My Story
First Impressions
When I began looking at buying my first home in 2012, my boyfriend (now husband) and I went to look at new build show homes. After we’d poked around in one or two, we smugly decided they weren’t for us. No character, they will depreciate like a new car, surely?! Who wants to live in a bland cookie-cutter box with a small garden anyway?
Well, fast forward nine years and yes, you’ve guessed it, we bought a new build home after swearing they weren’t for us.
The Old Cottage
You see, we’d spent the past nine years in our first home, a 150-year-old cottage with cobb walls, character, and a large garden. We had liked living there but couldn’t deny that to maintain this beautiful old property took time and money that we just didn’t have.
We now had two young children in tow, so no renovations, no extensions, and no knocking down walls, thank you very much! We wanted minimal maintenance and a blank canvas which we could add to as we got the money to do so.
So, once we’d weighed it all up, we decided on a beautiful 1930s style, 4 bed Redrow home (a Stratford). I fell in love with the show home as soon as I walked into the kitchen/diner and I’ve been in love ever since.
The Pandemic
We reserved our new build home in February 2020 and we all know what happened in March of that year! Yes, a global pandemic will really slow down the process of getting your home built. So, I had plenty of time to plan, and that’s exactly what I did.
Initially, I went on to Pinterest and fired up my old inspiration boards. However, it had been a couple of years since I’d really added to them (I’d been in a baby bubble for a while there) and the ideas didn’t seem as exciting as they once did.
Some of them still made me sit up straighter but a lot of them just looked a bit outdated or not quite right for a new build, so I’ll be honest, I gave up on Pinterest right there and then.
Finding Instagram
For me, Instagram was where I went for my inspiration in the early days, and I still do! I started out just typing the developer and house type into the search bar (so ‘Redrow Stratford’) and I just couldn’t believe the number of images that flooded my screen. I didn’t know a huge amount about Instagram at the time and I didn’t know people had Instagram accounts dedicated to their homes!
I couldn’t believe the amount of inspiration on offer on Instagram. Not only that but seeing these ideas played out in a home that would be identical to my own was fascinating.
Visit Me
On a whim I decided to create my own ‘home account’ – you’ll find me at @new_build_forever_home. Come and say hi!
I started the account to keep track of all the inspirational images I’d come across. Then I thought, Maybe I’ll have a go at this myself, and I uploaded the ups and downs of waiting for the house to be built. Eventually, I shared mood boards and ideas for my own home and finally, images of my home as I completed each room. Posting is now a full-blown hobby and I love it!
