Parade of Homes 2019

THE WALDEN by Bosgraaf Homes – Lifestyle Story:

The first home I ever dreamed about was a castle I saw in a picture book my Nana read to me once. I remember sitting up in my bed and asking what happened after she closed the book, murmuring, “The end.” She smiled, pulling the sheets back around me and said that the princess, for whom had recently been rescued by a dashing certain someone, lived happily ever after, picking out furniture for every room in the castle. Satisfied and smiling, I closed my eyes.

I had been about five years old at the time, but the idea of having a home of my own, regardless of whether it had two rooms or twenty, became a big dream of mine.

When my husband and I began searching for a place of our own, I started getting anxious that nothing would be good enough. We toured so many houses but none of them felt right.
As a child, my family moved around a lot so we never really had a chance to put down roots. That’s why this place… our place, needed to be more than just a house – it needed to be a home.

One day, my husband called and asked if he could pick me up, “Sweetie, there’s an open house, I think this might be the one.” Sighing, I agreed. I wasn’t going to argue, he knew I was discouraged and this was his way of attempting to “fix” it. Smiling and shaking my head, I met him downstairs.

I knew he was excited from the moment I got in the car. His eyes crinkled at the edges as he wordlessly drove, smiling at the old lady driving 10 mph under the speed limit and the young gun riding his tail. “What’s gotten into you?” I asked, giggling. “You’ll see,” he responded with a wink.

When we drove up, he asked if I would shut my eyes – “It’s a surprise,” he said, “and I don’t want to be driving when you see it for the first time.” Laughing and rolling my eyes, I grudgingly agreed.

I felt the car come to a stop as my husband let out a deep breath. “Okay, ready?” he asked. “YES,” I said, laughing and pulling my hand away from my face.

And there it was.

I knew it was ours even before we got out of the car. My husband probably thought I was a complete nut as my eyes started swimming with tears. “This is it,” I whispered. My husband looked at me and smiled, “I know,” he whispered back.

Light was streaming in through the trees, illuminating the white and gray exterior siding and stone details of the home. I squeezed my husband’s arm as we walked up the driveway, “I can’t believe we found it,” I said, gazing up at the front door.

As we made our way over the threshold, the feeling of happiness continued to swell up inside me. We stood in the middle of a two-story entryway, visually able to take in every room. To the right of us was an office space and to the left, a formal dining room, perfect for family dinners and get-togethers.

The warmth of the fireplace, which featured a beautiful white mantel and crown molding, drew us into the living room where soft music was playing. The light from the large picture windows accentuated the bright, airy effect of the open-concept floor plan. “There’s a deck back here, Hun,” my husband yells to me with his nose almost pressed against the glass door. “Two,” I corrected him, softly.

Moving past the dining room and into the kitchen, I was completely enthralled by the white tile backsplash, the quartz countertops, and the maple soft close cabinets. “So much space,” murmured my husband, opening the frosted pantry door. “To hide all of your cereal boxes,” I chuckled.

Just past the kitchen, the garage entrance featured a large boot bench and coat hooks. “For our future kiddos,” my husband said, looking at me. “Yes,” I said, “It’s perfect, it’s all perfect.”

As we progressed upstairs, the banister elegantly wrapped around the top of the second-story entryway, showcasing beautiful windows overlooking the cul-de-sac and an additional family room bathed in natural light. From there, we found a laundry room sporting a large window and counter tops, three secondary bedrooms, and an additional bathroom.

I stood there. Gazing at one of the bedrooms thinking, this is where our future baby will sleep. Feeling my husband’s hand on my shoulder, I knew he was thinking it too.

“There’s one more room we have to see,” I said, pulling his hand off of my shoulder and guiding him back down the hallway. In all of our excitement, we had missed the owner’s suite. As we walked in, I heard my husband whisper, “Wow,” under his breath. The view that had been so stunning in the living room was replicated here. The en suite bathroom featured individual walk-in closets, a sink for each of us, and a gorgeous walk-in tile shower.

We sank onto the bathroom floor, gazing at one another. “I know it’s not like, ya know, an actual castle or anything…” My husband began.
“Oh, honey,” I said, crying now.
“It’s our castle.”