When Harry Met Allie: An Introduction Between Home and Home-Owner

Meet Harry:

A spacious and inviting ranch-style cottage. Move-in ready. Full of natural light, beautiful wood floors, and a cozy, yet luxurious, sunroom. Comes with a large back deck, hot-tub and flowering gardens so that you can enjoy the outdoors just as much as you would inside. Perfect for young families, especially those with kids!

If this was a realtor listing (or dating profile), Harry would sound just like this. But in reality, our new cottage was anything but. In fact, his true description would be more in line with this:

Meet Harry:

A 725 sq ft cottage who has not been touched in years. His previous owners left him in a state of disrepair (for most people), leaving him with not much more than a shell to work with. Needs new windows, floor joists, insulation (as he was never used for more than a summer cottage), drywall, etc. etc. etc. Comes with over-grown shrubs, slanted floors and walls, a tub that wouldn't fit most regular-sized humans, and a beautiful glass bird that hangs off the bathroom ceiling for some odd reason. Perfect for people looking for a gigantic project to do. Probably best to keep your kids away until transformation is complete.

In other words, Harry was perfect for us. When we first saw him, we were equal parts terrified and excited - anxious to give him a total makeover and expose his true potential. True, he didn't quite match me and Allie's description of a "perfect, family cottage" but we knew that there was more beyond those boarded up windows and cobwebby ceiling beams that we just couldn't wait to get our hands on.

From left to right: Miniature tub with custom floral tub cover (purpose of cover unknown),

glass bird ceiling fixture, walk-in closet (because it has no doors)

So, here we are. Two amateur home decorators, taking on a project of a lifetime with our husbands, and vowing not to let it destroy either of our marriages or our friendships. Wish us luck!

A sneak peak inside Harry