How I know we were meant to live here...

I guess this is a continuation of my previous post. We recieved many BIG blessings in buying this house, but I have also been amazed by the "small and simple things" that confirm to me that this house was meant for my family. I'll share a few...

Please remember, although we had lots of time to plan the layout of the house (as we waited for the short sale to go through), we only had our memories to go by - no measurements.



Back in Oct '09 I made an impulse buy at the school's silent auction. I saw these three canisters and just fell in love with them. I justified the purchase by calling them a "house warming" gift to myself. LOL I thought they would look so cute on the counter of my new kitchen. Well, the months go buy and we finally get the house. Above my little fridge are three corner shelves. "Cute" you think, until you realize that they're a little akward to reach and each shelf gets shorter as you go up. What to put up there??? Then I thought of my canisters and sure enough they fit perfectly on each shelf. Coincidence? I think not.



This is the east wall of the Living Room, which just HAPPENS to be exactly the right size to fit our piano and a shelf for piano music. Coincidence? I think not.



This is the south east corner of the Living Room. Beorn and I knew we wanted the computer in that corner so it was in a main living area of the home, but I figured we'd have to build something. Turns out my sewing desk (which just happens to be black and would match)and the computer box fit exactly right. Coincidence? I think not.



We couldn't finalize our plan for the Living Room bookcases until after we got into the house and had moved the doorway. Then we got out the measurements of the IKEA bookcase line we were going to use and tried several layouts on graph paper. The one we liked best (because it was symetrical) left a small gap of wall between the last bookcase and the doorway. What to do with that??? Well, turns out my drawings of the kids that hung in our old Living Room fit perfectly. Coincidence? I think not.



One of the things I've always dreamed of having was a laundry room like my mom had when I was growing up. She had these hanging baskets for sorting dirty laundry and shelves for everyone's clean clothes. The new house had a separate laundry room but since it doubles as food storage and we had to have a freezer (to compensate for the tiny fridge upstairs) - space was at a premium. By removing an old handwashing sink I was able to just make room for some white shelves we already had and some little baskets from IKEA. Coincidence? I think not.



Bucket's bunk bed sits against the north wall of his room, but it left a small gap which just happened to fit our old DVD storage tower, which just happened to be red - and match - and which we just happened to not need because the family room has a built in bookcase. Coincidence? I think not.



Taking out a built in toy bench in the family room makes just the right amount of space for the art cabinet (holds the kid's art supplies)and the file cabinet I inherited from my mom (holds the files I save the kid's stuff in). Coincidence? I think not.



A random closet to stash our costumes and the fabric inventory.



Our TV hutch fits just perfect.



Nook of the family room just right for dedicated sewing space. (yes, it's a mess right now)



Beorn's collage fits just right over the stairs.



Old piano bench I had held on to for some reason fits perfect under the Living Room window.



The curtains I made for the Living Room of our rental fit perfect in the windows here.



Kitchen bench from my childhood that we've used for years fits the dining area like a glove.

Coincidence? I think not.