Brandi Cawood on what it's like being a first-time homeowner
When first-time homeowner Brandi Cawood went house hunting, she did not go with a list in hand.
“I didn’t have a huge wish list,” she says. “It was more the area and the price ranges and the convenience of things. This house was within my price range, which was crucial. It was move-in ready. The kitchen and bathroom had been updated. The things I did were the finishing touches, the fun things.”
Brandi took her time with the fun things.
“When I move anywhere, it takes me a while to decorate and get everything the way that I want,” she says. “I’d spent so much time painting, I almost hated to hang things on the wall. I mounted my TV, which I’ve never done before. When you mount your TV, it means you’re going to stay.”
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One project required immediate attention. The previous owners had installed a sliding barn door that led from the dining room to the master bedroom through a closet.
“You hear about walk-in closets,” says Brandi, “but not walk-through closets. (The door) wasn’t lost; I was able to use it on one of my barns.”
Another project was one of the most difficult for Brandi. She hated the home’s red and white exterior, but she didn’t have an immediate vision for replacing it.
“I got frustrated, super stressed,” she says. “It’s a big decision. I went to Lowe’s and spent $40 on little paint samples and hated them all. I liked my interior color (gray), so I used that and chose blue for the shutters.”
Brandi purchased the 1,150-square-foot bungalow in Rocky Hill in June 2016 and says, “I’m just now kind of getting it together.”
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“I’m a very particular shopper,” she says. “The first thing I did was go to Target and buy a rug and a broom. I bring things home and take them back if they don’t work. I try to buy everything on sale.
“I was going for a ‘country coastal’ style,” Brandi says. “People look at me like I have three eyes when I say that.”
She points to two vintage prints in the kitchen that came from the Seaside Farmers Market and the white farm-house-style hutch in the dining room as reflective of her style. Other pieces include a photograph Brandi took of the beach in Seaside, Florida, which she put in a tin frame and hung with twine, and a photograph of a wooden country church in Seaside that hangs in her bedroom
Brandi has used small family pieces throughout the home.
Wire egg baskets, tinted mason jars, vintage license plates and pieces of luggage belonging to her grandmother are nestled on shelves. When she asked her grandfather if he had any antlers, he produced a set from storage. A jar on the hutch in the dining room holds marbles that belonged to Brandi’s father. The wooden bowl in the middle of the dining room table belonged to Brandi’s great-grandmother.
She repainted a number of pieces: the dining room table, the armoire in the guest room and a dresser in the master bedroom. She built the media cabinet that sits in the living room.
“I went through a furniture-making phase,” Brandi says. “I’ve always liked to make and build things. I’ve tried to be thrifty and make my own stuff. I love HGTV and DIY shows. It’s so much more affordable to do it yourself.”
She made the holiday garland around the front door.
“I only got about 12 puncture wounds when I was trying to make that garland,” Brandi says with a laugh.
Her Christmas tree is decorated with silver ornaments of different sizes, shapes and types, and interlocking paper rings she created from a map she used in third grade.
“It’s been so fun to work on these projects and decorate and make it my own,” Brandi says. “I love my house. I love the location. I love the backyard. It’s in the middle of Rocky Hill, but it feels like you’re out in the woods.”