It seems like it has been much longer than a year when we began transitioning from our family island home off the coast of South Carolina to be-back with lots of extended family here within Savannah's environs.
It didn't take long for us to find a darling carriage house in the Victorian District to "work out of" as we searched for a new house while getting the old island house ready to sell. Fortune favored us indeed when the island house sold in two weeks and in a week's time, we were moving-on towards finalizing the paperwork for a new place out here at the edges of ocean water with views much like the ones we had so enjoyed out on our old island. With today's housing market, this was amazing!
Our new place isn't our "style" at all on the outside but it met so many critical parameters most of which involve having my father living with us. We more than doubled our square footage but fortunately, by the sake of design (much of which involves eaves), this place in no way feels too-big or having too many wasted-spaces. Dad has one end of the house reachable down a long hallway for his master bed and bath rooms which connect out via french doors and an elevated walkway to a gazebo. He also has a large office, a guest bedroom and guest bathroom and storage closets. James and I have the other end of the house for our master bed and bath rooms, a large study and office room plus what I enjoy the most, a spacious-yet-cosy "reading nook" complete with a window seat which looks out towards the dock and the herb garden side of the yard. In between we all share a spacious entrance porch, an entrance hallway that goes into a wide living room, a formal dining room, roomy kitchen, laundry/mud room as big as the dining room, a large outdoor room which spreads out into porches n' decking going into the back yard which on the left, faces our private mini-island and a lagoon and on the right, goes on out into ocean waters.
The three-doored garage and its long workshop area with another bathroom there completes our spot.
Merging two households wasn't easy logistically but now that we're moving into the settling-in stage of this transition, we're all so happy that we finally went down this road together.
It's such a joy being back here in Savannah and back amidst almost all of my family, on both sides, plus friends and now, some new friends as well. We miss our ole' island digs of course... however... we kept the two upper acres with the palmetto grove facing the water and plan to build a getaway cottage there in the next few years. We'll still keep our close ties to the area and good friends there.
Besides being with family again, we also are enjoying the benefits of being nearer to the Savannah Airport, being in the midst of some top-rated medical facilities and my being able to return to having a full time career once again in business management and yet also, just being literally ten minutes commute from the new house in case Dad needs me for anything.
We're focusing on "being" rather than "doing", "acquiring", "striving" and it's been wonderful so far!
The irony of doubling our space? De-cluttering in earnest for this new place!
We have donated like crazy, given away like crazy and taken things to dumpsters again n' again.
Combining households while also taking the overflow out of three large storage units has us seeking to be elegantly-minimal from this stage of life onwards. About everything is all set up in the house now and aside from holiday and some seasonal decor' plus family memorabilia, we're storing nothing else that isn't kayak, fly fishing, flying, skiing or gardening related.
This transition has been well worth it on many life levels that's for sure!
And so... enjoy some pictures of my writing nook in our master bedroom's area. It's my writing, reading, watercoloring, violin playing and putting on makeup at great-grandmother's vanity table personal space I'm absolutely enjoying and I hope that you all are enjoying whatever spot you're living within and living-from at this moment as well :)
All the best as always from Lachlan
P.S. my digital camera is still packed-away somewhere so these pics are from my cell phone........
Looks like your house has lots of character!
ReplyDeleteThanks Suburban Princess! :)
ReplyDeleteIt does...much more on the inside than the outside. I'll be posting more pics soon of the interior as we finish getting settled-in here...
Best to you, Lachlan