From estate sale to dream home, a heartfelt renovation story filled with vision, creativity, and the joy of making a house our own.
It’s been a little while, hasn’t it? Over the past few years, I’ve been busy working on something close to my heart—renovating our new dream home! Along the way I stepped back from blogging to focus on creating a space that truly feels special. So here’s a little update on life and some before and after pictures of what I’ve been working on.
Some homes find you before you even start looking.
It was two doors down from the house we were already living in, yet it took an estate sale to open the door—literally and figuratively. I stopped by the sale out of curiosity, never imagining I’d walk out feeling like I had just stepped into our future.
Our Home Before Renovations
Our Home After Renovations
The house was a little dated, and far from move-in ready but you could feel the love that the previous family had brought to the home. We knew right away it would need to be completely gutted and remodeled from top to bottom. Walls would need to come down, spaces would be reimagined, and we’d even need to add a master suite downstairs. On paper, it was a big project. A really big one.
But something about it felt like home from the very first moment.
Kitchen Before
Kitchen After
You see, we had never planned to leave our other home. We renovated it, lived in it, and made tons of amazing family memories ~ but things quickly changed. Walking into the Estate Sale two doors down I could picture light-filled rooms and warm textures. I imagined the kind of cozy, welcoming spaces that make you want to slow down, curl up to a blanket by the fire and read a book. It wasn’t about what the house was—it was about what it could be in the future.
Office Before
Office After
That’s the thing about homes, just like life: sometimes the most meaningful ones don’t arrive polished or perfect. They arrive with good bones, tons of potential, and a story waiting to be told.
This dream home of ours became more than a renovation project. It became a labor of love and I am so excited about how it turned out. And now, as it continues to evolve, it reflects not just my style—but my family’s journey.
So that’s what I’ve been quietly pouring my heart into over the last few years. I’m excited to say that I’m back to blogging, and I’m looking forward to sharing our home, and all the moments that have turned this house into a truly special place.
Love projects like this. Getting ready to start one ourselves!
That’s so exciting! 🙂
You have done a great job from what you posted. Looking forward to more
I appreciate it ~ glad you are here. 🙂
It is gorgeous! I can’t wait to follow your blog every week
Thanks friend! I am so excited to get back to it!
I first learned of you on FHL U Tubes. I love your decor style and have watched their features of your home several times. You have an amazing talent for creating an inviting, cozy and purely delightful home without it seeming overly fussy. I look forward to seeing more posts showing your evolving home as it becomes even more lovely. AND…I agree…sometimes the right house just finds us when we least expect it. My husband and I purchased a really tired house in the St Louis Area 25 years ago. It needed lots of cosmeticIts work plus new kitchen and baths. I simply have poured so much love into this house and I love it more than any other house we have had.I still walk through it and give thanks for the opportunity to call it home. In our 57 year marriage, we have moved 14 times spanning mostly southern cities. Most of the moves were Corporate moves (Manhattan Kansas, Lansing Michigan, Oklahoma City, Baton Rouge twice, Atlanta, St Louis). A corporate move usually included a 4 day house hunting trip and at the end of the four days we were supposed to have selected our future house. Hence, I have redorated a number of homes because we didn’t purchase dream homes…we purchased the home that best fit our tight budget and our families needs. We always went to work and created homes that we were comfortable in and that we felt proud of. But the one house I love so much was purchased when a realtor stopped by my work place and said “you simply must see this house because it’s perfect for you”. I looked at it and it wasn’t love at first site because it was incredibly ugly, but the more my creative wheels turned, the more certain I was that it was meant to be ours. I am so thankful I could envision our current home. It’s a real “hug” and it’s always evolving.
Thank you and I love your story so much. Thanks for sharing!
Oh my goodness! You are so talented and just have such a natural knack for this! Such a blessing! Love it!
Thank you so much! 🙂