Our New Home: Before Tour

I first shared our moving news a few months ago when we finished remodeling our back patio at our 1940 colonial home in the city. I can’t believe how quickly (and sometimes how slowly!) the time has flown since then…

But here we are.

Texas Hill Country porch- Maison de Pax

You all have been so sweet (and so patient) about seeing the new house. Those of you who follow me on Instagram have seen a few sneak peeks, but here is my first reveal on the blog. And I owe you a disclaimer: we weren’t given keys to the house until 7:30 on a Friday night, and our contractors showed up at 9 Saturday morning to start ripping out the floors. And, naturally, I forgot my big camera. So these are all taken with my iPhone around 8am that morning… Forgive the quality.

I thought I’d break this up into inside and out, and for each area, I’ll share things we love (there are many!) and things we are hoping to change (because, honestly, we all need to make each home our own, right?). So without further ado, the interior.

90s Home Entryway- Maison de Pax
90s home tile and entry- Maison de Pax
90s home tile and dining room- Maison de Pax
90s Home Entryway- Maison de Pax
90s home living room and kitchen- Maison de Pax
90s home kitchen and bar- Maison de Pax
90s home kitchen-  Maison de Pax
90s home mudroom
90s home bedroom- Maison de Pax

For some reason, I only got a picture of one bedroom. You’ll just have to wait to see the rest…

Things we love:

  • so many windows
  • open flow downstairs
  • planked ceiling in the dining room (you can’t even see it because they have it painted the same color as the walls, but it’s there!)
  • beautiful, high-quality cabinetry
  • high ceilings
  • 5 bedrooms: though they’re not huge, we have enough for our family, a guest room, and an office

Things we’d like to change:

  • light fixtures
  • paint
  • flooring (As you can see, the entire upstairs was carpet and downstairs was tile)… Done! Reveal coming soon. 🙂
  • the funny columns in the living/family room
  • the bar/kitchen cabinets: not sure if I want to paint them or not, but they need something to be more “me”
  • countertops: the countertops in the entire house (kitchen and all 3.5 bathrooms) are 4’x4′ travertine tiles; while it’s lovely, real stone, I really prefer slabs for countertops over tile
  • fireplace: the four-sided glass is a cool idea, but I’d rather have a traditional mantel and a little more separation between the living room and family room
  • built-in cabinets between the living and family rooms, next to the fireplace (i.e. something to hide the tv and toys that will inevitably be in the family room side!)
  • built-in bookcases in the office (it’s a small room, and we don’t want to preclude its ever being used as a bedroom, but we loved our built-in bookcases in the last house and need something for all our books!)

Probably the greatest blessing we are discovering each day is that this house was SO well cared for. Though the previous owners’ decorative taste is not necessarily my own, everything they did was high quality and well maintained. Hooray! But the real crown jewel of this property is the outside: the pool, the view, the gardens… It’s just spectacular. You can see how much love was poured into the gardens, especially, where you find new beauty around every corner. It’s 3-dimensional loveliness (really, the pictures don’t do it justice), and I am awed and blessed each day as I step out into this beauty. Now here’s hoping I don’t kill it all! 🙂

90s home Exterior- Maison de Pax
90s home garden- Maison de Pax
90s home lawn- Maison de Pax
90s home backyard- Maison de Pax
90s home porch- Maison de Pax
large hibiscus flower in 90s home garden- Maison de Pax

Things we love:

  • the view
  • the variety in the garden
  • the gorgeous lawn in the front yard
  • the awesome grill by the pool (didn’t make this round of pics, sorry!)
  • the vegetable gardens (SO excited about that!)
  • flowers bigger than my hand (say WHAT?!)

Things we’d like to change:

  • the only lawn is in the front yard… because of the age of our kids, we want to fence it in for a safe play space
  • speaking of fences, we need one around the pool
  • the roman columns which seem out of place on this traditional house… though they are actually growing on me a bit
  • the 90’s feel of the facade – I think it’s the 2-story arched entryway, but I’m not sure; I’m still brainstorming what cost-effective direction we could go to make it more “us” 🙂

And that’s all for now! What do you think? I’m off to Haven (a conference for DIY bloggers) later this week, but I do have one more installment of my photography series for you before I go. When I return, I plan to hit the ground running with projects to make this home our own. Come back and join me!

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36 Comments

  1. Congratulations on your spectacular new home!! I am in awe of your project ideas already. Best of luck and new happy memories! If I may ask, in what part of the country are you?

  2. Very lovely!!! I love everything about the new house:D Looking forward to seeing you put “your” own spin on it!

  3. Wow! That is an amazing house, especially the outside! I know you will make the inside your own, and I can’t wait to follow along! I am gooing to Haven this year for the first time. It is actually my very first blog conference, and I am so excited to learn more to help me grow my blog. Maybe I will have an opportunity to say hello to you. If not, have a great time!

  4. Personally, I love the interior wall colors. Too bad you had to replace that beautiful sculpted carpet in the bedroom, although I also prefer hardwood floors. Your new home and gardens are beautiful. Love that pool!

    1. Thank you so much, Maggie! The wall color is not bad, but it’s more yellow in person, and I tend towards cooler neutrals – just my personal preference. 🙂 We’re loving the pool, too!

  5. Congratulations on your new home! Can’t wait to see what you do with those columns in the living room. And your yard front and back are gorgeous. Al that green is so inviting. Enjoy.

  6. It truly is a stunning place so glad you got it. Now the excitement and journey of seeing what you do. You have a beautiful little girl.

  7. Wow what a beautiful home! Making it your own will be so exciting given what you have to work with. The exterior is breath-taking! Can’t wait to see the changes. I know you will only make it more spectacular.

  8. Just lovely! So happy for you. That looks like St Augustine grass, coontie palms/cycad, walking irises and hibiscus…are you in Florida?

    1. Thank you! Those things are all true, Pamela, but it’s the Texas hill country, not Florida. 🙂

  9. Your new home looks magnificent! Is it in the state of Texas? Love the sculptured carpeting!!(among many other aspects of the house).Looking forward to you putting your personal touches on it.Sounds like an expensive project though. I’m sure you’ll pace yourself!!

    1. Thank you so much, Suzanne! It is in Texas, in the hill country. And yes, it will definitely require pacing. 😉

  10. I am so very excited for you! Not only will you and your family create such wonderful memories there, but your home is such a diamond in the rough. As you said, so much potential that just needs your special touch and amazing style.

    Lots of work, but lots of fun!

    Enjoy and cyber hugs!!

  11. It is such a beautiful home and it is all about the view…you can make changes indoors, but you can’t change the view…and you have a most spectacular one….I am sure we will be seeing some fantastic makeovers…gorgeous home Rachel….may you have many wonderful and happy years in that home….as you make beautiful memories…

    1. Oh Shirley, you are so kind! I can’t wait to do just that – make beautiful memories. 🙂

  12. Golly, your new home is absolutely wonderful. Enjoy it to the fullest.
    I wanted to ask you tho about Haven. Do you have to be a blogger to
    attend? Just curious. Thanks so much.

    1. Thank you so much, Debbie!! We sure hope to. 🙂 And regarding Haven, it is geared towards bloggers, but if you were interested in starting one yourself and wanted to attend to learn, that might be an option? You can find more information at their website here. Hope this helps!

  13. Dear Rachel, oh I’m so happy for you and your family. How blessed you are, is right ! Though it doesn’t look like your style, i know you will have it looking like you in no time. ( well quite a bit of time, lol ) but well worth the effort, time and money in the long run. I’m so excited to follow along as you take me on another trip of great style and some laughs too. Can hardly wait ( : See you soon. Sincerely, Diena

  14. Your new home is lovely, and I love the way you were so gracious in describing the differences in taste with the previous owners. The hill country is a great place to raise a family, can’t wait to see you all put your personal stamp on it.
    Pat

    1. Thank you so much, Pat! We are feeling so blessed to be here in this place… We can’t wait to see how it will all turn out! 🙂

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