Decorating a Second Home

We made a big “COVID” purchase in the last year, a place up north where we could get outside and get away from the heat. It wasn’t exactly planned, but it’s something we had talked about doing at some point.

That point was late last fall!

We’re thrilled to have some outdoor space up north so we can explore, and spend time relaxing when it’s too hot to be outside in Phoenix. The actual purchase was quite an adventure, and getting it furnished so we can truly utilize it has been fun too!

Buying Adventures

The housing market has been incredibly active lately, and finding a house up north was a little nuttier than we expected. The moment we found something we liked, it had multiple offers on it–leaving us out completely.

After going through this three or four times, we finally got lucky. We discovered that a friend of ours who lived in the community up north that we were looking at, had a neighbor who had mentioned he was going to sell his home. We got in touch with him and it all worked out. We were able to purchase the home before it was listed on the market.

Moving In

Of course, moving into and furnishing a second home–from afar–has been interesting. It’s a cabin, a vacation home, so we don’t need or want anything really nice or expensive.

We had a painter go in and paint the house, and had a few minor renovations done–taking out a bar in the middle of the house, fixing some drywall issues.

Without a true truck, hauling things like mattresses and furniture almost three hours away is challenging. And buying items up north isn’t ideal either, since the choices are limited.

We were able to haul some smaller items up in our Suburban, like smaller decor, some small pieces of furniture, kitchen supplies. For larger items, we rented a UHaul and even finagled to have a bed delivered.

Online ordering helped quite a bit thanks to Wayfair, Home Depot, and Target. And it’s quite handy to have a husband that is good with an allen wrench and instructions that are written out (but usually not complete).

What’s in Store

We’ve spent just a little bit of time up north since getting the keys to the place in mid-December. Molly and Jack are a lot more excited about it than Charlie and Lucy, but we’re all very happy. We’ll be able to take advantage of the neighborhood’s jacuzzi, tennis courts, and golf club, and of course, there’s the great outdoors.

And when the weather is cold? We’ve already discovered Ivy’s love of curling up in front of the fireplace.