Happy Monday! I’ve been asking my daughter Kylee — who you may recognize from The Inspired Room for her charming illustrated recipes and her wedding photos — to share a bit about her recent move into the townhouse she purchased. She’s finally here to introduce her new space. She’ll share more about living in a small home in future posts, but for now here’s an introduction, photos of her new place, and some new pictures of her puppy Bella.
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It’s been one month since my husband Lance and I moved into our townhouse, and we’re still floating on cloud nine. We wake up to real sunlight for the first time in years — a delightful change after spending five years in a basement apartment.
When we moved to Seattle from Portland five years ago to finish school, we didn’t expect to stay long. Neither of us had jobs yet, so we took the most practical, affordable place we could find. It was small and dark, but it suited our needs while we finished school and saved for a future home. I’ll share photos of the new house throughout this post.
Fast forward to 2014: we’ve both settled into careers we love and decided it might be time to explore buying a home. Seattle isn’t inexpensive, so we considered living outside the city for more space or better options. In the end we chose to stay in the city — we work here and enjoy urban life, and we weren’t ready for long commutes.
That left three realistic choices for us: a fixer-upper, a condo, or a townhouse. We looked at all three but decided a townhouse fit our lifestyle best. The Seattle market was wild — the first house we bid on received 28 offers and sold for over $100,000 above asking. It was discouraging but not the end of the road.
Soon after, we put an offer on a small, three-level townhouse. Within hours our realtor called to tell us the offer had been accepted. It was a whirlwind and a huge relief.
We’re now unpacking and settling in slowly. My sister Courtney recently moved into the lower level, and we’re excited to have her nearby. Having family close makes the transition easier and more fun as we tackle projects and personalize our home.
We also welcomed a sweet puppy named Bella into our family, and she seems right at home. If you follow the blog, you might have seen her recently. She’s brought a lot of joy and energy to our days, and we’re enjoying watching her explore the new spaces.
We’ll be sharing small space ideas, decorating tips, and occasional house projects as we settle in. We’ve already started a few projects I’m excited about, and I look forward to sharing the progress and learnings from making this townhouse our own.