Well, this is a good week! The comes out and my little family abode in rural New Brunswick is featured! Pretty darn cool. I’ve drooled over the photos in the magazine since I was young so to be in it is kind of surreal.
This is the home I lived in last year to the homestead where I grew up to live the simple life and run my own blog and design business. It’s actually my brother and sister-in-law’s home, but they had moved to Nova Scotia last year so I had it mostly to myself except when they came home to visit. They’ve actually moved home now (which is so great) and I’ve just recently moved into Fredericton to my own space 20 minutes away, but I’m still there on weekends to garden and hang out with them and my nephew and nieces and my Mom and Dad, who also live on the property. It’s heaven.
photo by Robin Stubbert for House & Home magazine
While I lived there, they were kind enough to let me take over the main floor and do with it what I wanted. So, of course, I got out the white paint! I painted the walls and trim white, and the two exterior doors black. Funny thing…they convinced me to leave the big blue banquette bench the bright blue they had painted it previously. And I’m so glad they did. It’s such a pop of brilliant colour that mirrors the blue sky seen through the skylight from the kitchen and the windows all through the dining room. It brings a cheery vibe to the rustic charm of the rest of the home. Fortunately, many of the antique pieces I’d been gathering for years were also blue or had blue in them, so it all worked together.
photo by Robin Stubbert for House & Home magazine
I left most of my brother’s custom-made wood pieces as is – like the massive dining table and bench made from a salvaged bowling alley lane, and the custom wall shelves in the dining room and the room I used for my home office. I added some salvaged old barn board from my grandfather’s home as a feature wall in the living room. My talented brother, Luke Anderson, built the house himself, using a lot of reclaimed and salvaged materials from other building sites and previous projects. He included built-ins for storage functionality, along with skylights so that lights can stay off longer. The stone counter in the kitchen is made from recycled glass. The greenhouse where we grow herbs and greens and the woodshed that holds the wood for the outdoor furnace are made completely from salvaged materials. It really is an eco-friendly abode, even though it doesn’t have expensive solar panels or LEED certification.
photo by Robin Stubbert for House & Home magazine
I talk a lot about imperfection, simplicity, and essentialism on the blog. I believe that a good life is one where we can contribute, thrive, and be healthy and happy. Our homes should assist us in living this way, but they don’t need to be perfect; simply functional and meaningful and a reflection of us. I’m really honoured that House & Home saw this come through in my home and wanted to feature it as a house that doesn’t have to be elaborate, expensive or “designed” to be beautiful and impactful. It just has to work for the people living in it to help make their lives better.
photo by Robin Stubbert for House & Home magazine
The photos in the magazine and here are taken by the talented and wonderful . She came down and did the shoot last August over two days that were long but seemed to fly by because we laughed the whole time. I learned so much from her and I think distracted her with too much talking! Wow, the lighting and equipment and number of takes with different styling that goes into a shoot is incredible! It goes to show that picture perfect isn’t usually real life. But it was so cool to be in on! It was a great experience and I’m glad to say I now have a new friend.
hehe – I snapped this one of Robin when she wasn’t looking
I’ll share more of the photos from the magazine later on, but for now, you have to go out and buy a copy to see the rest of the house and the story it tells!
