 6:28 am

    WOW.
    This was indeed a tremendous amount of work.
    How old was the house when you found it?
    How sad that it was neglected. YOU two saved it.
    Do you have cool fun wonderful neighbors?
    I absolutely love the house, and all of the terrific fixing and repairing that you did.
    It must have been a lot of work

  14. linda says

    May 29, 2016 at 1:19 pm

    it’s lovely to see where the fabric I order comes from!! ? you’ve done a beautiful job!!

  15. LisaS says

    May 30, 2016 at 1:18 pm

    Please continue to share. I love house stories!

  16. Pamela says

    June 19, 2016 at 2:19 pm

    I just finished up the podcast with you on Modern Society and came here looking for the house post! I really want to know more about your kitchen cabinets.

  17. Nancy Neely says

    June 24, 2016 at 1:13 pm

    Beautiful home!

  18. karen says

    July 14, 2016 at 11:52 am

    i love stories of what is meant to be and that really happens! congratulations to you both, excellent stewards.

  19. Stepahnie says

    September 6, 2016 at 7:12 pm

    I have thought so many times about this story. I love it and I love what you have done to make it yours. We need another chat again soon sweet friend.

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