Making this place a home

It's day 2 of Nester's 31 day challenge. I continue my 31 days of gratitude with this thought: I am grateful for my home. She is less than 1400 square feet, but she is filled with family and love and memories: my dining room hutch from my beloved grandmother’s house, the table and chairs from my husband’s dear grandmother, the stove from my in-laws, the memories of bringing home our children and raising them in sometimes crowded spaces, the bedroom set from my parents, the joy and laughter that my sister brings, the home improvement projects that my husband and I have completed, the friends and family who have helped us with other projects, the family gatherings at holidays and special occasions.

When my husband and I bought our house, we worked with the son and granddaughter of the original owner after she passed away. We loved hearing their stories and their plans for possible renovations. In with the blueprints for the house, we found some hand-drawn renderings of the main floor that I share with you. The drawings were pencil sketches on vellum-like paper. I scanned them in and darkened them up a little bit. It's neat to see the homeowner's handwriting in this sketch.

 
I like thinking about ways to improve my house, perhaps by tearing down a wall or two, adding a garage, creating a backyard patio, putting on a deck... Yet with all of those plans, I have to remind myself that I am blessed to have this house. My house is little in size, but is is a home, brimming with love and memories.
How do you make your house (or apartment, condo, town house) a home?  Nicole

Comments

  1. The house we own was owned by the same people for years. When we tell local people where we live they say "Oh the Burns' house!". I think its pretty cool. We also have a couple of cool things from the previous owners, including a newspaper article talking about the addition that was done in the 60's, and a photo album of how the how looked before (since we are poor, its very, very similar to how it looks now LOL). Love that you went with gratitude for your 31 days. I think it is a cool challenge. If you want to see mine its here: http://wifethenmama.blogspot.com/2013/09/31-days-of-housewifery.html

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    1. Rachel - thanks for stopping by! I checked your blog out quickly this morning and will look at it more in depth for tonight. I think this 31 day challenge is a lot of fun, too.

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  2. I'm all about gratitude and so I am loving the theme of your 31 days. I, too, have a small home and have learned to be grateful for it. It was damaged in a flood in 2011 and we built it back. Since then, I've really became thankful for it - because you never know how great something is until you've lost it.

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    1. Jerralea - Thank you for stopping by. I'm so glad that you were able to rebuild your home. It is true that we don't know how great something is until we lose it (or nearly lose it).

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  3. Love this topic of gratitude! And I've been learning to love and be thankful for my home even though sometimes it feels like our family has outgrown its size. Neat that you have that little sketch from so long ago! Looking forward to reading more!
    ~ Amy @ Life is {Sew} Daily

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    1. Thanks, Amy. I'm enjoying this topic, too. Thanks for stopping by!

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