Buying The Sugar Box
The sugar box had been on the market for a while before we saw it. It had actually been re-listed with a new agent who held an open house to gain some attention. I had plans that day and took Eleanor with me, but Pat decided to go take a look before work because it fell within our budget, it had our bedroom and bathroom requirements met, and since there were no pictures, he was intrigued. We all know that no pictures is typically a sign that a house needs work, but to be honest, the interior designer in me had been pushing for a home that needed a little renovating anyway… something in need of a little work that I could put my own spin on.
He called me from the house and then FaceTimed with me to show me around. I remember the service being bad, the video quality being grainy and not really sensing much more than that Pat liked it enough that he wanted to bring me back to see it. So that’s what we did.. We scheduled a showing for the coming week, and I wanted to share with you all what we saw… the woman living in the house had been there for over 30 years, and she had all of the belongings and memories to show for it.
To be honest, I really wasn’t sure it was a good fit at first. I know our area of Jersey City well and didn’t really know that street. I knew the house had potential but I just felt sort of indifferent about it. The price was right for renovations, but we had been looking for a while and all the pros and cons of the various places we’d seen were running together. I needed something to grab me about a place… something to make me see and trust it was right.
Well, I had a dream in the days that followed our showing. It was from the viewpoint of the front door, and the wall of the stairs had been removed. It was Christmas, and Brantley and Eleanor were coming down the stairs, with so much joy and excitement (yes dogs and toddlers can be equally excited about the holidays!)… I woke up with a start and knew that was it. Christmas is one of my favorite holidays, and envisioning our family there in that old row house during such a special time, as cliche as it sounds, was all I needed.
Fast forward 6 months and the house is ours, construction is underway and that stairway wall is coming down. We will be moved in soon enough, and I can’t wait to have our first holiday at home together.
If you’ve been following along on Instagram with #PsSugarBox you are likely all caught up. I’ve been doing a walkthrough of the property once a week sharing progress and set-backs. Next week I will try to blog the demo progress, and then soon-after (once things are finalized) I will share our design plans for the whole home! Thank you for following along on our adventure!
xo, K