do love where you live?
Every time we pull into our homes, we thank the sweet lord above for homes we have! The warm and fuzzy feeling of loving where you live is a feeling, we want all of our clients, family and friends to feel. I think we can all agree that it’s not what we have but who we have in the home that makes us love where we live! However, thinking back to when we walked through our homes before we bought them, we as designers could see what it could be and how we could make it ‘ours’. It started from the outside and worked right on inward with a curb appeal that made us say ‘I want that’! We find ourselves often driving around with our hubbies looking at homes for ‘date night’ or going by the homes we loved as a kid. Those memories rush back every time of us standing on those amazing front porches trick-or-treating, delivering a family a meal or just stopping in to say howdy to a neighbor. We love to drive by run down homes and our husbands love (insert major sarcasm) hearing that we can see the ‘potential’. We can visualize a cute sidewalk up to the front door, lined with hostas and hydrangeas, and some beautiful ambiance from cute pathway lights hanging over the sidewalk that light up the way to the beautiful front door that shouts ‘come on in!’. Porch swings, chairs, or a wide staircase lined with the season’s decorations. It’s a designer’s way of thinking that we often get a little mockery for, and are a-okay with it!
We as humans are inspired by things we see and experience and both of us designers can say the Edison & Ford Winter Estates in Florida has a special place in our designer hearts. It is not just one aspect that has us ohh and ahh over, it’s all of the homes character that was not short on detail. The setting is perfect in the Florida palms, right along the waterfront, with multiple buildings that are all perfectly placed on the property. The deep porches where you could sit and listen to the rain as it poured onto the roof. The pergolas that connect the buildings, which are covered with a cascading flowering vine. The columns placed perfectly around the homes giving it balance to the open spaces it supported. These homes were full of cozy, and well thought out designs that make our hearts leap!
So let us share with you our top things that make us love where we live!
1- Kitchens: A key part of our homes that make us love where we live is making memories in the kitchen when you cook the holiday meals, or your kid’s favorite meal for their birthday. A well thought out and detailed kitchen design has not only a home for everything to go in it, but space for everyone! Connecting spaces from the kitchen by either opening them up or having great flow make an intentional design work wonders! Kitchens are not only for cooking, but where homework is, momma’s wine nights gather, crafts take place and people just simply gravitate to. They are the heart of the home for all those reasons. Many times the kitchen is simply not big enough, but we are here to tell you that a small kitchen can have just as powerful of an impact as a big one. As a designer who loves to cook, it took us 5 years to decide on a kitchen that we would love. It involved moving a bathroom, opening up two walls to the dining and family room and re-configuring almost everything besides the stove location. We now stand in our forever kitchen and joke about standing where the shower use to be. It allows us to have a growing family and feel comfortable, and let’s be real… with 3 kiddos (all boys 5 and under… gulp!), this momma needs to see ev-ery-thinggggg! These projects are ones to really time well as kitchen renos take a good chunk of time, and summer grilling is just the right time. If not, I'm here to tell you that you can get pretty crafty at cooking on a skillet for weeks!
2- Mudrooms: Sometimes loving where you live can be the little things like mudrooms! Enjoying the mudrooms even more when all of the dirt can stay in it’s ‘home’. Mudrooms are the places where all… and I mean ALL things land. They now are part of entry’s and sometimes the first thing you see when you come into the home. Sprucing these spaces up, sometimes doesn’t take much. When designing our entry, I wanted it open, but my other half designer twin made the best suggestion to hide our ‘stuff’ yet give the open feel. A half-wall! Not only does it hide the massive amounts of open locker space but it now gives me another wall to hang more hooks for backpacks, calendars, etc. Simple and quick fixes can be faux trims, wallpapers (we are kind of loving the peel and stick for a quick fix), built in storage (with doors or not), benches with storage spaces, creative coat hooks, lockers and more!
3 - Location: The other (and maybe the real reason behind what sealed the deal) is the setting of the home. Do you want your kids to have neighbor friends or do you love your secluded space? Does your home reflect you in every way it can by being placed perfectly on the piece of property you have dreamed of (and maybe pinned a few thousand times)? The key word here is YOU! Deserts, mountains, oceans views or in the city or country, finding what is meant for YOU and your family is what makes it perfect!
4 - Flow: the way a home is set up or planned out to have a flow that you almost don’t even think about it. Either changing up the entry to be grand and give a first lasting impression or views to all spaces. Maybe entering a space some might consider no-so-ideal, but giving it that purpose or layout to lead you to the next space you want your guest to remember.
Sometimes the laundry list is quite long and something we have to chip away at to get to the 'love your home' feeling. Living in a home for some time before you tackle those projects can have a plus too! It allows you the find the pros and cons of what you like, how you work and allows you to create the true priority must have list. Sometimes it means starting over from ground zero (literally) to get exactly what you want in those forever-homes!
So ask yourself, what is it that makes you love where you live? If you need some help bringing those dreams to life, we may know a few gals who could help you (wink, wink)!