Naming our Home (and inspiration photos)

We move into our historic 1905 house in two weeks! I’ve been busy planning over here and so I thought I’d share some updates!

naming our house

Naming a house sounds a little pretensions- I know, but I figured that if any house deserves to be named, its a cute old home. Plus, we’ve been moving around so much lately that having a name for it might be smart (and less confusing)! Lastly, its fun! And it makes the house feel special.

In the UK, its way more common to name a house. And guess what, it helps sell the house too (source)! According to that article, people will pay more for a house with a name too!

Jennifer Warner from Globrix.com said: “It may sound ridiculous but it’s part of human psychology that small changes in perception can affect what we’re prepared to pay for something – and that includes homes. A property with a name has connotations that people are prepared to shell out extra for.”

Any home can be named, not just a fancy one. So if you’re ready to join in the fun, here’s how to name a house:

Choose a noun

For this step, you’ll have to get creative! Here’s some ideas-

look up surrounding schools, landmarks, parks, or streets and use one of those names.
You could even choose the name of the original owner if you know it!
Maybe the house has something historical about it, that could be helpful too (if it was a barn or a mill or something along those lines).
Another fun option is to take hints from the house itself too- the color or style of the house or the flowers growing next to it could become part of your house’s name.

choose a suffix

Now you’ll simply add a word that describes your dwelling- House, Nest, Retreat, Home, Oasis, Hill, Cottage, Hideaway, Lodge, Loft, Chateau, Barn, Regency, Oaks, Bungalow, Villa, Farm, Row, Arms, Studio, Wing, View, or Corridor.

my house name

Using this method, I came up with three names- Fairview Cottage, Providence House and Mountainside Oasis. I took my options to Instagram and everyone voted on the winner… Fairview Cottage! I think it goes nicely with the style and feel of the home.

what do you do with the the name?

make a name plaque for the home
In certain places, you can register it to make it official
Lastly, you can use it on social media with a hashtag and/or location to check in to

front door inspiration

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I’m dreaming of a white house with a pink door! Currently, the house has vinyl doors that have seen better days. I’m planning on heading to an architectural salvage shop and trying to find a door that we can save. The tricky thing is that the front porch has two doors (one leading to the soon to be office that is centered on the house and one off to the side that’s the actual front porch). Ideally we can find two matching ones (which may be tricky)!

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If there is anyone who is good at exterior details, its Chip and Joanna! I loved how on Fixer Upper they added a name plaque to their Bed and Breakfast, Magnolia House. Using this as inspiration, I just ordered a name plaque from Front Gate to go next to our front door!!! Here’s a mock-up of what’s on the way:

Its a brass sign (swoon) that is customized with the name of our house and the year it was built in. I love that is not actually our house number (since I’m cautious about sharing that online). I think this is a great piece that can stay with the house forever and feel really special. For anyone in the market, its the Hawthorne Address Plaque (I went with the estate size to fit the full name of the house).

Shop more home name plaques here-

exterior inspiration

I’m sharing another picture of the exterior of our house. I remember staring at it one night and realized that with a few tweaks, this could be my dream house. The house is Victorian style, but to me, its missing the trim that is quintessential Victorian (and would make it so much more special).

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Its a little hard to see past those trees, but can you spot the cute trim on the porch and the gable?! Once I find a source for the trim, I think it’ll be a (somewhat) easy addition that will make ALL of the difference. Also, that house is in Key West, Florida which is one of my favorite places in the world for pretty houses!

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Once the door and shutters have been painted pink, the exterior will be so cute! Of course, I’ll add new lighting and lots of flowers! The porch floor needs to be painted too. Honestly, 1 million things need to be done, but this is the direction I want to be headed.

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On the higher priority of things is to put in a fence. The house is on a somewhat busy road and the backyard isn’t fenced on one side. We’d like to add a white picket fence to the front so Don and the dogs can run around freely and safely. The plan is for a white picket fence and so hopefully that’ll be up somewhat soon.

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Pretty much, I just want my house to be cute enough on the front to take a picture like this- lol! I’ve never had the outside of a house I’ve owned have potential for curb appeal. I really love the idea of the outside of my house matching the inside. I personally call this Project Dollhouse ;).

backyard inspiration

In case you’re wondering, the backyard of our house is big and 100% neglected. It’s mostly dried up weeds and a few fruit trees (the latter of which we’re really grateful for). The house has been rented for the past 6 years (hence, the neglect), but before that, a gardener lived there. There’s still remnants of the garden that we’ll be trying to bring back to life.

before photos- our house 6 years ago

Those are a few examples of how the house looked in 2012 from an old listing I found when the house used to be pink. It honestly makes me sad to see how run down its gotten- sigh! BUT below are some photos with how we’re going to try to bring the charm back.

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I’m hoping for lots of pink roses and some fun little areas like the one above with the bench. I love the look of English garden/farm. It’ll be a long time before we can get to this point, but I think its important to have a vision for where you want to end up.

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The backyard has a few sheds that are a bit run down. I know they can be cute though! I’d like to add some details to them and do a bit of sprucing up too. We’re also wanting play areas for Don- a sand box and maybe a fort or a playhouse. By next summer we’d like to have a patio for outdoor dining.

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I’d love to add a few whimsical details like some cute birdhouses on posts. My idea is for this to be an escape from the world where we spend lots of our time. My husband gets to be in charge of most of the backyard and I’m excited to watch it evolve!

So there is the inspiration for the outside of Fairview Cottage- who else is excited?! I’d love to hear what you’re most looking forward to in the comments. Next week I’ll be sharing inspiration for the inside, so stay tuned!
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