a sense of place: designing our forever family home by the sea
Monday was one of the most eagerly awaited days of our renovation so far. We’ve had many exciting milestones, but this time we finally saw the pendant lights installed over the island and dining table and, most thrilling of all, our blue range—affectionately named Beatrix—was brought into the kitchen. We were overjoyed to see her in place.
There are a few small adjustments to make before Beatrix is fully settled, and once she is I’ll share more photos so you can see how beautifully she fits into the space.
The kitchen is still a work in progress and a few elements are evolving, but I wanted to show the new lighting today and thank everyone for the excitement and support you’ve shown during every phase. It means so much to us.
This kitchen is deeply meaningful to our family in ways that won’t show up in a photo. Today I want to share a little of the story behind our design choices and how our history shapes our sense of home.
Many of you who have followed our home projects know how deeply we’ve cared for each house we’ve lived in. Over the years, followers have even told us how connected they felt to those homes and how sad they were when we moved on. That’s the true power of home.
Leaving homes we love is always difficult because every place we’ve lived carries pieces of our life and memories from those seasons.
My parents also left behind homes that mattered—places I grew up in and where our children spent their early years, including our cherished family beach house. Each of those houses represents a chapter of our story, and for those memories we are grateful.
Although none of those homes turned out to be the literal “forever home” I once imagined, each shaped our family and contributed to who we are today.
We have countless stories tied to the places we’ve loved—memories from the San Juan Islands and other coastal areas we’ve called home. Those places left vivid impressions of rooms and settings where moments that mattered unfolded.
Each place in our past informs our idea of home and guides what we wanted this house to become.
That’s why timeless details were so important in our kitchen renovation.
We understood that our design choices would leave a lasting impression on our family, just as previous homes had. We wanted this space to feel like a true family kitchen—warm, welcoming, and familiar, as if it had always been part of our story.
The kitchen is intended to be the heart of our home, where past and present meet and new family memories will be made. For that reason I selected classic materials—marble, soapstone, and beadboard—because they age gracefully. We also incorporated display areas to celebrate the changing seasons and keep decorating simple and joyful.
Rather than seeing a smaller footprint as limiting, we treated every square inch with intention. A forever home doesn’t have to be large. For us, the dream has always been a small, charming, “huggable” home—ideally by the sea.
Salt air, sandy walks, boat harbors, ferry rides, and island-hopping are woven into my happiest memories, so living on this island feels right and familiar.
Our new home has a strong sense of place.
It’s the sense of history, the stories, and our connection to the surroundings that draw us in and make this house feel like home.
I look forward to sharing how the rooms continue to come together as we settle into our forever family home by the sea.
Thank you for following our journey and sharing in the excitement.
Do you have homes or places that have become part of your family story? I’d love to hear about them in the comments.
You can catch up on my remodeling posts.