House Hunting
Get ready for a BIG post… I’m divulging the latest news, our future plans, what to expect on the blog, and much more. Obviously the post title gives away the element of surprise, but we’re house hunting! Click through to read all about it.
We knew this day would come, we just weren’t sure when. The office is officially finished (that reveal is coming soon!), and there aren’t any more rooms left to renovate in our little house. It’s always a bittersweet moment, finishing a home.
We’ve spent the past two years pouring our hearts into this place, creating a space that is inviting, functional, and this house has also satiated my desire to explore design in a different way. With every renovation we grow and learn. My skills and experience as a designer expand, and even Emmett’s bag of tricks has broadened. His carpentry work has grown leaps and bounds, and it’s obvious that he truly enjoys the craft and challenge that comes with renovating. So what comes next?
We’ve explored every single option… do we add on? Do we start over and move? Should we buy a second house (and can we even afford that)? The list goes on. The past few months, this has been our dinner conversation on repeat.
As you know, we’re in the business of recouping our investment (more on that in this post). After meeting with our real estate expert, we determined adding on didn’t make sense financially. As much as we adore our neighborhood, given the scale of the addition we had imagined, it wouldn’t be a smart investment. That option was out. Unfortunately, a second home was also quickly crossed out because of the increased pricing in our area- it was out of budget for the type of home we were looking for. Should we stay and enjoy the fruits of our labor? That answer seemed obvious.
Emmett was practically house hunting before the hallway was even finished, let alone the office. That man craves BIG projects. That’s what I love about him- he dreams big and a challenge doesn’t scare him. In fact, it attracts him. It was obvious that both of us were ready for a new chapter, a new home, and a new renovation that better fits our needs (ahem, a second bathroom). It’s not that we don’t adore this place, this is just how we make a living and what we’re passionate about.
This home has been so good to us in so many ways. It was one of the only places we could afford after making a cross country move. It went from basically non-functioning and unliveable (see the BEFORE tour here), to a place I LOVE calling home.
To say we’re proud of this place is a vast understatement, but it’s time. With that, I wanted to share the news- we’re house hunting!
What exactly does that mean? Wellll… I’m not sure. We’ve been on the hunt for the past month in Salt Lake City and have lost a couple places we both fell in love with. House hunting can be discouraging like that. Especially when I design a home in my brain after walking through the front door before it actually belongs to me. We’re also hunting in the “off season”, which brings a unique set of challenges and less inventory to choose from. As soon as an offer is accepted, we’ll be listing our home. If all goes as planned, we’ll hopefully be in a new place by the end of the year. That’s the goal anyway. Sometimes house hunting is a big game of chance, so we’ll see how it plays out.
What does all of this mean for the blog? More design and renovating content (YAY)! The office will be the last exciting room reveal (and I think it will be a crowd pleaser), but I know we’ll be here into the holiday season. That means you can expect the following posts: holiday decorating, our “home bucket list”, a giant renovation recap, maybe some house hunting posts, tips for staging to sell, etc. Let me know if there is anything specific you’d like to see or know! Obviously there will be a brand new renovation to love and follow- just as soon as we find the right house. Starting over is actually pretty exciting.
Did anyone see this coming (aside from those who caught the news buried in this post)? If you know Emmett and I well, we’re not ones to sit still… we always have to have a project. It’s kind of a double edged sword, but we like what we like. He’s even more anxious to start over on a new home than I am. He’s always the one to initiate a move, and eventually I get on board. Ha! I’d love hear your thoughts in the comments below. Just out of curiosity- what would you like to see in our next renovation? A historic reno? Perhaps a builder grade home? I’m already intrigued!
In the meantime: check out our current home before images // take the after tour // find every single source here