Moving Up

Andi and I starting shopping for houses this week. We're not exactly in the market for a new house, but we're batting our eyes at the idea. As soon as we have our first child, we're going to out-grow our current space in a major way so it's time to start planning our next big step. Well, that and my husband always needs a project. New car? Check. New house ... let the search begin. Who I am to complain? I'm lucky to have a man with a plan!

We toured a few homes in a western Twin Cities suburb a few weeks ago and weren't all that pleased with what we saw. Most people would have marveled over the giant kitchens and spacious master suites, but all we saw was the lack of old-home charm and historic neighborhoods. I fully realize our current house isn't everyone's dream, but to us it shows character. Wood trim nearly 100 years old, antique built-in buffets and trees that dump massive piles of leaves in my yard makes me feel at home. (If you want to see our current digs, check out this old post here). Granted, opting for an old house also means we're stuck with small bedrooms, tiny closets and a lack of storage so we'll have to be creative when we're shopping for our next place.

After our trip to the 'burbs a few weeks ago, we stopped by an open house in our neighborhood to look around. While the house wasn't what we were looking for per say, we did meet a great relator who's lives in our neighborhood as well. We asked her to start scoping out great deals in our immediate area, specifically those with opportunity to fix up. Our "plan" thus far is buy a cheap house with character, but needs work and fix it up ourselves. We toured this one on Wednesday night and I feel in love. This is exactly what I'm dreaming of ...

This house is a little out of our price range, but only because someone's already done the work for us. A year ago, this house was on the market for 1/3 of the price and someone bought it, made some cosmetic updates and voilà. We could easily transform our own purchase into something just as beautiful.

Seeing the designs in this house has inspired me to re-decorate my own space. It's been three years since I've painted any rooms or drastically changed the layout at our current place. May be a nice wintertime project for me ... exciting!