home sweet home

My SnapChat followers have already been clued into this, but over the past several months I have been searching for a house! It’s a huge step for me, as I’ve only ever rented! I was a bit apprehensive at first, but since I see myself being in Dallas for another five years or so, it makes sense to make an investment vs renting. The fact that I work out of my house also sort of sealed this decision for me – right now my intern and I are working from my dining table, which is obviously not ideal. The nicer two-bedroom apartments I looked at in the areas I love are way more expensive than my mortgage is going to cost, so it just made sense for me to buy.

At the end of January, I thought I’d found the one, but after inspections it was clear that many costly updates would need to be made before it would be good to live in. So I kept on looking… I was very naive at the beginning of my search to think I could find a house that was just the way I wanted it and in the price range I could afford: white marble countertops, 2-3 bedroom, safe neighborhood, cute exterior, good amount of storage space, etc. After looking at house after house and being disappointed either by the price tag, condition or style, I decided to take a different approach.

I decided on a neighborhood and then approached each home tour with the idea that I was going to either have to renovate or add on. Early on in my search I found a home that was super cute on the inside and the exterior, but worried about the size. It was just too small. I decided to revisit the house with my new perspective and realized with the enormous yard, there was plenty of room to bump out and add on. After the inspection came back mostly clean, I took the plunge and have finally closed on the house!

While I know it’s a big undertaking (so much adulting happening here!!), I’m really looking forward to making the home my own. As we begin building and choosing items/details for my house (with the help of Maddie!), I’ll be sharing updates on here and on my SnapChat (username: merrittbeck)! I’ve rounded up some initial inspirational photos above for you to check out – mostly neutrals and whites, with some sleek modern touches here and there. Click here to follow my Haute Home board on Pinterest for more design inspiration and stay tuned for updates!

{ photos via Pinterest }