She wasn’t always so blissful, but the charmer we brought back to life on Bluebonnet Drive in Fort Worth, Texas called to us from the very beginning.
Texas selected the Bluebonnet as their state flower in 1901. It wasn’t much longer, in 1928, when the first home in the Oakhurst area of Fort Worth was built. It was the first home high on the hill and in due time the view from the 2nd story would offer views of Downtown Fort Worth. We saw that view and suddenly the rotting wood, awkward triangle tub and horribly narrow staircase seemed all worthwhile.
When this home was originally built, the backyard was a Shetland Pony Farm! The pony hitching posts were still in existence when we purchased this home in 2013. Nearly 100 years later!
Blissful Bluebonnet has been one of our home remodels that people had a genuine fear regarding our ability to make a wise purchase. Our parents thought we were not only insane for purchasing it, but I think they were also concerned that buying this old, failing, smelly home (with the black water ‘pool’) would put us so far under that we would be crying for help. Or worse…duh duh duh….we’d be so broke we’d have to move back in with them. Forever. (Spoiler, we will in our lifetime move back in, but only for logistical reasons. And only when we have a kids in tow as well to make sure our presence is known).
The potential was there and we couldn’t let it go. Plus it was stuck in probate for a while so really no one else wanted to wait for it and we just couldn’t quit thinking of the view. And the potential. Once we get a vision we can’t let it go. It’s a good thing we can’t afford to buy every house because we get to dreaming and scheming and we can’t let it go.
Every passing month that house sat in probate (a process that can take a while when the owner has died and there are family wills to interpret) meant more cats and raccoons moved in. But that just made for more exciting planning meetings with our hard-working crew. Meow! It’s really too bad we didn’t have kids yet when we purchased this one because (if they survived the rusty nails and putrid smell) they would have loved the ‘wildlife’.
Here are some BEFORE photos. AFTER photos are coming soon:
