There’s No Place Like Home
A little over a decade ago, my then-boyfriend asked me to live with him in a town very close to where we both grew up. This was a town lovingly called โThe Two-story Trailer Parkโ by locals because of the very small row houses. Our town is a co-op that was created as part of Rooseveltโs New Deal and most of the housing (my home included) was created only to be temporary housing for new families after the war. That was the โ40s. The thing is, cheap manufacturing in the โ40s seems to be more sturdy and higher quality than cheap housing manufacturing of today. We have hardwood floors, solid walls and foundation. The co-op maintains the roof, the gutters, and any repairs necessary to maintain the structure.
I wasnโt looking forward to living in the โTwo-story Trailer Parkโ but it was all we could afford. We found that living there was actually cheaper than an apartment. We purchased a two-bedroom home that was around 750 square feet, smaller than my bachelorette apartment. No central air or heat (window A/C and baseboard heaters), tiny galley kitchen, dated bathroom, and closets that were probably small even by 1940โs standards. However it was an end unit that backed to woods so it felt pretty remote.
Over the years I have come to love our home. When we found out we were pregnant, we realized we would need to either move or put on an addition to accommodate an additional human being in the pad. We decided an addition would not only be cheaper, but it would be smarter as that the co-op will maintain the house, even the new part of it. We ended up doubling the size of the house, adding a master suite, a large living room, extended the kitchen five feet, and added a half bath/laundry room to the main floor. Though our home is still smaller than most (around 1,400 SF), it is now the perfect size.
We came home from Bonnaroo around 10pm on Monday night. Two of our neighbors shared the duty of dogsitting so we had a nice stack of mail on our dining table and three very happy and excited dogs there to greet us. The house surely smelled like dog (we washed them just before they left so it was a strong scent of clean yet wet pooch) but otherwiseโฆ coming home was amazing.
After almost a week away, I saw my home with fresh eyes. The Oriental rug I got cheap on Overstock didnโt look out of place but homey in the living room. The kitchen looked like something off a shelter blog. Our bedroom was a wonderful respite, and a great merging of our two personalities and dรฉcor tastes.
The next morning, we took our coffee out to the deck to enjoy the best part of our home. We really are blessed to live right on top of our Nationโs Capital yet live in a small town in the woods. My husband also felt inspired and decided to build a hay bale garden in our back yard. We had all our veggies in planters so he transplanted them so they could be happy and have plenty of space and nutrients.
I looked around at our yard, our trees, our plants and felt so at peace. I grabbed my camera and took a couple pictures. I know I usually write about fashion, but the longer I live here the more my home and my town are a part of me.
(The cord hanging from the plant is my husband's jump rope.)
Amazing that we live in such cramped quarters in this community, yet I can sit on my back deck and not see another soul and they cannot see me.ย I will hear the occasional Metro bus or lawn mower, but the main sounds in my yard are woodpeckers, birds chirping, and squirrels twittering as they scamper up trees.ย Ahhh, nature!
I really think one's home is a reflection of its inhabitants; I will occasionally be sharing parts of my home on this blog. Don't worry, this won't become a shelter blog or even a general lifestyle blog. However, when I am inspired or do feel as though my home is affecting my sartorial choices, I will be sharing little bits of it.
I always read your blog but never comment. I just wanted to say that that I’m really excited to see more of your home!
He learned about it from a neighbor, and took ideas from a variety of Web sites to do his custom design. I found this site which is similar to what we did: http://thegardenersrake.com/hay-bale-gardeneing-techniques and this one too: http://www.beginner-gardening.com/straw-bale-gardening.html
Now reading I am not sure if our bales are hay or straw…
There seems to be many styles of hay or straw bale gardening, seems to be a good choice if your area has poor soil or you’re short on gardening space!
I too, would love to learn more about the hay bale garden bed. Web resources? or is this all your DH’s invention?
Oh thanks Emily!
I agree with the others. It is nice to see how your clothing aesthetic influences your home and vice versa!
I agree with the others. It is nice to see how your clothing aesthetic influences your home and vice versa!
I really enjoyed this post. I loved hearing about your home and the history of the style of home it is. Sounds like you live an efficient life…with all the pleasures of living in a city. This is the first I’ve heard about hay bale gardens and I plan to pass that tip along to my husband, the gardener.
It’s nice to find your home a haven! ๐
It was a MAJOR undertaking (we didn’t even have a working kitchen when I gave birth to Emerson and spent much of bedrest in the only complete room in the house) but so worth it. We don’t plan on moving any time soon and we bought at a great time where our mortgage is low and will be paid off in the next decade. Quite an investment but I think it was worth it! ๐
I’ve always loved seeing the rare glimpse of your house. I think your style is awesome, and it’s amazing that you and your husband added on such a HUGE addition!
I feel the same way about my home… except I live in the suburbs and my subdivision is sort of in the middle of the wetlands that louisiana is known for.