Our Country Club Fixer Upper
There is so much I have to say about the house we currently live in but I feel like I need to go back to where it all began. Everything I want to share about the things we do and the way we live in our home doesn't mean quite as much without knowing our history. As with all homes we've lived in, it turns out it's a bit of a love story - a story of falling for a place we knew could be home, even if it wasn't what we needed in its current state. You could say we tend to fall for the wrong house for all the right reasons (3 bedrooms for 6 people? Sign me up!). Here was the MLS photo taken when we purchased the home:
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We live in the area of Edina known as the Country Club District. When I was growing up, I used to go to work with my dad at Methodist Hospital. Our drive from my hometown of Burnsville took us up Highway 100 and across the bridge over Minnehaha Creek. I remember seeing the quaint old homes along the creek and the tree lined streets and telling my dad I wanted to live there someday.
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Country Club is one of the first modern planned communities in the state and sits on the National Register of Historic Places. It was developed by Thorpe Brothers Realty Company with the majority of homes being built between 1924 and 1941. 8 model homes were built along Edina & Mooreland Avenues that set a precedent for construction of new homes in the neighborhood. Today, the Edina Preservation Board oversees new development in the neighborhood as well as reviewing City permits for remodels in an effort to preserve the original character and charm of the neighborhood. For me, the opportunity to live here is a dream come true. I love old homes and living amongst neighbors who share that passion makes being here feel like a privilege. You can read more about the development and history of the neighborhood and its crazy covenants and deed restrictions here.
My husband and I both love center hall colonials and scowered the neighborhood for years in search of one. We were looking for a home that needed work and whose foot print was still true to its original form. One afternoon, we saw a center hall colonial come on the market that fit the bill.
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By the time we made it over to the house for the showing, an offer had already been accepted on the house. We looked at it anyway and the house always hung in my mind - most notably because of the size of its backyard and the ease with which it seemed the house could be what we wanted it to be.
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Fast forward a year later and that same house came back on the market. Turns out the owners, who had every intention of completely remodeling and expanding the home, got cold feet with a new baby on the way. You know how this story ends but I couldn't help feeling like it was our destiny to be here. And I still do today, nearly 3 years later. It's a happy house where a fire burns in the fireplace around the clock on chilly Fall days. I am thankful for the opportunity to live in this creaky old house and am looking forward to updating it with the modern conveniences of the 21st century family.
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I am anxious to divulge more about the rehab and expansion of this home, but while we plan, interview, coordinate and seek inspiration for that project, we have done a lot to the home to make it a livable and happy place for our family in its current state. Taking a 3 bedroom home and making it compatible for 6 people takes a lot of elbow grease and a little bit of magic - and we've spent the last 2 years performing just such tricks. You can read more about our little phase 1 'make it work' projects here on my blog. A sneak peek at some inspiration I'm seeking for this home's exterior - the New York City High Line. Bring on the dreaming! (Photo via)
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*Beautiful current images by the talented Stephanie Bloom Photography