My Starter Story

I am super excited to have been inspired by a New York City based real estate platform called  Urban Compass to be a part of their new project they are running called Starter Stories.  You should definitely check out their website and the neighborhoods page; and see the $18,000,000 home on York Street that I’m drooling over!!!

I want to thank Urban Compass for the opportunity to walk down memory lane as I tell my own starter story.

Our story began back in 1991, when we bought our very first home only three months after we got married, and we bought it for only $27,000!  It was a small 3 bedroom home, 1100 square feet, and no bathtub, which got a little difficult when we started having children, but we loved our little home.

We loved everything about having our very own place, including the gold and green carpet!

To add my own personal touch, I got busy making some beautiful drapes for the living room.  Check those babies out!

 Because our first home was so inexpensive, we were able to build a new home for our growing family in 1997, and moved in with our two tiny kids.

Time passed, our family continued to grow, and three more children later, I found myself a busy mother of five with hardly time to do much other than to make sure my kids were fed and had clean clothes to wear!

As the children grew up and became less “needy,” I found myself with more time to invest in home updates.  My home had not changed much at all since the time it was built, (sixteen years earlier) and I was feeling like I wanted it to reflect more of my personality.  So, in 2013 I got serious about making some changes.

Just ignore the backhoe on the front lawn… no big deal…

I decided on a whim to paint our exterior doors, including our big garage door, a nice black.

Nervous and scared to make such a bold change, I took courage and did it anyway!

 After it was finished I stepped back, holding my breath and hoping that I would love it…

and I DID!

I felt like it really enhanced the look of our brick, and tied in with our dark windows nicely!

I got brave after that first success and decided I wanted to add some beauty and architectural interest inside our home by adding some decorative trim and new paint.

However.

My husband didn’t have the tools to do trim, nor did he have the desire to hire it done.

He’s a simple, low maintenance guy, bless his heart.

So time passed.

But I kept thinking how badly I wanted to make changes!

I decided the only way to get what I wanted was for me to do it myself.  So I asked my sweet husband for a miter saw for my birthday,

 watched miter saw safety videos on YouTube,

put on my big girl pants,

and got busy!

Of course, I started in the furthermost corner of my house, just in case I made huge and ugly mistakes on my first try.

But to my surprise, after my first project, the little half bathroom off the garage, I felt like I had found my new passion!

It felt so good seeing my little space transformed, that I continued on to bigger spaces….

the adjoining laundry room.

It meant so much to me to have our own place that I could fix up exactly how I wanted, and I tell you, I was on a roll and didn’t feel like stopping!

I moved on to the stair way…

and just recently my favorite so far…the living room!

 More HERE and HERE.

I have discovered there is not much that is more satisfying than having your own little space in the world, and making it reflect your personality!

(Ok, well, other than raising well rounded children and maintaining a reasonably happy marriage…)

But OTHER THAN THAT…  🙂

few things can bring more peace and satisfaction than having a roof over your head that you can call your own personal haven.

Here’s to great starts!