Apartment Dwellers to Homeowners.

Our home search ended much differently than it began. We began looking for a move-in ready home.  We quickly realized that even the "move-in ready" homes we saw needed updates (in my opinion at least) but it would have been a stretch for us to afford those updates when we were shopping at the top of our budget (i.e I'm still in grad school). We ended up deciding on a house that needed a new roof, exterior siding, and some  many updates inside as well but the listing price was much below our initial price range.  Here's a photo from the listing.

We I was immediately drawn to photos of small cottage houses for inspiration for our home renovation. I could picture the house with an entrance that would draw the eye to the front door and sweet details like board and batten shutters and a window box that would soften up the look of the house.  This house in particular inspired our renovations.  The dark gray siding looks so sharp against the bright white trim and black shutters.  This house looks so inviting and I love the way the eye is drawn directly to the brightly painted front door.

 

Renovation Inspiration

What cottage home would be complete without a pretty window box?  Here are some of the pretty window box inspiration photos I found:

 Southern Living

Plow & Hearth Window Box

Board and batten shutters are not something you see frequently on houses in our area but for our house I couldn't imagine any other type of shutter fitting more perfectly. These shutters look so pretty and romantic on the right home. I think part of their appeal is that they are so unexpected and have an Old World charm.

 Board and Batten

Board and Batten Shutters

And here we are a few days after closing on our first home.  We hope the next time we pose for a picture in front of our home it will look and feel much different!

xo
Steph