Our (maybe) new house

Our deal isn't signed and sealed, so I probably shouldn't put these pictures up, but we are really hoping to finalize the purchase of this little gem on Bainbridge Island. Nick and I have been looking at houses in both Seattle and on Bainbridge for about two years. We have made several offers, a couple in both places, and have vacillated between wanting to stay in the city and wanted more space for the children and move to Bainbridge. 

In the end, we decided to leave it up to fate. If the perfect house came up in the city, next to an open space where our kids could run and play, we would stay in the city. If the perfect house came up on Bainbridge, well, that was a sign we needed to move there. 

Leaving Seattle feels terrifying and exciting at the same time. Nick and I both grew up with lots of open space to roam and cherish our wild childhood memories. But, we have also lived in some of the most amazing metropolitan cities in the world (San Francisco, New York, London, Seattle) and absolutely love the urban energy of the city.

We would be leaving behind a huge tribe of family and friends here in Seattle, and although Bainbridge is not that far away, we realize that more effort will be needed to see each other. Maybe one day we can convince some of our nearest and dearests to join us in this idillic place...

 The house was built in the early 1900's, which is super old for Northwest standards. It has been well maintained and remodeled over the years, but retains the charm of an older house. It is not big, but the usable living spaces are all quite grand, or at least perfectly grand enough for us. We spend so little time in bedrooms, it doesn't matter to us if they are small.

 The house has a huge family room that opens up onto a huge deck. This will be the room we spend the most time in, I would guess. We would like to put the kids' playroom, a studio/art space and some comfy seating in here. Inca can have a little spot by the wood stove to curl up on a rainy day.

 There are flower boxes in every window, even on the little garden shed in the back yard. It adds immensely to the charm of the place, although I realize that in a few short weeks we will be staring a brown dirt until spring.

 The house sits on the front end of an acre. There is a gently sloping hill to a huge area of grass and woods. In the winter and spring, a small shallow frog pond fills up in the neighbor's yard. We have two large garden beds, some old fruit trees, and a covered shop area at the bottom, which you can just see in this photo. There are deer and I saw a coyote cross the yard the other day. My best friend from childhood grew up in the property behind ours and I have played in this very yard when I was Finn's age. Daniel and his best friend, her brother, used to catch the frogs in the pond. Her parents still live there and said their door is always open and the cookie jar always filled.

 Poppie is checking out the huge porch. One gate on the stairs and this porch will be a huge playpen to shoo the children out onto. Bikes can go out here, we would put a little swing on the arbor and a table for doing messy projects. It really is an extension of the family room and couldn't be better placed.

 Looking up onto the porch. Roses grow up almost every wall and corner of the house, further giving it that English country charm. The studio that Nick would work in is to the right of this image.

And finally, if the house weren't wonderful enough, the surrounding community is absolutely charming. We are a five minute walk from this wonderful beach (with great views of Seattle and Mt Rainier), and five minutes in the other direction gets you to a farm store, bakery, mini-store and restaurant. The house is about 3 miles from my parent's house and also about 3 miles to the ferry and town. It is perfect and we feel so lucky to have found it. Fingers-crossed our deal goes through!