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It’s crazy to think it’s already been eleven months. Eleven months since we handed over the keys. Eleven months since we let go of a house that never quite felt like home.
It’s a chapter that we hoped to close long before the world changed in 2020. The plan was always to treat that house as a temporary stepping stone, but life, as it so often does, had other plans. The pandemic came and pressed pause on everything. Our travel plans were shelved, timelines were blurred, and like many of you, we found ourselves anchored in place. With nowhere else to go, we decided to pour our energy into the house, into transforming untouched spaces that we never gave attention to, softening its corners, and making it more “us.”
We landscaped the backyard, refreshed other spaces, and carved out serene little nooks that turned it into a kind of sanctuary, a place that offered moments of calm and peace. From the outside, it looked like a dream home. But on the inside? It never quite felt like that.
As someone who lives and breathes the belief that a home should nurture you and that beauty alone isn’t enough, it was hard to ignore what I felt. Yes, the house gave us shelter, peace, and even a few joyful memories. But it never gave me, or us as a couple, that deep sense of belonging my soul craved. There was always a lingering loneliness there… a quiet ache that even the most beautiful décor couldn’t silence.
I—(in fact, we both) felt lonely in that house.
Even when the light poured in just right.
Even after every makeover.
Even as I whispered, “Water where you’re planted,” trying to convince myself to feel grateful.
That’s why I stopped posting about it as much. Not because there weren’t beautiful projects to share, but because I couldn’t, in good conscience, present a version of life that didn’t align with my truth. As someone who deeply values authenticity, I simply can’t share anything that doesn’t genuinely reflect who I am. My hope has always been to inspire others to embrace their uniqueness and give themselves permission to live honestly, because authenticity matters too much to me.
The truth is, the house was lovely. It became a peaceful sanctuary and served us well for a season. And after a while, our souls began to crave something more—growth, change, and a deeper sense of belonging. And so, after a highly agonizing, long emotional wrestle, yes, even in spite of a very low mortgage rate, we did the thing that felt both terrifying and liberating. We sold it.
Almost a year ago now. Quietly, privately, with a lot of trepidation and even more peace.
The decision came with both relief and uncertainty. We didn’t have a new place lined up. We still don’t, if I’m being honest. But what we did have was a sense of levity: the chapter was over, and keeping the home was no longer serving us, but instead draining us.
One of the beauties of getting older is that simplicity becomes the ultimate goal. Peace becomes the priority. And a house? It can be beautiful, but if it no longer feeds your soul… It’s not worth holding onto. For now, we’re still in between. Still searching for a space that speaks to us—that welcomes us with more than just square footage and good bones. A place that feels like a deep, refreshing exhale.
In the meantime, I’m opening the vault. There are so many beautiful projects we completed in that house that I never got around to sharing. And I want to honor them, not as a highlight reel, but as pieces of a season in our lives that mattered, even if it wasn’t forever.
I’ll also be sharing glimpses of what I envision for our future space, whenever and wherever it finds us. Because the truth is, home isn’t something you find once. It’s something you build, slowly, lovingly, and sometimes… again and again.
Here’s to closing chapters that no longer reflect your soul. And to the courage it takes to wait for what does.
P.S. You know how passionate I am about living beyond mere aesthetics—embracing a lifestyle that is deeply fulfilling and meaningful. Now, my lifestyle coaching has a dedicated home on Substack: Beyond Aesthetics. It’s a space where I dive deeper into the ‘how-to’ of intentional living and what it truly means to cultivate a life that goes beyond surface beauty.
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