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Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Keeping the Cape

As many of you know, Jason and I put an offer in on a big house out in the country and it was accepted.  The house was beautiful -- it was a renovated 1840s colonial and I was excited to have found it.

The entire process of listing my house and putting it on the market was far more emotional than I thought it would be.  I never realized just how attached I was to this little cape.  But we forged ahead, excited about our new venture.

To make a very long story short . . . as beautiful as a house might appear at times, what matters most is the home's structure.  Unfortunately, the home we were about to purchase had major structural problems.  Sometimes, when you want something really really badly, you try deny reality.  I was denying reality for quite some time in the process, but it became very evident that the structure had more damage than we were willing to take on and we decided to back out.

We thought about looking for another house, but after such an emotionally draining experience, we began noticing all the things we love about this little Cape and we've decided we love what we have.

Grace, at Sense and Simplicity is hosting a little blog party to list the five things you love about your home, and in looking around . . . I realized there is a lot I love about my house.

My house isn't overwhelmingly unique or awe-inspiring like this barn that was converted to a house (one of Jason's favorite type of houses by the way)



And my house isn't some 1800s Tudor revival mansion with a manicured lawn


Eifler Associates traditional exterior



Eifler Associates traditional landscape


My house doesn't have any incredibly fancy amenities, like an infinity pool.
 
(Who in the world owns these places and what do they do for a livng?!)

Original Vision tropical pool

George W. Girvin & Associates, Inc. contemporary pool
contemporary pool design by George W Girvin & Associates

Thomas Kyle contemporary landscape



 My house is just a cozy little Cape Cod in a small town in Upstate New York.


I know, we have GOT to do something with those steps!

So, in looking around, there are a lot of things I love, but I will narrow it down.  You'll find that I'm not that difficult to please.

Probably one of the single best features about my house is the enormous family room with cathedral ceilings.





 
With skylights, sliding glass doors, plenty of windows and a big bay window where we sit and watch unusually large herds of deer roam through our backyard, what's not to love about this space?


 



But the best part about this room is that at Christmas time, we get the biggest tree we can find!
 


Another feature of my house that I love is my deck.  It's not big or elaborate, but I enjoy sitting out there and having a cup of coffee in the morning or reading in the afternoon on the weekends (sorry for the rain in this photo . . .)


Another feature of my house that I love is the gas fireplace in our sitting room.  I have to confess that we cannot use it to actually have a fire because, although it's new, it sets the smoke detector off every single time we start it!  We need to address that this year, but I still love having it. 

I love the slate tiles Jason put in and I enjoy having a mantel to decorate (which currently needs an update).



Okay, the next thing I love is really silly and Jason will likely make me remove the photo if he reads this.  I love the marble tile he installed in the entry of my house.

Jason didn't really have any experience tiling and I picked out marble for the entry.  If you know anything about tiling, which we obviously didn't at the time, you'd know that marble is difficult to cut.  It is very soft and breaks really easily.  What should have been a small project turned out to be quite costly because of the many cutting mistakes.

To make matters worse, Jason wanted to just lay the tiles all straight and perpendicular.  I, of course, wanted a diamond shape in the center with little tiles bordering the center tile.  I haven't laid a single tile in my entire life and I am not the greatest at math with angles and cuts so I had no idea what trouble my idea would cause.  All I knew was that I saw something similar in a magazine and thought it'd be cool to have it in my house.

Jason argued with me that it was too difficult, so being the brat that I can sometimes be, I said, "Fine Jason. Just don't do it.  I'll just hire someone who can do it the way I want it done.  Forget about it."

But my good husband set out to tackle what he didn't know how to do and, in my opinion, it came out great.  I love this tile;  Jason hates it.  He sees his imperfections, but every time I look at it and see that diamond, I see my husband figuring out how to make my wish come true.



Like my bubble-gum pink toes dangling off that step?!  That pedicure was a celebration that recently, I survived lay-offs in my job .. . but I digress!

Back to what I love about my house.  Of course, I love my new tiled bathroom . . .



with a pebbled-floor shower. . . .



But what I love most about my house isn't any particular room.  I love that this house sat on the market forever and everyone laughed at it because it was so hideous and smelly.   But I had a vision, and Jason made it happen.




Every inch of my house has my husband's time and love poured into it.  He obtained his degree in Fine Arts and I often complain that he isn't doing anything with it but when I wake up each day, I realize his art is all around me. 

Our house has been his canvas.




27 comments:

  1. I love this post! So informative and sweet.

    Thanks for sharing all those fun pictures! I love your cute cape house!
    It's cozy and stylish. :)
    You've done an amazing job with it.

    Shelley

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  2. You guys are adorable! You home is so cute and seems much bigger on the inside! I love that you and your husband have put so much into it. It's hard not to get attached to all the bits of love that goes into each project.

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  3. That was so lovely Stephenie...and I'm really glad you're staying put! It's clear how much love there is in your house...wiping away a little tear :)xx

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  4. What a lovely post Stephenie! I love how you love your house! I love how your hubby has made such an effort to make it a home for the both of you and I love how you appreciate it. You have a gorgeous house, thank you for sharing! xx

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  5. I see why you are so attached to this house. It's not a house, but you both have made it a home. I love it. I wish I had that deck.

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  6. Wow... what a touching sentiment. I, too, enjoyed art and pursued art all through high school (no degree, babies became my focus for many years). I had been beating myself up all this time about how I'm not doing anything with it now. After reading your blog this morning I realize I've been so wrong. My art is all over my house too, just like your husbands! Thanks for helping me realize that. Your husband is a blessed man for having such an appreciative and encouraging wife.

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  7. i think your house is super cute. we have a cape, but it is your typical one with 2 dormers. it, and most of the ones i have ever been in, DON'T have enormous ceiling heights. i would LOVE to have that in our house! we bought ours thinking it would be a "5 year house." it's been 3, and i can't see moving in 2 years when we are still working on projects like finishing the basement. like your husband, my b/f puts his heart and soul and sweat into everything we do here, and i love the house (and him!) the more for it!

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  8. That is such a wonderful post - how did I miss it? I checked your blog last night to see if you had done one but I didn't see it then. I'll have to do another next week as a couple of others missed doing their house posts as well. I have to say that I was secretly hoping you were going to stay in your house as I think it is really cute, and now you are. What a cute deck and perfect place for your Christmas tree in your family room. I can't believe your husband managed to do that complicated pattern in the tiles - I think he may have a back-up career in tiling.

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  9. Stephenie,

    Thank you for the sweet post about the house that love built (or at least renovated!) Sorry things didn't turn out the way you planned but I believe in the long run you will realize you are exactly where you want, need, should be! Happy to hear you were not one of corporate America's latest sacrificial lambs.

    Your Friend,
    Deborah

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  10. svinch@twcny.rr.comJune 17, 2010 at 10:31 PM

    Ok, ok So I would miss this little cape too, I love the way you and Jason and Imani have renovated the house. I love the deer and wild life that come through the back yard and the sunrise on the deck.
    I have to admit I did love the colonial you had picked out and I was looking forward to going there , but the way your cape sets and all the improvements you have made over the years,I too would miss the ins and outs of it. Where else can you have country and city livingall wrapped up into one house?

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  11. Your house is adorable! Now if you would just let me borrow your husband for about two weeks so that I can get him to do some work on my home. I especially like what he did with the bathroom. I will pay him feed him and he can sleep on the sleeper sofa. Oh and I love the last picture...you to are precious!

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  12. It seems that life (or maybe it was your little cape?) had other plans for you two. Your home has a lot of character; it's been renovated with love. :) From NFF. Pam @ Sallygoodin

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  13. You have a beautiful home and all things work out for the best. Sounds like you are happy that you are not moving.

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  14. Just thought I would let you know I featured your blog today!

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  15. Your house is so cute! I love the photos! :)

    I'm your newest follower from New Friend Friday!

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  16. I found you through the Lady Bloggers Tea Social. I've done a little poking around the site and love it.

    I ran across an early post about the downstairs closet and banister you were thinking about painting black. I thought it was a fabulous idea! What did you decide to do about it?

    By the way, the link from Home Decor didn't work, so I Googled you to find you. I was determined to find any blog about Decorating Addiction!

    I'll be back!
    Margaret

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  17. Visiting from LBS Happy Saturday.

    Good job decorating, nice blog.

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  18. I'm a new follower from New Friend Friday.
    I hope you'll come check me out at PS Mom Reviews and follow me too!

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  19. Hey just followed you from Lady Blogger Tea Party. Your home is beautfiful! Love the colors and space!

    Tamara
    http://hisperfectpromises.blogspot.com/

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  20. What a great post! Your home is beautiful. I can definitely see why you love it so much. I think the majority of buying a house is emotional and needs to be. You need to LOVE your house. You can always fix what's broken if you love it enough. Thanks for stopping by my blog and have a great weekend!

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  21. What an absolutely gorgeous home you have!! You have so many things to love about your home... it is absolutely stunning!! :) Hazel

    PS Visiting via the Tea Party.

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  22. What a sweet love story about your home, and your loving, creative husband who did so much work on it. Your home is lovely, and I could definitely see why it would be hard to leave it. It's good you found out all the things wrong with the other place before buying. Enjoy your sweet home, and the life and love you and your DH have together.

    I followed you here from Grace's blog Sense and Simplicity.

    FlowerLady

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  23. Such a lovely post Stephenie - it's so nice to hear how much you love your home. So glad to hear you found out all the problems with the new house before it was too late - and too expensive. Enjoy your time there with your lovely hubby! K xx

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  24. Hopping over from Sense & Simplicity. I see why you love it so! love how the light fills the family room!! I also like the back porch with the expansive lawn behind it. Thanks for posting.

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  25. Lovely home and your bathroom is gorgerous. The best part is all the love your husband put into it...you can't put a price on that.
    Pamela from French Buttons

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  26. Awww, that is so cute and sweet. Your house came out AWESOME!

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