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…
Abby J. says
CONGRATS! It feels like you guys just moved in to this house (but it’s been three years!)
Good luck with everything!
p.s. If I get pizza I will totally come over and help you paint the mauve trim!
Sarah says
I’m super excited for you guys, and also to see all the projects you come up with! Woo hoo!
Colette says
Congratulations! What a fun new adventure. I am excited to see what fun projects lie ahead for YHL. We bought a similar home that was definitely outdated but had nice “bones”. I did become an excellent wall-paper-remover-girl! Good luck.
Sarah says
Aahhh!! We are casually house hunting right now, with the goal to find THE ONE by next March (we’re in Richmond too!). The boy and I both theoretically agree that a fixer-upper is what we want, so we can have a smaller mortgage and make upgrades as we have cash, but he panics every time he sees wallpaper or paneling! I can’t wait to show him your new house as it evolves-hopefully he can learn to see past the ugly.
Also, I’ve been watching Zillow like a hawk the past few weeks, and I think you picked a great time to sell (in my totally non-expert opinion). It seems like houses are selling like gangbusters!
YoungHouseLove says
Wahoo! Here’s hoping!
xo
s
Jennah's Garden says
omg I will never ever find my comment to see if there was a reply! lol. Too funny your old one is listed now, too, so you can spy on what the last buyers did!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha! There are lots of comments flying around today, but on each page of them you can do a search (command F) for your name and hopefully it’ll pop up if you’re on the right page :)
xo
s
Jess says
Congratulations! We bought a 1965 house with all the original “touches”, let’s call them. Enjoy your new project!
Misty says
OK I had to comment one more time. When I first read the post this morning I was coming out of a sudafed sleep. I must be obvlious to what all the recent activity was heading towards, I did not see this coming. What about the beautiful kitchen with the great mercury light and the newly painted walls that look so great with that crazy swimming lady picture? Or the amazing deck that John poured his heart (and maybe a little blood) into? I don’t think we ever got to see it all decorated! And we finally hung a shelf over the TV! Ok maybe WE didn’t but you inspired me to! I can’t imagine getting my house the way I want it and then leaving but I guess when you find a house that was meant to be you gotta do it! Can’t wait to ride along on this journey with you!
Note to self: Look for a job in Richmond, everyone makes it sound so perfect!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, you crack me up Misty! You gotta move to Richmond!
xo
s
Courtney K says
Congrats you two!! This is such exciting news. (And way to go on living within your means. It makes such a difference!)
Katie says
Oh wow, was totally shocked! So excited though, you guys are going to have so much fun and that house is so beautiful. I am most envious!
Camille says
WHAAAAAAAAAAAT! So exciting! Can’t wait to see what you guys do with the place! :)
Jessica Feinberg says
Oh my goodness!! I’m so excited for you guys. The outside of the house looks amazing. I can’t wait to continue reading and seeing all the changes you make in this new Petersik Home. :)
Sarah @ An Inviting Home says
So stinking exciting! Congratulations!
We just went on a major road trip and drove back to VA to show our kids the house that mommy grew up in…it is a similar brick front house with lots of trees. I have SO MANY great memories of growing up there! Virginia is so great.
Minnesota is my next favorite…such two different worlds though! :-)
~Sarah
jessica says
Congrats! Cant wait to see all the awesomly amazing projects you come upwith! Hope your current house sells fast! Seriously who wouldnt want to buy that beauty!!
MissCaron says
YAY! Congrats y’all! I can’t wait to see all the awesome things you do with the new place. I definitely didn’t see this one coming (especially since you still have room to grow in the current house). I guess I figured y’all would have baby #2 before moving somewhere. I, too, was looking forward to the double-sided fireplace. Oh well. Can’t wait to see all you accomplish with the new digs!
Kate says
Congratulations on your new home! And thank you for adding The Carlton to my day.
Lindsey W. says
Congrats! I’m so excited for you and am looking forward to even more DIY inspiration from you all. On a side note, I just found out I am moving to Danville, VA for my medical residency this summer. Never lived outside of Iowa so this should be interesting, but from what it looks like Virginia is gorgeous – and I also hear it’s for lovers! ;)
Louisa Wiebe says
Congrats! I am so excited for you. Can’t wait to see what you do with the place :)
Julie says
Congratulations! I’m hoping in this new layout there is room for Karl! We recently added a Karl to our home and just LOVE it! I’ve learned so much from you two on how to fix up our new home and can’t wait to see your new journey unfold!
AmandaERlove says
What great news!.I thought it was a reader redesign until I read the first line! how amazing for you all! I loved your first 2 houses and can’t wait to see all the amazing things you do to your new house! I’m excited and it’s not even my house!! thankyou for giving me endless home and life inspirations and making my sunday morning breakfasts so smiley when I catch up with your blog :)
Heidi says
Whaaaa!?! You GUYS!!! Congrats!!! For sure did NOT see that one coming, but so excited for new adventures!
Kara says
I’m SO excited!!!!!! Congratulations the house looks just beautiful and I can’t wait to see what you do with it!!!!!
samantha says
how did the showing go today??
YoungHouseLove says
Ahh! It went well! They liked it and were here 1.5 hours! Hope to hear back from them with an offer… although you never know so we don’t want to get our hopes up!
xo
s
Alison says
Congrats! I can tell this will be fantastic for you guys! I’m excited to watch the process – gotta live vicariously through you guys until I buy my own house! haha
Just curious, how many projects have you guys continued to complete since knowing you were planning to sell? Was it difficult to motivate yourselves to do those knowing you wouldn’t be there much longer to enjoy those things (or even feel like you were wasting your money/time)? Or was it extra motivation to do those extra projects in order to sell? I hope the beautiful fireplace wasn’t meant to be a selling feature! (though I’m guessing the pergola was! haha)
YoungHouseLove says
I think it sped us up because we couldn’t wait to complete this house to have the final before and afters to share with you guys and sell it and get into the new house! Haha! It lit a fire under us, especially since we were dying to DIY more after coming back from the tour. But everything we did (pergola, fireplace, etc) was on our Listy McListerson list for 9+ months or even 2 years, so we didn’t do a single thing just for resale. Even repainting the kitchen was on there for 9 months or so – well before we even thought about selling. So all of it was stuff we wanted to do and then proudly knocked out. We wanted to see those afters – not just for resale but for personal dorky satisfaction :)
xo
s
Meredith Jones says
Like a whole lotta other readers I totally thought this was a joke too! HOLY cow how EXCITING!!! For your fam of course, but hello?! FOr us readers as well, I was starting to wonder what the heck else you could possibly do to your place after that garage project was done! :) congrats Petersiks, SUPER excited for your new adventure! ;D
Alison says
P.S. How did you decide today was the day to share the news??
YoungHouseLove says
We were actually thinking about tomorrow (something about the first felt right) but then we thought “nah let’s do Tuesday since it’s a one post day and it might have a lot of comments to keep up with” – never guessed it would be this many though! Haha!
xo
s
Maren says
Oh my goodness what a seriously cute home!…on the outside ha! Plenty of work on the inside to keep you two busy for a long time! :) This is great! I am very excited and happy for you all to start your new adventure! :) And excited that I get to read about it! Okay promise I’m done with smileys and exclamation points.
Gretchen says
Congratulations guys! Exciting news for sure!
Alison says
P.P.S – Medium-colored brick and black shutters appear to be popular in Richmond – looking at the pictures above, all three of your houses have that look!
Randa says
I noticed that too – you definitely have a classy consistency even with the differences between your three houses. :)
Here’s another reader that was shocked for a second, but that shock quickly gave way to excitement! So happy for you guys, and excited to see all that’s to come!
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Randa :)
xo
s
Meredith says
I’ve been with you guys since 1 year into house #1, so the fact that you’re on the THIRD house is amazing! I’ve recently been looking to purchase a house, though, and I’m SUPER EXCITED to read all about your process. :) My initial reaction was definitely a “Wha…?” since last time you told us when you’d decided to sell. I was seriously thinking maybe it was a first-of-May instead of April 1st “Fool’s Day” prank, and that you moved it a month to make it harder to figure out. :) CONGRATULATIONS! I *cannot wait* to see the new house, read about it, etc.
Carly says
DUDES! So excited!
Suzanne says
I was shocked when I saw post, but I was starting to suspect a move in the works. I didn’t know it would be so soon! I’m so excited for you guys!!! I want to dance! Haha. The projects you guys come up with in this house would be great for a second book, don’tcha think? ;)
YoungHouseLove says
Since making over houses take us years and we love to blog about it in real-time we’d hate to save things for a book and not post about them as we go, so I think the new house will be 100% blog stuff and not used for a book since we like those to be different/fresh :)
xo
s
Lynn @ Our Useful Hands says
Okay. I have to post my first visceral initial reaction: “GO ON WIT YO BAD SELVES!!!!”
LOLOLOL…..I love it….and now I’ll go back to read the actual whole post and not just the first 10 words or so….
My best, Lynn
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, thanks Lynn!
xo
s
Whitney says
Oh my goodness, I was wondering what possessed you to play a late April Fool’s joke… but then it started to sound serious :) I am in shock you are leaving, especially after that beautiful new kitchen… but I was thinking your list was starting to get smaller. Cannot wait to see what you do with it! We just had our first-hope-to-be-our-home inspected today… glad we will be making our updates along with you. (Of course, now I want to pick up and move to your house!) Best of luck- hooray for the dream neighborhood!
Whitney says
I am also wondering how you managed to keep updating us on changes (big girl room, carport, etc.) without being so excited you spilled the beans (which is what I would have done :)
YoungHouseLove says
Ahhhhh, it was crazy hard! I can’t even tell you. SO glad to share the news :)
xo
s
Josephine says
Hi fives, Petersiks! I had a vague sense that stuff was wrapping up in your current abode (I found myself feeling a little sad???), this is very exciting news! Congrats folks!
Katie Howard says
J&S,
I love the way you guys always put things so well! Down to the last paragraph of “no, this isn’t our new book money house”! Sometimes people get caught up in the DIY and forget that financial discipline balance. It’s amazing to see how hard you guys have worked to save for your dream home and I’m just so so happy the timing was finally right!! I definitely look forward to seeing this beauty come to life! so exciting!! thank you for sharing with all of us! :)
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks so much Katie!
xo
s
Sarah Dunbar says
That house (the new one) is just screaming for a Japanese Maple in the garden are up next to the house. and Maybe a Korean Spice Viburnum, and some lilacs. Beautiful! can’t wait to see what you guys do with it!
YoungHouseLove says
Those all sound gorgeous!
xo
s
Kate says
Congrats guys! I’m wondering: were all the recent curb appeal upgrades (carpergola, columns, etc) in anticipation of selling? Or were they already in the works so you figured you’d go ahead and finish them for the sake of the blog? We’re about to put our house on the market and we’re trying to decide what projects are worth spending the $ on to expedite the sale…
YoungHouseLove says
They were all things we had on the list for a while, so we just ran down the list and said “worth it” for those that we thought would be fun and cheap to do but would yield major curb appeal (like the new columns and pergola) and nixed things we didn’t think were worth the trouble (ex: clearing out all of our furniture to refinish floors).
xo
s
Sheridan says
YEY!!! Congrats!! What an exciting post for you two to write! I’m over the moon for you. Sometimes the most awesome things happen when your just moseying around not really “looking” for stuff. How wonderful! Two stories, I’m a bit jealous lol. :)
Rhodna says
I’m excited to see what color this new front door will be :)
Megan says
So excited for you guys and totally shocked! So excited to see what you do with the next place though:) Good luck selling your house. Ours just went under contract and it’s such a relief to not have to have the house ‘show ready” all the time with a toddler in tow! Congrats!!!:)
Jennifer says
Woohoo! That’s so exciting! I can’t wait to see all the fun stuff you do to the new place. Congrats!
Nicola says
Wow, that looks like a lot of work! This house should definitely keep you busy for 10+ years. Are you planning on doing a bunch of things before moving in considering that it is in such a desperate need of love and will need extensive renovations almost everywhere?
YoungHouseLove says
We have a few things that we’d love to tackle while we sell this house (before we move in) but the majority of fixing up this house will take us years so we’ll be in for most of it :)
xo
s
Ilana says
awesome! congrats! why do you prefer this neighborhood? i’d love to hear your thoughts on neighborhoods….
YoungHouseLove says
It’s more private (less through traffic) so more kids ride bikes and scooters and walk without worrying about cars whipping through. There’s also a nice variety of house type (not all ranches) so it’s fun to check out everyone’s houses. I think there’s just this feeling of quaintness that we get when we drive or walk through there :)
xo
s
Sarah says
I have only started reading your blog in the past year. I am so excited to see you guys go from start to finish on a house. I am a little sad Clara’s big girl room never got fully used, but so excited for all your new rooms!
Kathryn says
I so love a well thought out process. Congrats! What a wonderful thing to show to all that with hard work, sweat equity and patience, great things can be achieved. Delayed gratification is sooooo under appreciated.
Elizabeth says
Oh my lord I am shocked! I wasn’t ready for a new house yet!! But I’m so excited for you guys!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Susan Lewis says
How exciting! What fun it will be to see what you do with this house. I’ve canceled lots of blogs because I think sometimes the bloggers get a little full of themselves, but I’ll never cancel yours.
Melissa says
Congratulations John and Sherry! What a great house, and I look forward to hearing about all your projects!
Veronica says
WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT! This is such a shocker! But super exciting for us readers and you guys too! Can’t wait to see what fun the new house has in store :)
Alyssa says
Okay, so I totally thought I “knew” you guys and now I feel like I don’t at all, you just sprang a huge surprise on me and I was thinking the whole time, “what? no! they’re joking”!!! And I kept reading faster and faster and faster and there was no joke!!
No, I feel like I still know ya, just giving you a hard time! I’m so excited for you guys, so thrilled for another new chapter to read in this online journal you keep, so looking forward to new plans and new ideas on decorating!
You may Remember, I sent an email asking what you’d change about your current house… maybe having a two story, changing the floor plan, etc. and now, looky here, you’ve gone and bought a two story!! So pumped for your family! Can’t wait to read along.