Jan 16, 2015

My Daughter's New House

I'm so excited to share some family news with you today and to ask for your opinion. (No, I'm not going to be a grandmother, but almost as good!) My oldest daughter and her fiancé have just closed escrow on another house! 


  
This is my daughter's current home, a three bedroom midcentury modern ranch. It's one of her favorite architectural styles, and she was thrilled to find one she could afford after college. She and her fiancé have been fixing it up over the past two years. They've drywalled, painted, redone a bathroom, replaced floor coverings, built furniture, re-landscaped, and put in an organic vegetable garden. It's a darling little gem of a house.


And here's the big turn of the century farmhouse my daughter's fiancé just bought. (That's right, they have his and hers houses now - so cute!) This house has such an interesting story: in the 1970's, it was actually picked up and moved to a small farm here in Boise. Last year that small farm was purchased by a developer who divided up the land for a new subdivision and put this house back on the market with a smaller lot. My future son in law and my daughter fell in love with it at first sight, but they kept cool heads while getting contractor bids, inspections, and appraisals. They finally closed on it just this week and are anxious to get started working on it.  

This is a text I just exchanged with my daughter:



We really, really enjoyed watching my daughter and her fiancé fixing up her midcentury modern ranch house, seeing them develop their DIY skills and come into their own decorating style. We were so proud of them for all their hard work. We never imagined they'd be moving again so soon, let alone keeping two houses. So now, we get the fun of watching as they do it all again! And in case you're wondering why they are moving, the new house is in a fantastic neighborhood and closer to downtown where they both work, has a park next door, is bigger, and is in a better school district. (and you know what that means ;).)

These are their ragamuffins, Molly and Jake. They'll love their new yard!

The new house they'll all be moving into has 4 bedrooms, two bathrooms, a library, a full 7' high basement, and an entryway staircase to die for. There are high ceilings, wide moldings, a claw foot tub, hardwood floors, and of course a fabulous front porch! It's been sitting empty for quite awhile and needs much more work than their other home. A lot of it will be done before they move in, a few months from now. It will have a brand new kitchen and bathrooms and a central heating system for starters, and you may have noticed there's no driveway or walkways and landscaping. You know for me that all spells F-U-N! My husband and I can't wait to dig in and help them anywhere we can. 

Here's where I'd really appreciate your opinion. I think my daughter and her fiancé should start their own blog to record and share every step of their new adventure. A second opinion and a little encouragement from you might really help them along.

How about it? 

Should they start their own blog? If you agree, I hope you'll leave a comment for me to pass along to them.  

Thank you so much for sharing my exciting news. You always make it more fun! 


PS: I forgot the rest of the news: our youngest daughter is moving into the midcentury modern house! Could it get any better?!


  I'm partying this week at

30 comments:

  1. Love the looks of that new house! About the blog, I would say if they think it wouldn't be more of a drain of their time, go for it. Oftentimes people start blogs and have too many obligations to tend to it and then get frustrated.
    Brenda

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  2. Amazing! Yes, they definitely should because I want to see inside!

    ~Trisha

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  3. Definitely they should! We would love to follow them on their new journey...

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  4. I vote YES! Of course we would LOVE to follow along with their adventures, but it would also be a good way for them to document the journey for themselves as well. I'm so happy for all of you!

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  5. Of course start a blog! My blog is what forced me to finish projects!!

    Love the first photo with the dog in the window - lol!

    xox

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  6. I think so! I'm already itching to find out more deers on both houses!!!! Best of luck to the already lucky couple for snagging 2 gorgeous homes!

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  7. Oh how exciting (although my heart did skip a beat there for a second thinking you had other news to share)! The first house looks darling and house number two is really awesome. That porch looks rather familiar! Of course we want to watch the transformation. I was already thinking that before you even asked.

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  8. The new house looks fabulous, I love the character the exterior has, I am sure your daughter will make it look stunning inside and out...what fun!

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  9. Laurel,
    I love this story and the excitement I am feeling over this wonderful purchase and adventure!
    Looking forward to more pictures and details!
    Hugs,
    Jemma

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  10. Oh yes! I'd love to read another blog about renovations!!

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  11. How wonderful, Laurel! I love their new house - how charming it looks! It sounds like a great family home, too. : )

    While it would be tempting to say "yes, start a blog", realistically, will they really have time? Maybe you could just document it for them right now.

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  12. What a gorgeous new home and how exciting for them. I would love to follow their blog and what a great way for them to document their new journey. I say YES to the blog!!!! Susan

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  13. Has she shown any interest in starting a blog? If so, I'd love to follow the progress on their house. If she's not interested, You should follow it so we can watch.

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  14. What a beautiful new home! Of course, they should start a blog about it! :-)

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  15. As soon as I saw the first photo I thought, mid-century modern with the front window intact! I like the farmhouse too. Adorable. If they don't want to do a blog, you could do a series. xoox

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  16. I love the new (old) house from the outside, and can't wait to see (hopefully) before and after photos of what will be going on in the inside. Tell the kids they have to start a blog. We are all waiting and sitting on pins and needles for the fun to start. Well, fun for us, work for your daughter and son-in-law. Oh, it's going to be so wonderful!!!!!!!!!!!!

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  17. Oh yes! That way they could post about their upgrades right away and we could read about it without having to wait for them to have you report on it.;-) I'd read it for sure! What a charming house and how nice the other one stays in the family. Can't wait for the fun to begin!

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  18. Ok I may have missed it but how close are you to your daughter's new house? Cause I'm thinking you should add her house as a spinoff of your blog. Maybe from Molly & Jakes point of view. Since they have been through this with them before.
    Could be fun.
    Barbara Ann
    etsy.com /shop/barbaraannscreations

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  19. Oh Please do! I love following all their hard work. The new home looks like a house anyone of the bloggers would love to live in. Enjoy the happy times in life.

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  20. Well, if your daughter doesn't start a blog....you at least must keep us informed about their progress...with pictures of course! Did you blog about her mid-century modern? That might have been before my time. At any rate...thanks for the update. Looking forward to more! ;)

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  21. Oh my goodness, this is AWESOME news- for BOTH daughters, whoo hoo yay!!! I am so excited for everyone!

    I do hope they choose to blog about it, but at the very least if they can't find the extra time (Lord knows blogging is a time stealer) I hope YOU shall do so! Someone must, it is too awesome not to document it.

    I daresay that it would help in resale should they ever choose to sell it down the road- blogging about it shows all the hard work they put into it that all too often gets overlooked when determining a true worth of a home.

    Congrats to all!

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  22. Laurel, what wonderful news! I know they are so excited. The house is beautiful and it sounds amazing inside. Yes! They need to start blogging so we can enjoy their new home with them! :) Congratulations to them!

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  23. Congratulations to your daughter on her new charming home!

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  24. Yes! Yes! Do start a blog! I just love reading about home renovations because who doesn't love a great before & after? The house is adorable and I am dying to see the inside, especially that staircase. Congratulations to them both, this looks like it is going to be an exciting adventure.

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  25. Without a doubt they need to blog. The inspiration they could bring to others through the trials and tribulations of fixing up a house that needs some love would be a wonderful story to read. They definitely need to "tell their story" via blogging.

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  26. I think they will be glad if they do so they can look back at their accomplishments.

    And, we all get the fun of watching the project evolve.

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  27. oh please start one right away. Not only will it be fun for us older bloggers to watch the progress, but would be super for younger folks to see what they might encounter in purchasing an older home.

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