For most people, their home is the single biggest investment they will ever make. We are those people. For this reason, buying a house that we had never seen in person before from across the country made for one stressful summer. This was definitely one of the craziest things we have ever done, and here is how it all went down.
When we decided to move to Atlanta, we had no plans to go back for a visit. We had originally found a house we really liked while there to see family and made an offer, but we lost it. However, it lit a fire under us to move. My mother was getting older and needed some help. We were so far away. We had always talked about moving back east someday, and it became clear to us that someday was now.
The house buying process was not an easy one. There were offers that were not accepted, properties that didn't appraise for asking prices, and problems uncovered in inspections. We had to rely heavily on my family to look at the listings we were interested in and take detailed pictures and videos to send to us. My husband and I each had a list of things we wanted this house to have. We had always talked about our first house being our five year house (we lived there for seven and a half years). This was to be our forever home. This time, we knew exactly what we were looking for.
It had to have some land and some privacy. We didn't want to be able to wave at our neighbors in their dining room from our office window anymore. It had to have a kitchen that we could both work in at the same time. A big yard for the dogs. More space for storage. A garage with a workspace. A bathroom with a double-vanity. It had to have an in-law unit.
We decided to make this move in mid-May, and on September first, we started our journey across the country. We had purchased our forever home, and we had never even seen it in person. When we finally did get to see it, I took these pictures on my iPhone (sorry the quality isn't better). Luckily, we were not disappointed.
The first thing we fell in love with (via pictures) was the coffered ceilings in the living room. OK, so this was not something on our must have list, but it was beautiful.
I am a sucker for built-ins.
We loved all the open space. The
living room area is actually called a great room, with the built-ins on
one side and fireplace on the other. I have no idea how to furnish a space this big.
It opens up into one side of the deck.
This is the view outside of the front door. Hello privacy!
We wanted a large formal dining room for family get-togethers. This room definitely needs a chandelier with a bit more bling.
A kitchen with an island was on both of our lists.
There are cute details like these decorative tiles on the deck.
There is a bonus room which is perfect for our home office.
The master bedroom has a large walk-in closet (you can guess whose list that one was on).
And a beautiful double-vanity and separate tub and shower.
We absolutely love our new home, and have so many plans for the future. For now, we are still in the process of unpacking and getting settled. I hope to share more about the things we end up doing to make this place our own. I have a feeling this will be a work in process for years to come.
