What does your dream house look like?
Perhaps a French-style chateau?
(Source: Biltmore House)
Or maybe a mountain chalet?
There are so many wonderful styles of houses, and I’ve had several books of plans for probably 20-25 years with pages turned down featuring houses I have dreamed of building.
But that dream has not become reality, so we make the house we have into a home and give it all the love we can. And we are beyond blessed to be living on property that has been in my family for five generations.
We are *extremely* thankful for and love our house, but it is a cozy small 1,479 square feet. We are incredibly thankful because western North Carolina is not exactly a mecca for economic growth. So we make it work, and are very thankful for it. I do have a large kitchen and open living room I love, plus the porches and outside mountain landscape are incredible.
That doesn’t mean we can’t dream… and I don’t think there is anything wrong with dreaming😊
So what does my dream house look like?
It looks like this:-)
This is the house my dad grew up in here on the property and the one I always refer to as the “old house.”
This was my great grandfather’s summer home away from the heat of Hypoluxo, Florida.
It had 9-ft ceilings, a beautiful parlor with victorian tiled fireplace, plaster walls, wormy chestnut beadboard, beautiful wood trim and doors.
While there are several original buildings still here on the property, including my parents’ home that my grandparents built in 1960, the main house was dismantled and many of its parts stored in another little cottage.
There aren’t a lot of photos of the house, but the ones I have are really special to me. Here my grandmother and dad are with his beloved greyhound in front of the porch.
This is just one of the screen doors my grandfather, pictured here with my grandmother, saved when it was torn down, which ended up in my kitchen.
Here, my grandfather stands at the kitchen counter, which is actually still stored in the little guest house at the edge of the property.
My grandparents are here in the kitchen in the late 1950s with all my cousins. (My dad was only a teenager at the time.) My parents still have the wood cookstove…
Here is my dad in the dining room with the typewriter he gave me…
My mother recently found these photos of my grandmother and great grandmother in the parlor.
My cousin near a rocker I have with the chaise lounge I now have in my living room.
This is the sign that is now on my front porch:-) My cute daddy with his grandmother.
This is the back of the house and the little cottage that is still on the property.
And this is the inside of the little cottage.
If you are here, you have seen a lot of those old windows throughout our house.
Even though my grandfather stored everything so neatly, I have rummaged through trying to put together things for us to use…crown moulding, beadboard, wood flooring…
Windows…
Since I never saw the house, I asked my dad to draw out a plan for me…
…so that one day, if we came into some money– ok, a lot of money, I could build it back:-)
But, if that never happens, I can still dream. And there’s nothing wrong with dreaming:-)
In the meantime, we are salvaging everything we can into our home on the property, so even though the old house is no longer here, it lives on in our house.
I love your posts about your family, and your grandparents' home, Anita. My dream house is an English cottage. We live in an apartment in the Pacific Northwest now as we search for our new home. I'd settle for a bungalow or cottage. Cozy is my style. 🙂
Nancy, it's funny you mention a cozy style because my grandparents had a little cottage they stayed in next door during the first few winters, and my dad says those were some of his favorite memories:-)
Your home is charming indeed – and love how you're making it work and feeling bless even with the space challenges. We live in a small home too – but we are a small family. So it's good and I love small. But the old photos and especially the snow house? Beautiful! Neat post.
Oh, Anita love this walk down memory lane. Yes, many of the dreams I have are from the houses I grew up in. So much of an influence came form these. One was a Victorian farmhouse and the other a Southern farmhouse. Love these pictures they are priceless! So glad you have all of the "pieces" of it! Thanks for joining Home Sweet Home and Happy New Year!~
There's absolutely nothing wrong with dreaming. And as lovely as those first few photos are, my dream house is the place where my family learns together, eats together, laughs together, and just lives together. Love the old photos and memories you shared.
Just a note to tell you that I've brought my Fridays Unfolded party back for 2014, and I'd love to have you stop by and link up!
Alison
I love your dream Anita. and yes, I think God puts those dreams inside of us. So funny…when I saw the photo of the thumbnail of this post, it looked just like the house I grew up in, sadly it's gone, but the front porch and white clapboard were exactly the same. I remember every square inch of that old house. Hope you're having a great start to the New Year!
Your grandparents old house must have been a beauty in it's day and it's wonderful that you still have some of the old boards, flooring etc. from it to use. It's great to dream. We've lived in the same 3 bedroom (now 2) bungalow for 36 years and there are times I'd love to have a brand new house. This one was already 5 when we bought it so the dream of a new house is still in my mind even though I know we won't be getting one. Our next house will be a big downsize for old age or heaven – which ever one comes first. Besides, we do love where we live in the country and only 20 minutes to town. It's really quite perfect. Happy New Year blessings to you and your family, Anita. Pamela
Evidently I had my dream house and didn't know it. I had all the holidays at the old house, all the paties, all the celebrations. Now it is all at my daughters and I MISS IT!!!!! BUT, I have to say that we are entertaining our new neighbors alot now so that makes me happy. I just love to be surrounded by family and friends. Your home is so wonderful, I love seeing everything you do and cherish the fact that you have and use so much history. The farm where my Husbands Mother grew up is a mile from where we live now. We went there and asked the present owner (who is letting the home fall down around him) for a piece of wood from the barn for a mantle. He greeted us with a shot gun and would not give us anything. So sad. Keep on dreaming. It NEVER hurts to dream. XO
I think back a lot about my Grandmother's old house. Only 4 rooms, but spotless, and comfortable. We hear the old house still stands, and have plans to go see it again soon. Can't wait! Love your beautiful home, and your dream home!!
That would be a wonderful dream home Anita! So funny we both were thinking the same thing today! Hope you and your family had a wonderful Christmas and heres to a wonderful New year!!
Actually… my dream home would look pretty much "exactly" like the one you presently live in!! I began following your blog because of a picture I saw on someone else's blog of your front porch!! lol…. since my children are grown… there would be perfect space for the occasional overnight visits from the grands' right??!! Cottage / farmhouse!!! Love … Love!!!!!!!
Such a sweet post! My dream house has always included a room with a wall of 4 beds (2 bunks) behind cupboards. Each bed has a little window and a shelf for books and a cup of tea. When you walk into the room all you see is a big overstuffed chair and ottoman in front of a large fireplace. The cupboards are closed until bedtime. Just a dream, but a cozy one.
Love cottage style. About to move from a 3000 sf house in the city, to a little 1920's farmhouse half that size, in the country. I have been trying to figure out where everything will go. But, I look forward to working on our little house and living in the quiet of the country.
My dream house is sitting on the beach. I do not really care what it looks like so much, just the location. I would like to be on a white sand beach somewhere. I have even thought about another country. My family thinks that is a bit extreme but I would like to see some beautiful locations around the world.
Jefferson @ T.J. Lamb Real Estate
Gosh, I love your house! Each and every shot I'm going to be pinning on my own personal board. We just put our house on the market this week and are transitioning to a little place by the sea. It's so good to be here with you in this season. property search
Can I ask why your grandfather took down the old house, and if he built a new one why didn't he use these materials in it?
Sally, I wasn't born, so I'm only guessing after talking to my father, but it was very hard to heat, no insulation, pipes bursting during the cold winters here, and I suspect they didn't want to deal with that, plus my daddy was the last of their three children and they no longer needed a big house. My grandmother certainly had the money to renovate as she had just bought a new home in Florida, but I guess they were not attached to the house in that way. The new house is classic mid-century modern, brick, plaster walls and regular 8-foot ceilings. I guess they were more practical than I would have been!!