My Dream Home

Happy Monday, everyone! Today marks the beginning of THE LAST WEEK of my September Blogging Challenge – and I’m kind of sad about it! This week Dane and I are in Iceland with some friends, so if you want to see what we are up to, make sure you are following along on Instagram. If you missed my blogging challenge announcement post, I’ve been feeling a little bit uninspired by blogging and social media and I wanted to bring it back to where it all began…little old me behind my keyboard tapping away. And so – that’s what is happening! I know there are “blog every day” challenges, but honestly – I don’t blog every day as it is, so committing to 30 days was intimidating for me. Instead, I put together 20 prompts that really inspired me and whipped up a list for when you can expect them here. Today’s prompt is My Dream Home and it’s safe to say that I have had a lot change in regards to my dream home after becoming a homeowner, selling our house and all that that whole process entails (High+ Lows Of The Past Year). So, let’s talk details on what my dream home might look and feel like these days…

My Dream Home

Dane and I go back and forth quite a bit on home size, but one thing we are pretty firm on is a good chunk of land. We don’t want to see a neighbor’s house and if we do, it has got to be separated by a huge yard, or maybe just a really tall fence enclosing a huge yard. If we do end up going the development route, we would love to have it back up to a nature preserve on other type of area that isn’t developed (like the ocean ;)). My parents’ house has this (backs right up to a mountain) and not having neighbors behind them has been such a blessing, particularly since they have them in semi close proximity on either side. In a dream world, we would be on or near the water. We aren’t millionaires, but this is my dream house…Here are some exterior designs we like all sourced from Coastal Living.

It might surprise you (or maybe not) to learn we don’t want a huge mansion. Something modest with 2-3 bedrooms would be plenty (look – the more space, the more cleaning) and the only thing I would be firm on is having an open kitchen to entertain. A kitchen that opened up into a living room, screened-in porch or deck would be ideal and maybe a big island for prepping food. We’ve never had a big kitchen (not even in the house we owned!), so that one is kind of near the top of my list since I love to cook. At the top of Dane’s list is a dedicated area for him to workout, so a garage or basement gym would be ideal. We also agree that sharing a bathroom sink is a cruel form of punishment, so a nice double sink in our master bath would be a sweet bonus!

Now, the fun part…the details! I have an entire Pinterest board dedication to home decor and design. It’s a lot of fun pins that include color, texture, wallpaper and crisp accent pieces. I envision a lot of white to brighten up our space, with the color living in the furniture, art and decor. I also dream about tons of natural light (the detail I LOVED about our old house) and an office with floor to ceiling windows. Did anyone see the 2016 Hamptons House curated by Coastal Living? It’s pretty much my dream style, along with Gray Malin’s home!

I love a well done gallery wall, so one of those is a must and I wouldn’t mind a fireplace, either. I’ve never had a fireplace, so maybe that is the child within me speaking 🙂 In my mind, our overall “house theme” (is that a thing?) would be mid-century modern, much like what it was previously, mixed with some antique goodies we’ve picked up along the way, market finds we’ve purchased on trips and treasured family heirlooms. Once upon a time, I would have been all over farmhouse or all-modern, but I think as time has gone on, my tastes have changed a little bit. I’m thankful for a husband who trusts my eye and goes along with it!

VIA

Design details I love: exposed shelving, bright tiles in showers, wood floors, wallpaper, gold or copper accent pieces, subway tiles, unique light fixtures, bold accent walls, outdoor showers, upstairs laundry room and pops of color on a front door.

VIA

Some things we have had, know we don’t care for, and would try to avoid include: wooden stairs (total hazard for dogs falling down them…argh!), an inverted home layout where kitchen is upstairs, a small yard, master bedroom right off the living room/kitchen and single sink bathroom (I know I mentioned it before, but it’s really a non-starter the more I think about it, LOL!).

Who knows where we will end up one day, but it’s always fun to dream 🙂 If you were designing a dream home, what would it look like? If you blogged on this topic today, be sure to link up below + come back tomorrow for 4 things I’m grateful for right now!