2024-10-01 | Melody Stevenson | 6 Comments Exactly 1 year ago, we first laid eyes on the house that would become our long-awaited home base. We’d considered moving my mom from Houston, Texas to Crossville, Tennessee for the last couple years to be near family and we finally got serious in September 2023. On a whim, we decided to stop and see 5 properties in Crossville during our drive from Houston to Massachusetts on October 1st. The moment we drove up Highland Lane, I knew this house was the one. From the sprawling front yard and acre-long drive way that would perfectly fit our RVs to the 2 acres of forest behind the house, this place checked all of the boxes. Not to mention a super-charming wood siding house with multiple pointed gables, a fenced-in backyard and a couple large storage buildings. But, we had a month-long trip ahead of us so we crossed our fingers knowing that, if it was THE ONE, it would still be waiting for us. And it was. 🙂 When we returned to Houston in early November, we quickly moved forward with an offer and closed on the house December 13th. Over the next 3 months, Russell and I made 5 grueling trips up in U-hauls transporting my mother and brother’s belongings as well as everything we’d had languishing in a storage unit for the last 8 years while we’ve been living on the road. We fought snow storms, logistical nightmares and re-modeling delays but it was finally move-in ready in March 2024. From the first time we toured the house, we could tell it needed some work and a super deep cleaning. The previous owner was in her mid-80’s and hadn’t been able to properly keep up with maintenance. In addition to routine stuff, we knew both bathrooms would need to be remodeled. Prior to move-in, the tiny bathroom on my brother’s side of the house was completely transformed from standing room only into a walk-in shower and his bedroom closet on the adjoining wall was removed in order to make the bathroom much larger. Over the spring, we finally had the time and funding to remodel the primary bathroom which was sporting a gaping hole since the previous owner removed her upright handicap tub. What started out as straight-forward project to finish out the area where that tub had been quickly ramped up into a loooong, intricate process of creating my dream bathroom – so it warrants a whole separate blog with all those details! The main bedroom was also pretty dark and drab, so we transformed it into a light, refreshing retreat with floral notes for my mom. Another big surprise came when our excellent general contractor found structural damage near the back deck. It appears the sloppy previous handyman threw the deck together in order make the property more attractive to sell and failed to put any metal flashing between the deck and the sides of the house. This meant that rain would gather and sit next to the sides of the house and had quickly rotted the wood siding along the garage and exterior walls and many of the joists under the living room floor! As much as I adore the wood exterior, we made the smart choice to replace it with vinyl siding which is cheaper and more durable. We only did the back half of the house this year due to budgetary reasons, but we will revisit the rest of the exterior in 2025. This means I still have my beloved wooden house from the street view for a little longer! Early in the year, we also had two 50amp power pedestals put in along the drive way for our 5th wheel we live in and my Melodic View Photography travel trailer. Of course, the house breaker was already maxed out so this led to a brand new power service installation along the drive way to power the RVs and the main storage shed. But it is so worth it to be able to park our RV for FREE on our own land for several months out of the year! We couldn’t be more thrilled with the decision to finally close the Houston chapter of our lives and begin a whole new era with a real home base in beautiful Tennessee! Share this:Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Related
What a beautiful summary of the monumental endeavor that consumed our lives for the past year. The photos are great and reflect your many skills in decorating, staging and photography. There are many frustrating/challenging times not mentioned like all the declutterring, packing a house of 52 years, loading/unloading, driving, learning some relistate/financial do’s and don’ts, etc. It was a very busy year yielding a very successful and positive outcome, thanks to you two! Reply
I am so immensely proud of all you have accomplished ! You have transformed from a shy sweet young girl to an AMAZING lady, dynamic photographer, loving daughter, sister and wife! You are the epitome of SUCCESS! May GOD continue t bless you and your familu. Reply
This is just the perfect house! I can’t believe all the incredible time and work you’ve put into it. That bathroom is to die for! I hope I can come see it in person sometime Reply
Love the different styles of wood siding you shared. Great photos so folks can get some ideas too! Reply