Just a matter of weeks ago my husband and I were sitting on the couch watching something mindless on tv. Myself heavily pregnant and him searching real estate listing on his iPad. We had looked and renting and rent was hideously expensive, like $700-$800 a week expensive and he turned to me and said “Screw paying somebody else’s mortgage, I’m going to buy a house”. I didn’t move from my position on the couch and just said “Yeah right, just make sure it has air conditioning and a pool”.
Over the next few days he would point the ipad in my direction and say what about this one, or this one or this one and I would look and tell him what I thought and then he would move onto the next. Sometimes showing me the houses two or three times just to see if I changed my opinion on the matter a few minutes later.
One day he showed me this doozy of a property on the north side of town. Brick house, big back yard, a hideous black kitchen, a teeny little bathroom and black just everywhere..the windows, the floor, the railings about the windows. It was seriously scary. The price wasn’t bad and the area was where we wanted to be but we could have afforded to spend more and buy something that didn’t require any work at all but it would have meant more money out of our pockets at the end of the week.
I could see the clogs ticking in his little head and the next few days he worked like a busy bee behind the scenes to get everything lined up in a row. He spoke to our bank manager and our solicitor and then then real estate company and a then one night he came home and said “I put an offer in on that house and it was accepted”. I made a smart remark and went back to my tv show. I totally didn’t believe him until the paper work showed up in the mail a few days later.
I saw the house for the first time when I arrived in Darwin and Luigi saw it a week after me. I still thought it was ugly but it wasn’t ask scary as I imagined and it had good bones and definitely has a lot of potential. All of the changes are simple cosmetic changes, some that can be done straight away like painting walls and adding heavy curtains to allow for sleep ins on the weekend and some that will happen over time once we’ve had the time to settle in and really get a feel for the place.
We officially moved in on Friday and I now sit here surrounded by boxes. This is the last time I ever intend to be unpacking boxes ever again. It’s going to take a while for us to pull this place together and make it into what we want it to be as it’s seriously lacking storage and the first thing on the list is a massive man shed in the back yard. It does however look a lot less ugly with all of our stuff inside, boxes and all..my husband may have brought this house but together we are going to make it a home.
Debyl1
on Feb 25th, 2013
@ 10:29 pm:
Wonderful news.Love your attitude.
Enjoy your new house and in time your beautiful new home.Xx
[Reply]
It’s on repeat in my head. Positivity is the key to happiness or denial :p
[Reply]
Danielle says:
February 25th, 2013 @ 10:50 pm
Rach aka Stinkb0mb
on Feb 25th, 2013
@ 10:30 pm:
Congratulations!! I hope you have many, many, MANY happy years there and that you do indeed make it your home and never have to even contemplate a packing box again
x
[Reply]
Thanks Rach. Me too. If I ever move again it will be after I have won the lottery and I will just start from scratch, shopping us a lot more fun.
[Reply]
Danielle says:
February 25th, 2013 @ 10:49 pm
Denyse Whelan
on Feb 25th, 2013
@ 10:38 pm:
Congratulations Dani & Luigi. Well-done! You bought a house that now becomes a home. Very pleased for you & the kids…looks amazing! D x
[Reply]
Thanks Denyse x Thankfully the more boxes we unpack, the more homely it feels.
[Reply]
Danielle says:
February 25th, 2013 @ 10:48 pm
Naomi Ellis
on Feb 26th, 2013
@ 9:25 am:
How exciting! I am sure the kids will love it and even though it is probably the last thing you feel like doing, it will be wonderful to create a home just the way you want. Look forward to renovating pictures! N x
[Reply]
Thanks N, I’m actually a wee bit excited now the boxes have started to disappear and were talking paint colours.
[Reply]
Danielle says:
March 14th, 2013 @ 11:32 pm
Bronnie
on Feb 26th, 2013
@ 10:01 am:
Congratulations! I am so happy for you. Your husband is very clever.
Bronnie recently posted..Travel to change your world
[Reply]
Thanks bron. He seems to think he is quiet clever too but I try not to tell hi that too much incase his head starts to swell.
[Reply]
Danielle says:
March 14th, 2013 @ 11:31 pm
Miss Pink
on Feb 26th, 2013
@ 4:14 pm:
I love it! And a house is a house, as long as there is nothing structurally/plumming/electircal wrong with it then it’s a winner and easily fixed to suit you guys. Congratulations!
Miss Pink recently posted..New Directions
[Reply]
Exactly. Although I did request a walk in robe in my new bedroom :p
[Reply]
Danielle says:
March 14th, 2013 @ 11:30 pm
Emma
on Feb 28th, 2013
@ 11:08 am:
Congratulations Dani and Luigi
What a great story as to how you came to have your home. We’re moving in a few weeks, interstate as well, into a house I’ve only seen once. It won’t be ‘ours’ (as none of the houses we live in are, and probably never will be, cest la vie we’re in farm management, suck it up!) but it has great bones and I know we can make it a fabulous family home. Eventually. Very much eventually at this stage…the kitchen currently scares me and there’s no laundry to speak of…but there’s promises of a new kitchen within a year and paint will work wonders. All good things come to those who wait! Hope you are settling into life in Darwin well x
Emma recently posted..The Big News
[Reply]
Thanks Em, we can dream of new kitchens together and bathrooms!!
[Reply]
Danielle says:
March 6th, 2013 @ 10:13 pm
Kelly
on Mar 1st, 2013
@ 9:11 pm:
Well done chook, enjoy the long makeover process
xo
[Reply]
Thanks lovely, it will certainly be a challenge.
[Reply]
Danielle says:
March 14th, 2013 @ 11:29 pm
Cherry
on Mar 7th, 2013
@ 12:04 am:
Lovely house! I hope you and your family really enjoy the nice big garden. We also made the decision to buy early last year, and we certainly didn’t regret it.
[Reply]
Thanks Cherry. It’s all part of the adventure right and I love being able to bang nails into walls and make it home
[Reply]
Danielle says:
March 14th, 2013 @ 11:28 pm
Talia
on Mar 8th, 2013
@ 4:24 pm:
What a totally awesome story!!
Talia recently posted..Episode One // Bye Australia, Hello Israel
[Reply]
Life is all about the stories we tell rightX
[Reply]
Danielle says:
March 14th, 2013 @ 11:25 pm