Tell me I’m not the only one that would pay money to go back and walk through a former home?
Who wouldn’t?
Homes are kind of like former relationships.
You think about them every now and again but you’d never knock on the door (or pick up the phone) and say wuzz up?
Right? Right?
A while back I mentioned in a blog post that we were going back to Arizona on vacation.
Apparently the current owner of our former Arizona pad follows our blog and saw that post.
She then emailed me inviting us to come see our old house when we were in town.
I was giddy for days to think about walking through our former Arizona home again.
This was going to be off the hizzle.
When we knocked on our old door I was having major deja vu.
They were as warm and welcoming as could be (and they kept up with our no shoe policy too).
I pitched the idea of taking pics and posting them on the blog and she was totally on board.
But I have to apologize in advance for the crappy phone pics. Remember the Mr. forgot the camera?
My phone pics don’t do the cuteness of the house justice.
When we entered it was CRAZY (high opera voice)!
It was almost like we had walked in and nothing had changed.
When we were moving out 2 years ago, the owner came and offered to purchase all the furniture but it was almost all packed by then.
Instead, she studied our blog pictures and went out and purchased as similar items as possible to what we had.
Oh yes, my ego was bursting.
GIRRRL! She found an almost identical bed, bedding, curtains and lamps.
Instead of pops of yellow she did pops of turquoise.
In place of the white wing back chair she had a fab double-seater wingback in turquoise.
Would have showed you but my dang phone pic was too blurry.
(Click more to see more of our former Arizona master bedroom).
We took that ornate mirror with us that was once gold but I sprayed white.
She searched high and low and found one almost identical on Craiglist and also sprayed hers white.
I was smiling from ear to ear with flattery!
(Click to see more of our Arizona guest bathroom).
I took the chand-y with me so she searched all over and found an “8-arm chadelier” just like mine.
For real? I didn’t even know my own had 8 arms!
She expressed how much she loved how I decorated the house and wanted to keep it just like it was.
I think I said, “Awww…” about a hundred times.
(Click to see more of our Arizona den).
Click to see more of our former Arizona living / dining room.
This is the only room that was completely changed.
As it should be. Every little girl need a princess room!
LOVE IT! (My little guy did too… couldn’t stop obsessing with stuffed animals).
(Click to see more of our Arizona guest bedroom).
It’s just a house and it’s not ours anymore but it’s the place where we brought babies home from the hospital, the place we grew as a family
and the place that will always have a special place in our hearts.
It’s a silly sentiment but to see the G. family taking such pride in the house is a feel gooder.
So tell me peeps, have you ever been back to a former house?
(Click to see more of our former Arizona Home).
Hey there! I’m Michelle; I’m an Passionate DIY’er and in constant pursuit of how to bring beauty to my house full of men (3 boys + 1 hubby). Stick around and see what I’ve got up my hard-working sleaves!
I haven’t been back to our former house, we sold it 4 years ago. But one day I got an itch to search it out on the internet and plugged in the address and saw that it was for sale and sold earlier this year and took a look at the MLS listing. The lady who bought it from us did some changes and it was so weird to see, crazy weird. But cool to see all that she changed and made it better.
Isn’t it so weird to see your space decorated differently than how you had it? Thanks for your comment!
That is awesome that she contacted you and invited you to take a tour. And holy cow!!!!! I bet you were on cloud 9 looking at her decor! How flattering!!!!! And I’ve never gone inside and seen any of my old homes. But I think I would like to!
It was lots of fun and she was sweet as could be! Thanks cousin!
How fun is that to go back to your old house!? We’ve driven by our old houses and one of them has been totally renovated with a second story added on. It would be so neat to see what that house looks like now!
Wow! That would be fun to see how a former house looks with an addition.Thanks Anu!
What a testament to your awesome decorating abilities! Such a fun/weird experience and awesome all at the same time.
Yes, was totally crazy but lots of fun to visit the old pad!
Do you know where that black/white canopy over the crib is from ?
She told me she had it custom made. Darn, right?!
Our beloved starter house of 10 years is now one of our rental properties so we go back about every three months! At first it was a little hard (the new peeps were less OCD than me -ahem!) but I adore what our most recent tenants have done. I’ve joked she can come decorate my new house! It’s really convenient to be able to go back and check to compare some materials we would like to duplicate at our new house … is this stain dark enough? Nope, needs more red. How about those pavers? Lighter gray. And so on.
Fun!
How cool to have design savy tenants! Sometimes tenants will just trash a place. I forsee a rent discount in exchange for a design consultation? He! He! 🙂
I would love to go back to my last house and see what they did – the new owner planned to do all the things I wanted to do but couldn’t afford at the time and I’m dying to see how it looks. But I’ve never been brave enough to go knock and the door and ask to take a look.
Did you ever watch that show on TLC where families go back to their former houses – Moving Up? They always got so angry about the new changes, which I never understood, because, not their house anymore…
That would be awesome to see your old home all decked out. No, I haven’t seen that show but it sounds like I must! Thanks for the tip Laurie! :)-Michelle
THAT is SOOO NEAT Michelle…I am proud to live in the SAME town that you used to here in Arizona! LOL J.
Thanks Janice! Tucson is a part of my soul.
What a fun peek inside your old home. We got a chance to peek inside our old home this summer when we were back east. The new owners put in new floors and found my girls traced hand prints in the subfloor and cut it out for us to keep. Such a sweet thing to do.
That is SOOO sweet! What a fun memory to find in the house!
I’m curious to know where she got her bedframe from. I like that it doesn’t have a footboard as my spouse is tall and he always kicks a footboard in the middle of the night. any ideas?
that’s amazing that she added her own style but wanted to keep it the way you had it – your house/decorating style is amazing and i love that she appreciated your “eye” for that space! super cool!
How cool of her to welcome you into her home! AND allow you to put pics on the blog!!
A few months ago my brother, his wife, 2 girls and myself were walking around our old neighborhood. We walked past our old house (the house that I grew up in, from coming home from the hospital to driving off to college). We hadn’t been in it since 1996. The current owners are the people that bought it from my family. So… my brother gets a hair brained idea to knock on the door and ask if we could see it?!?!?!?!?!
And believe it or not – she graciously let us in. It was so surreal! So many memories in that house – it was super cool to see and to hear all their family stories and to know that her 2 girls had also grown up in that home and it had been a happy place for them as well. Warmed my heart!
You go girl! (Or was it your bro)? I have always wanted to knock on the door of a former home but never had the guts. You guys are my hero for being brave. And how awesome that they let you in to talk story! What an amazing experience that I’m sure was so fun for you guys. Thanks for sharing Katy! -Michelle
It truly was exciting to show you how we appreciated your decor! The Hinkley family will always be welcome. We are blessed to reap the reward of all your hard work in this home, ahh.
Aww, thanks Sherry! That was a dream come true…thank you again! 🙂 Michelle