Garland | Shelby Raney

Caleb found this house off-market, and we couldn't wait to see it.

The excitement lasted about five minutes.

It hadn't been renovated since it was built in 1980. Every room needed work. There were red carpets in the bathrooms, and so much stuff inside that it was hard to even picture the home underneath it all.

We walked away convinced it was just too much.

But we couldn't shake it.

We were completely in love with the neighborhood, and we believed that with enough vision, and a whole lot of hard work, any house could become a home. We had also just finished flipping our previous house, and the equity from that gave us the chance to dream a little bigger.

A few months later, we checked to see if it had sold.

It hadn't. So we took the leap.

Four years later, this house looks completely different. But that's not my favorite part.

My favorite part is that it's become the backdrop for our life together. We've welcomed babies home here, celebrated birthdays and holidays, hosted friends around our table, and watched this house slowly become our home.

Looking back, I'm so thankful we came back for one more tour.

Shelby

The house now

Room by room, over four years.

Study painted deep green with built-in bookshelves, antique desk, typewriter and globe — The study, green to the ceiling, so the room reads as one thing instead of four walls.

Upright piano beside green built-in shelving filled with books and pottery — An upright piano, a globe on a turned stand, and shelves that hold books people actually read.

Kitchen with white oak cabinetry, honed stone counters, plaster hood and professional range — White oak, honed stone, and a plaster hood. Texture doing the work that color usually gets credit for.

Walk-in pantry with checkerboard floor, oak cabinetry and open shelving — Checkerboard in the pantry. The room nobody sees gets the boldest floor.

Staircase gallery wall of vintage oil paintings and framed prints — The stairwell, hung salon-style. Collected one frame at a time, never all at once.

Bedroom with deep brown walls, iron bed frame, layered bedding and brass sconce — Brown walls in the bedroom. Dark rooms sleep better than white ones.

Breakfast nook with live-edge table, built-in banquette, patterned pillows and magnolia branches — The banquette, built in, so the table can seat everyone who turns up.

Shower with fluted geometric tile, stone bench and unlacquered brass fixtures — Fluted tile set in a pattern, unlacquered brass left to age on purpose.

Bathroom vanity with quartzite counter and backsplash, wall-mounted brass faucet, antique portrait — Quartzite run up the wall, and an antique portrait where a mirror would be the obvious answer.

Living room with vaulted ceiling, staircase gallery wall, woven leather chairs and layered rugs — The living room, four years in, and still being added to.

Room by room, over four years.

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