What a crazy month it has been. The house is looking more and more like a house! I thought that I would give you all a little sneak peek at what the house is looking like with this video.
To some it might appear as if very little progress has been made, but in reality, much has been completed. Within the last few weeks, the HVAC system has been finished, plumbing is near completion, the new windows have been put in, framing is close to being done, old siding has been removed from the back of the house making way for new wood siding and waterproofing has occurred so that the landscaping and patio construction can begin. The promise of returning to our sweet old home is beginning to return.
With all this construction work going on, I have been able to turn my attention a bit toward how to decorate our home once it is finished. Recently, I took a friend through our house to show her and her husband how things were going. As I went from room to room, telling her what was proposed for each area, she stopped me and asked me how I was able to do all of it, to think of all the details. I guess, I had never really stopped to think about it but in reality, I think that I have been planning this house for probably the last 20 years. An addict of HGTV and a self-proclaimed groupie of Joanna and Chip Gaines, I have collected pictures, downloads and hours of HGTV watching for so many years, that this house has been built, rebuilt and built again, in my mind so many times. I have always wanted my home to be a place where my family feels like they can always come home to, for whatever it is they need at the time. Sometimes that is just a sofa to nap on or maybe a shoulder to unload on but whatever the case I have strived for it to be a comfortable, welcoming place to come. I hope my friends feel that is the case for them as well. So, when I started this project, I was ready. I was ready to finally take everything that I wanted in a home, to be a part of my home. The other night I was reading Joanna Gaines’ book, Home Body for the 100th time. As I worked my way through the coffee stained, sticky noted book, I read something that I had missed before. The timing of this passage was uncanny, as after all of these years of gathering what I wanted most in my house, and as the culmination of all of these ideas was becoming a reality, I was starting to doubt my choices. Some of them didn’t measure up to what I was seeing in other’s homes, some didn’t seem fancy enough for what I thought my house deserved and some….well, I don’t even know why I was doubting them this late in the game. Then I stumbled on these words from my most favorite home designer – "If you are willing to flip the script on what a home should look like and instead focus on designing it around and for the people who live in it, the entire feel and intention of your house will change for the better. Typically, the most challenging part is embracing the idea that our house will look different from everybody else’s. That, by the way, is a really, really good thing. If it is telling your family’s story, then it will be uniquely yours." Truer, more needed words could not have been written.
So today, I share with you, what will be the first addition to the décor of 58 N. Main. The first introduction of myself and my family, made specifically for our new home. I came upon a wonderful artist a couple of years ago. Following her work through Instagram, jenlublindesign, I fell in love with her art. Her portrait illustrations from personal pictures have a whimsical, but at the same time realistic quality. Last summer a dear friend, LeDonne photography, took our family pictures down by our lake and on our front porch. She took a photo of Jim and I on the front porch and the minute I saw it I knew that Jen Lublin (Copyright © Jen Lublin Design) would turn it into a wonderful painting. It is the start to telling my family’s story and I am so excited to receive this piece of art for my home. It is perfect.
The process is simple, I gave her pictures of the subject and the background that I wanted, with a description of what I was hoping to see. Jen took that, provided a pencil drawing, made changes that Jim and I requested and then produced the illustrated painting. I have never worked with a sweeter, more talented person and am so glad she has shared her talent, through this art, with me.
As I wait to see what the next few weeks will bring with the house, I have to continually remind myself to be patient. Determined not to allow the COVID delays in materials sway any decisions, I force myself to wait for what I want most, knowing in the end it will be uniquely mine.
Stay well,
Laura
