So, funny story about the house below. We bought it and we’re moving in.
We know this news probably evokes a whole range of reactions. Excitement for new makeovers. Sadness for leaving our current house. Curiosity about all of the logistics. Confusion. Anger. The inexplicable urge to do The Carlton.
Starting this story requires rewinding seven years, back to our first house hunting experience in Richmond in the spring of 2006. We had just moved from New York City and Richmond real estate felt very spacious and very cheap by comparison. It made dreamers out of us. We checked out a bunch of neighborhoods, and fell for an awesome old area with nice big wooded lots, great schools, charming tree-lined streets, and kids on scooters.
But none of the sweet old character-filled houses in that neighborhood were in our price range, especially because the bank had no faith in us. The issue was not our savings, but the fact that I was less than 2 months into my new job and Sherry was just as deep into her career as a freelance copywriter. In the eyes of the bank, Sherry was unemployed since she was a newbie self employed person (even though she was earning more than me!) so I ended up being the only name on the loan – basically cutting our buying power in half. Goodbye dream neighborhood, hello this looker.
As deflating as that financial reality check was, it turned out to be one of the biggest blessings. Had we not been steered towards a fixer upper, we might not have ever started this blog or learned the advantage of buying a home that’s well within our means. By not stretching financially, we could stash away a lot more project money and build up our nest egg – because we hadn’t lost sight of that neighborhood we first fell for, we had just put that dream on hold.
Fast forward 4.5 years, past a new puppy, a wedding in the backyard, Clara’s birth, and me coming home to work full-time. Our beloved little 1,250 sq ft ranch (with only one full bathroom) was suddenly feeling cramped and we found ourselves house hunting again. Dream neighborhood here we come, right? Try again, compadre. This time I was the financial deadweight (having just left a salaried job six months earlier to come work at home – great timing, right?). So once again we found ourselves approved for something far below our actual mortgage-paying abilities thanks to the bank’s you-haven’t-done-this-self-employment-thing-long-enough-for-it-to-count doubt.
But it dropped another gem of a fixer upper in our laps. And this time we knew that an affordable needs-work home meant even more projects and more money squirreled away for our “maybe someday” neighborhood.
Now, I wouldn’t say we ever consciously thought of these homes as “stepping stones” or rungs on a property ladder that we were itching to climb. Even though we always loved that dream neighborhood from afar, Sherry was fully convinced our first house would be our “forever home” (we even have that statement on video). When we fall in love with a house, we fall hard. But the experience of outgrowing and leaving our first place made us realize that we enjoy the process of loving an old house back to life way too much to stop at just one.
So when we moved into this house, we went into things with a more open attitude. Knowing we’d soak up every second of living here (you know we’re nuts about the journey) but no longer making bold declarations like “we’ll stay here forever.” Admittedly, at halfway through year three of living here, the end came a bit sooner than we expected, but our time here since 2010 has been jam-packed. We’ve celebrated three Christmases in this house, created a book from start to finish here, and enjoyed countless Clara milestones (crawling, walking, talking, Gangnam Style-ing). So this place is by no means a blip on the timeline of our family history. It has been “home” through a heckova lot, which makes leaving it that much more bittersweet.
We just knew we didn’t want our current place to be our last fixer upper (it’s not only what we love to do, it’s our livelihood), so when we felt ourselves tackling the last few untouched rooms on our list we started casually keeping one eye open for a deal that could be a potential rental or even a future Casa Petersik. We’d occasionally flip through real estate listings and drop in on open houses. We always hoped that something would come up in our price range in that dream neighborhood so we could jump on it like a velociraptor, but after two house-hunting experiences that didn’t lead to us ending up there, we weren’t very confident.
And then it happened. Pretty much out of nowhere, we found the sweetest needs-lots-of-love home in that old charming neighborhood that we’ve driven through at least five times a year just to stare creepily since 2006. Yes, this is a seven-years-in-the-making house coup of ours. We would have loved to take you guys on the house hunting adventure with us like last time, but it all happened so fast and before we knew it we were closing on it.
And thanks to putting some of that saved-for-years cash down at closing, our new house’s mortgage amount is almost exactly the same as our current house’s – but our interest rate is even lower. We both spent closing day waiting for Ashton Kutcher to jump out and scream “you got punked!” but all went well and the house is officially ours. We’ve even had it long enough to fix some first-priority issues like a leaking roof, a broken furnace, and even hooked up the alarm system.
The house hasn’t been updated since it was built around 35 years ago, and knowing that its interior might scare off others trying to buy in a mostly turn-key community, the sellers priced it way under assessment. It was over $100,000 less than another house of the same size that was for sale down the street. A low-priced fixer upper in a neighborhood that we’ve dreamed about for almost a decade? Yes please. 70’s wallpaper, blue trim, lumpy carpet and all…
Beyond the price, neighborhood, and glaring need to be rescued – this place is perfect for us in so many other ways. It’s nearly the exact same size as our current place (huzzah, no more extra square feet to clean). The street is beautiful and quiet (perfect for someday teaching Clara to ride a bike). It’s still just as close to our family (maybe they can watch Clara while we strip wallpaper). And it presents us with so many new design challenges and opportunities that our minds are spinning with ideas. I mean, hello, we have stairs for the first time in seven years of home-ownership!
Perhaps the funniest thing is that at our age, my parents were moving into their third house, which was where they stayed for over three decades. So apparently it’s in the Petersik blood.
We know that you guys probably have dozens of questions – When are we moving in? (Don’t know yet) When can you see more pictures? (Soon) What does Clara think? (She already picked out her room… based on the closet size. Is she 16?) But this post would be ten thousand words if we tried to cover everything, so we’ll get to those things in time. We also have a few things to finish around here to get our current house sold (anyone interested?) so in an effort to keep our own minds focused on those to-dos, it won’t be all new house posts all the time. We’ll just be moving at our usual real-time pace and sharing a little bit of everything that’s happening (selling, packing, planning, moving, and diving into our new house adventure).
Did I mention these two are the most excited of all? Okay, three if you count Ariel.
We can’t wait to continue sharing the good, the bad, and the ugly with you guys. Seriously, who wants to come paint some mauve trim with us? And if there were a moral to this story, it’s patience. This is not “the house the book bought” (we still haven’t hit our royalty point), it’s the house that seven years of saving up and living within our means bought. Had we strained our wallets and gone for a larger or more turn-key house back in 2006, we probably would’ve had a very different financial path, and most certainly would have had a different career path. So even though we had to wait a while, it just makes this new chapter in our lives that much sweeter. Who knows, we might just stay there forever…
Tanya says
Congratulations!
Am I the only one that is sad that Clara won’t get to sleep in her big girl room…..
YoungHouseLove says
I’m a little sad too! But thankfully everything can come with us but the walls :)
xo
s
Amanda says
Wait, hang on… WHAT?! Oh my goodness, I was scrolling so fast to see if that was some kind of belated April Fools joke. Holy crap! Congratulations you guys! lol
Amanda says
Oh, and by the way, Best Kept Secret EVER!
YoungHouseLove says
Ahhhhhhhhh! It was crazy hard!
xo
s
Elizabeth says
So, you guys are crazy!! But in a good way :) CONGRATS! So excited to see what this next step in your house-journey leads to :)
Rachel says
How exciting! You guys are so inspiring, and I can’t wait to see the progress of the new house.
Carli says
I’m totally embarrassed to admit this….but this kind of has me all teary eyed. So happy for you guys!! What exciting news! Can’t wait to follow along for the journey!!
Nell @ Allbritton or Nothing says
It’s fabulous. I’m jealous and excited to see what you do with it. Congratulations!
Kelly says
Congratulations!!! I’m so excited to see what you do with the new place and I’m doing the Carlton for you guys! This is a great reminder that there is always a reason for bumps in the road and that it’s important to be patient!
Ami L says
Congrats!!! That is so exciting!!!
Jen says
Holy crap! (Am I allowed to write ‘crap’ on here??) That’s awesome – congratulations! You guys are great inspiration in so many ways, from your creativity and vision in making a house your own and beautiful to doing it in a very financially responsible manner. I can’t wait to see all that you do with those little pictured areas in the grid above. I think you should use that grid to map out your steps and keep them updated. It’s like a list in picture form!!!
Sheila says
Through my (real) tears, I offer you my heartiest congratulations and lots and lots of happy years in your new home! You all deserve to have everything you work so hard for. (You’d have a buyer in my sister if she didn’t live in NYC!) As much as I will miss your current house, which I think is now perfect, I was lately wondering what happens when all the projects on the list are checked off — now I know! I’m thrilled for you and look forward to continuing to share in your journey.
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks so much Sheila!
xo
s
Katie O says
I thought you were joking!!! That’s incredibly news, and the house is gorgeous. Great bones! That’s the second announcement I’ve read this week that bloggers I follow are moving (the other being House of Hepworths). Congratulations, can’t wait to go on this journey with you (again!)
Dianne McGriff says
Congratulations!!!
Shannon says
HOLY bazinga! Jaw.meet.floor! Congrats you guys! Excited to read about this new adventure for you all :)
Rae says
Our house and yours could be twins! Old-ish colonial, carpeted stairs, and crazy wallpaper, in a perfect neighborhood for us. Truly, we had some of that same wallpaper, and we continually remind ourselves how posh all the decor was back in the 70s. We have fixed the cosmetic stuff over the last 2 years and I can’t wait to see what plans you have!
Jena says
Ahh, SO excited for you guys! And I can’t wait to see what you do with the place!! I would totally come down from NoVa to Richmond to help you guys paint over some mauve :). Our sellers painted our walls and trim puke green-blue (yes, they somehow found a green-blue color that looked like puke), and it was immensely satisfying to get rid of it!
Tricia says
Yeah I had to go and re-read the first sentences like 3 times – and I kept waiting for the shoe to drop (like “just kidding guys!”) just like everyone else – so freakin excited for you guys and for me too – it’s selfish I know- but I really enjoy getting inspired by your projects. congrats, good luck, and can’t wait to follow along with the new journey (in the non-creepy admiring support kind of way haha) ;-)
Andrea says
I had the feeling you might be moving soon. No idea how and why but somehow I wasn’t _really_ surprised by your post :D What a BEAUTIFUL house!!!! Can’t wait to see you guys working on it
Kate C says
Congratulations! New homes are so exciting! I can’t help but admit that my first reaction was “But, wait, all of those projects that they just finished, like the deck, won’t even get used! Clara hasn’t even moved into her big girl room yet!” But of course, she’ll have an exciting big girl room in the new house, and now that Jon is a deck expert, I’m sure he’d happily jump on that again, right? ;-)
YoungHouseLove says
Funny enough we’ve had the deck for almost a year! So we got lots of use out of it last summer/fall and this spring too!
xo
s
Kate C says
I forget that you guys have a much longer outdoor season down there than we do here in the Pacific NW. A deck finished last August up here would probably only have been used for maybe a month and wouldn’t quite be in full time use yet! I’m glad you got good use out of it. Time flies!
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes, we’ve been eating lunch out there for the past few weeks! I’ll definitely miss it :(
xo
s
SarahA says
Yay! I wondered if something like this was coming soon. I can’t wait to see all the new projects. Congratulations guys!
Chrissi says
Congratulations! I am always envious that you guys can see beyond the wallpaper, bad carpet, and other ‘design’ issues. I have the hardest time with that. I can get over strange paint colors but the other is harder for me. I am looking for a new house and have built the last two but after following your journey for the last two houses I thought I would try to ‘see beyond’. Hasn’t happend yet! Maybe the third house you do will finally give me the courage and insight to do it!
Thanks!
Lauren says
CONGRATS Petersiks! I can’t wait to see what you do with the new place and I’m sure people will be jumping at the chance to buy a YHL made-over house :) I know I’d be looking at it if I lived in Richmond!
Jerrika says
AHHH! This is so exciting. I started reading your blog during your second house, so it will follow this one from the beginning!
Trisha D. says
You two sneaky rebels haha! You guys always have something amazing up those sleeves.
Congrats on the big move. Love that you guys chose a different style with stairs!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, now I want to start a band called the Sneaky Rebels.
xo
s
Jennifer says
Long time reader/lurker, first time commenter coming out of the woodwork to say, I love this house and can’t wait to see what you do with it! Congratulations!
Maureen says
The drama and excitement of moving is just crazy. We’re in the process right now, too (and moving to Virginia from out of state…woo hoo!). Thank you for cluing us in and taking us along for the ride. Congratulations!
Tracy says
I have to comment this because I’m at work and this would probably be inappropriate to yell out loud here:
WHAAAAAAAAT!
That’s exciting though!
YoungHouseLove says
Hahah!
xo
s
Megan says
Well that totally threw me for a loop!
Congrats! Your new house looks like it has alot of potential. I’m sure you’ve already brainstormed a to-do list a mile long.
Heather says
My husband and I are buying or first house together (his second house) so I am SO completely proud of you guys for how far you’ve come. It’d be amazing for our first home to be our forever home, but we’re super financially responsible (cheapies) and realize we need to live within our means to get where we need to be. Congrats again and I can’t wait for all the new projects!
Kathryn says
It’s like you threw us all a surprise party!
It was the wording in one of Sherry’s responses to a comment on the pergola post (“We definitely hope we’ll at least earn back what we’ve invested, and maybe make a little money for our efforts”) + realising the by-the-room list of things left to do in the house had gotten so short (seemingly) all of a sudden. I knew it was a-coming, but I’ll admit I didn’t expect it to be so… BAM! I love it. Congratulations, folks. As ever, I’m taking notes.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, it snuck up on us too!
xo
s
Linda says
Wow, congrats! Best of luck with the new digs!
marilu says
congrats! how exciting for you AND your readers!
Eilene says
Is it possible that even I have become attached to your current home? I felt a little sad thinking about all the work you did to Clara’s big girl room…
With that said… The new house is beautiful, and I’m so excited to see what you guys are going to do with it! Bonus: I’m in the process of buying an outdated home so I can follow right along with you! Maybe I’ll even get my husband on board. He could learn a few things from John!
Margaret says
Huzzah! This is so exciting! Can’t wait to see your adventures with this next home, so exciting!
Margaret says
The real question is: does it have a garage?? We’ve all been so convinced of this carporgela – I just don’t know what to believe now…
YoungHouseLove says
Haha it does! But we think it needs a garagola!
xo
s
Jessica A says
Congratulations! The new house looks sweet – and can’t wait to watch what you do with it! I think your house will sell super quick too!
Maureen says
The drama and excitement of buying/selling/moving is just crazy! We’re in the process right now, too (and moving to Virginia from out of state…woo hoo!). Thanks for cluing us in and taking us all along for the ride. Congratulations!
CammyS. says
Congrats, you guys! The house looks beautiful, and I know you’ll be fixing it up so that it looks completely wonderful. The only thing that makes me sad is that you seem to have just finished up your old house… I had been wondering recently what you would do when your house was “done”- I guess this is it! Congratulations again!
Sherry from BC says
I am so happy for you. The house has so much potential, what a great deal. I must say it is awesome for your loyal readers too as it opens up so many more project possibilities. Your current house is lovely but you were running out of big projects there. I can’t wait to see what you do in the new Casa. Your adventures always spur me on in my old place….still working on it.
Sarah says
Wow! Congrats Petersiks! How exciting!! Can’t wait to see the journey–thanks for letting us “in” on it!
Dina says
Congrats! This is awesome!
So glad that you’re getting the ‘hood you wanted and equally glad that the DIY fun will continue. Win win!
I noticed that you were hitting the gas a bit with a bunch of projects in a row: fireplace, chunky porch posts, vine clean up, bath spruce, pergola, etc. Probably should have figured it out!
Stacy says
Congrats! How exciting! I must say that the wall paper on the second square up from the bottom on the right is awesome. I’d have a hard time getting rid of that.
Tara says
PARTY TIME!!
Two relatives birthdays were this week, so we had a family day last Sunday!
Bridget says
I am so excited and happy for you four! How amazing, and what a different style too? You go Petersik’s! I know (super selfishly (; ) that I am happy to see it! I have been following your blog for about a year+ and never saw you take on a house start to finish! Can’t wait to see more!
And, once again, CONGRATULATIONS! The neighborhood looks worth the wait too!
Bridgi
Mari says
OMG! Congratulations to you all. I am so excited to see what new projects you have in store for this house.
Stephanie says
I had a feeling a move was coming up! Congratulations!!! Is it weird that I’m giddy excited? It looks like a beautiful home and I can’t wait to follow along as you update it.
Katie @ Suburban Fervor says
Congratulations and welcome to my life’s joy/struggle!
Updating a house that has been left without an update for decades is so fun and difficult and exciting and you’ll amaze yourself at every turn. I can’t wait to see (and learn from) what you do!
GingerMae says
Truly – what an example of the real “American Dream”! Work hard, save hard, and live within your means. Please keep spreading this message so that maybe you can help teach others that the path to dreams is paved with hard work and patience. This story made my morning!
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks so much GingerMae!
xo
s
Leslie says
Sweet! At least it already has some curb appeal so you can concentrate your efforts on the inside since wow, it does need some love. How exciting!
YoungHouseLove says
Wait until you see the grass – or lack thereof! There’s a lot of outdoor stuff to tackle, even though the house itself is super cute! Haha!
xo
s
cc says
I always thought you would probably move on from this house one day– but you still managed to surprise me with the news! Thanks for letting us “live” in your home with you– I’m so happy for you guys! (You’re keeping old posts available, right? I mean, now I’ve REALLY got some projects to get going on!) Congrats, and let’s hear it for not moving right before the holidays!
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes, every post from day 1 will always be in our archives :)
xo
s
keapdx says
Woohoo! Congratulations! Okay, now you’re sure you aren’t pregnant (sorry, only other big surprise I could think of :) )
Christina P (NS) says
CONGRATULATIONS!!!!
That is very exciting, you must be so happy. It is funny, we just started looking at homes (will be our second)in our dream neighbourhood recently too, hopefully we will be as lucky as you all.
I cannot wait too see all of the amazing changes to come as you transform this place – look at the wood on those stairs – GORG!
You’re current place is awesome, you will sell in no time!