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    Sweet Valley Acres

    Not your average build, but we aren't your average family

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      • Our vintage window greenhouse is a favorite of absolutely everyone, especially me!  Bentley built it from windows I salvaged at garage and estate sales and then created this pretty little greenhouse.  I also love to create and design with garden decor so here you will find how to make garden decor, how to host outdoor dinner parties, stage a greenhouse for seasonal photography, and design your garden area so that you can enjoy it to the fullest.Greenhouses and Garden Decor
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    Sweet Valley Acres

    Not your average build, but we aren't your average family

    Hampton Style Home Tour

    As most of you know, after eleven large renovations and two new builds, we finally got to build our first home from the bottom up for ourselves. It has been a family affair as Bentley is the builder, Jenna is the architect, I am the designer and Noah is everything tech!

    I have shown bits and pieces of our home in various blogs, but I learned recently it was best to have a tour of our whole home in one location on your blog when your niche is home design. So welcome to a home tour of our Hampton style home!!!

    Let’s start first with a little history…

    Table of Contents

    • The Dream
    • The Movie
    • The Exterior
    • Entrances
    • Living Room
    • Rustic Luxury & Hampton Style
    • Kitchen
    • Dining Room
    • A spot for Mia
    • My Office
    • The Mudroom
    • Primary bedroom (because Master bedroom is now politically incorrect)
    • Primary Bathroom
    • Our Greenhouse – Annie
    • Coming Soon
    • The Holidays

    The Dream

    Many years ago, I had a dream that I lived in a white or light grey house up on a hill. I can still see that dream vividly. I asked my mother-in-law if she thought it meant something and she told me the dreams that stick with you are sent to you by God. The whole feel of the dream was so comforting and peaceful so I was content to see what it meant.

    The Movie

    Have you seen the movie “Something’s Gotta Give” with Jack Nicholoson and Diane Keaton? If not, you must – you will love it. If you have, do you remember the house? Well, it is what introduced me to Hampton style homes and I fell in love.

    The shingle exteriors with swooping roofs, big verandas, lots of windows and french doors, warm interiors filled with loads of bookcases, and always set on a dune overlooking the ocean. That in my mind was a close as I could get to heaven on Earth.

    To learn more about the house from the movie, click this link where you will find all sorts of photos and information.

    Beach house from Something's Gotta Give

    That style of house matched my dream. It was starting to come together!

    So when it came time for us to build, I chose a “modernized” shingle styled home with lots of peaks, windows and glass doors, a big covered veranda and yes it is set high up on a hill overlooking a large body of water.

    If you would like to read about the beginning of Sweet Valley Acres and choosing the location, just click this link.

    The Exterior

    We didn’t have the budget to be as sprawling as the home in the movie so ours is a condensed version. Believe me, if I could have replicated the movie house I would have, but we had to blast our build site so we had to layer the floors rather than spread them out. As well, I had to take my family’s likes into consideration too so this is a combination of everyone’s wants.

    Beach house exterior shows a shingle style hope with a covered deck, look out, and white trellises

    We are not done yet – there is a lot to be completed such as trim, rock work, railings, etc. Things move slowly but I will keep updating this tour as we complete items.

    Beach house with infinity pool and bed swing
    Beach house with bed swing (porch swing) over looking a pool

    When I dreamt about living in our home, I pictured lots of outdoor dining. I also loved the beach house style of life and thought a pass thru window and bar would be perfect. Unfortunately, I designed the window a little large and we had to get these specialized shocks to be able to lift and retract the window.

    Pass through window and bar at a home with two chairs and decorative lights
    Outdoor bar at beach house

    You may have noticed the lack of railings. There are three reasons for that.

    1) lack of funds right now;

    2) we don’t want to impede the view; and

    3) we are designing something unique because glass isn’t an option.

    I love birds and have such a hard time when one dies because it runs into a window so I definitely don’t want to be setting up death traps around our home with glass railings. I think you will love what we have invented! Now we just have to save up for it and get them built.

    Outdoor dining area at beach house with green and blue and cream table cloth and accessories

    The photo above is where we eat from April through October on days when it isn’t too hot or cold.

    Back garden gates with fall mums

    I designed these gates and Bentley built them. They provide a little enclosure to save my plants from the deer and to save Mia from the coyotes.

    Entrances

    This is actually our back door, where our family enters. I find that often back doors are forgotten or very plain but I wanted it to be welcoming so we designed this arch roof with giant corbels.

    Back door entrance of beach house

    An old fashioned light and mail box plus two old urns complete the look.

    When it came to our front door, I had my heart crushed. This is what I wanted (taken from my inspiration board)…

    Glass door with black iron mutton bars
    Photo Credit: The Slee Family
    Glass door with black iron mutton bars
    Photo Credit: Portella

    This is what I got.

    Front door in classic black with lots of glass looking through house to lake view

    So you may be thinking it is quite close, but I really liked the thinness of the frame and muntin bars on the ones above. There were two reasons we could not do that:

    1) We are in a very cold climate and those thin frames would not stand up to our cold temperatures.

    2) The door is 8 feet tall and for structural integrity and to pass our building code it needed to have a handle activated multi point locking system.

    Don’t get me wrong, it is still a gorgeous door and it achieves the combination of traditional with modern flare that I was looking for.

    Living Room

    Our living room is two stories high as we wanted to capture the view. I am a ground to sky type of girl – I want to see it all so I didn’t want it chopped up and only fully viewable from outside.

    Two story windows in beach house looking out to pool and lake

    The fireplace is also floor to ceiling and features real rock. Each and every stone was hand placed by Bentley and Jenna.

    Bentley built the floating shelves and cabinets flanking the fireplace. They have been lifesavers for storing so much home decor.

    Real rock fireplace in beach house
    Real rock fireplace flanked with bookshelves and cabinets in beach house

    We did not want a typical catwalk that is drywalled underneath so Bentley got two i-beams to form the base and sides and finished the underside in stained wood.

    I love this feature because it is unexpected and brings a modern, industrial vibe to the room. Clearly, I am eclectic but I believe that different design elements can be brought together cohesively.

    Living room of beach house with iron catwalk and glass railings

    Rustic Luxury & Hampton Style

    Recently I was told that my style is a new emerging style that is called “Rustic Luxury”. It features rooms that are large and not cluttered so they are easy to move around – like luxurious homes. Sophisticated elements (hardwood, marble, cashmere) are paired with raw and natural elements (warm concrete, plants, dried grasses). Neutrals and muted tones are also key.

    My design style does fit into rustic luxury but I also feel that I have a very coastal/beach/Hampton vibe happening. I love the water views and have incorporated coastal touches such as marine decor, white pottery, shells, hints of blue, etc.

    I am not one to be hemmed in by one design style. If it flows and feels good then I am happy!

    Kitchen

    Clean lines, white and more white, lots of storage and space to move around were all key to designing our kitchen.

    I will be preparing a blog soon on the hits and misses of our kitchen and will share all the details there.

    White kitchen with grey wood floors
    Classic white kitchen in beach house looking out to lake view

    These water glass pendants have definitely been a hit!

    Beach house white kitchen with grey island chairs

    Dining Room

    Our open concept living area features the dining room in line with the kitchen. It is so easy to entertain and just sit around with family and catch up. No one ever feels shut off from anyone.

    Dining room in beach house with grey china cabinet and white and blue accessories
    Dining room and white kitchen

    The dining room sits at the corner of the house with large banks of sliding doors on two sides to take in the lake view.

    Beach house dining room with a corner of sliding doors looking to the lake view

    A spot for Mia

    Mia always has to be where the action is and we found the cutest sofa for her that fits perfectly in with our home. Geesh I wish we had as nice of furniture as she does!!!

    Cute mid century modern sofa for a small dog
    Mia’s favorite spot

    My Office

    My office is a room that I spend so much time in. It is painted in a soft blue’ish green with almost floor to ceiling windows.

    My desk is an old tobacco leaf sorting table that Bentley white washed for me. I love it!

    This multi drawer cabinet was sitting in my parents basement and was in terrible condition. I asked my dad if I could have it and he said sure. I sanded and stained every bit of it and that was quite the job, but it was worth every second.

    Feminine office with vintage white washed desk and soft blue walls
    Antique multi drawer cabinet with candles, books and clock above

    The Mudroom

    In past homes our cubbies in our mudroom, have always been white. This time, with so much white and neutrals in our home, I thought it was time to branch out and have a cheery color to greet us each time we came home.

    As always, Bentley built the cubbies and painted them off of my rough sketch. I am creating a YouTube video of every step to build these cubbies. I will link it here when it is done.

    Mudroom with 4 cubbies in soft green with white, green and brown accessories

    Primary bedroom (because Master bedroom is now politically incorrect)

    As it has been in every home we have renovated, our bedroom is always the last to be done. This will be updated when it gets done. For now, please enjoy the swing bed that hangs just outside of our room and where I can be found on occasion snoozing 🙂

    Bentley built the swing bed for my birthday. I know, I know I am a very lucky girl!!!

    Swing bed in front of infinity edge pool and lake

    Primary Bathroom

    After years of having to clean glass doors on showers, I said “NO MORE!!!” Hence the doorless walk in shower.

    The freestanding tub overlooks the pool and back yard. I must say this bathtub is so comfortable.

    Primary ensuite with light blue walls, white tiled floors, marble vanity and silver accessories
    Modern freestanding tub all decked out for Valentines

    Our Greenhouse – Annie

    Another important member of our family is a vintage window greenhouse Bentley made me from windows I collected at garage and estate sales. We affectionately named the greenhouse after Bentley’s mom, Annie, who loved to collect vintage linens, china, etc., and restore them to their former glory.

    Click here is a link to the whole story of Annie.

    Vintage window greenhouse

    Coming Soon

    As said above, I will continue to update this page as we finish rooms in our home. The rooms we are still working on are:

    Pantry

    Laundry Room

    Powder Room

    Movie Room

    Games Room

    Kid’s Rooms

    The Holidays

    We love the holidays and definitely throw ourselves into decorating for them. If you are interested in seeing more, please click the links below:

    Christmas

    Halloween

    Fall

    Outdoor dining

    Thank you for taking a tour of our Hampton style home, beach house, rustic luxury, coastal style home, whatever it may be!

    Hampton style home with swing bed

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    10 Comments
    • Lisa Rockheartcabin 💗
      August 21, 2022

      I am in absolute Aw! Can I just tell you that, Something’s Got To Give, is one of my all time favorite movies! I’ve watched it so many times. I’ve been following you on IG for some time now and you are the sweetest! Very inspiring. Thank you!

      Reply
      • Crystal
        August 21, 2022

        Thanks so much Lisa! I was just saying last night, why don’t they make more movies like Something’s Got to Give. I love that one too!!! You inspire me all the time too – just love watching your build and seeing how faith filled you are.

        Reply
    • Leslie Watkins
      August 22, 2022

      It’s simply stunning! I am love with the view the moment you enter. Breathtaking…each and every vignette. It does speak luxury and warm and inviting. From the snow covered view in your office, the beauty from that swing or that kitchen…you will know where to find me when I’m not visiting Annie. Thank you for sharing.

      Reply
      • Crystal
        August 27, 2022

        Leslie – thank you so very much!!! Haha yes the swing is where everyone gravitates to. Your comment is so lovely – I really appreciate it!

        Reply
    • Missy
      August 27, 2022

      I am obsessed with your gorgeous home! I mean…obsessed! It is absolutely gorgeous. From the views to the architecture to all of the amazing details, this is a showplace home that is still the ultimate in welcoming and inviting! Missy

      Reply
      • Crystal
        August 27, 2022

        Missy you are so kind! Thank you!!! Welcoming was exactly what I wanted – a place where people felt comfortable and relaxed!!!

        Reply
    • Emma sivewright
      September 3, 2022

      I also loved the beach house style of life and thought a pass thru window and bar would be perfect. Trigeminal Neuralgia Surgery Adelaide

      Reply
      • Crystal
        September 11, 2022

        Thanks so much Emma! The pass thru window is so much fun!

        Reply
    • Renae
      October 29, 2022

      Your home is absolutely stunning! Thank you so much for sharing. Blessings to you.

      Reply
      • Crystal
        October 29, 2022

        Thanks so much Renae!!! So happy you popped by!

        Reply

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