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Name: Aimee
Location: Northshore of New Orleans, Louisiana

Both my husband and I are teachers at the same all-girls high school in our town. We used to drive about 30 minutes to and from work every day, but when we adopted our son last year, we were eager to spend less time in the car and more time at home as a family.

We found and fell in love with this 1962 ranch about three minutes' drive from the school where we teach as well as the preschool and elementary school that our son will attend in a few years. The mother of one of my students helped us sell our previous house and buy this one; during the process, we discovered that the seller was an old friend of my parents; my dad had actually landscaped the yard for the previous seller years ago... it just seemed meant to be.

After about six months here, we are nearly done with the first round of adding personality and function to the house. We strive to make our home a bright, tidy and cheerful place to share memories with our family and friends. We sort of prefer our house's smaller size to the sprawling Southern mansions in the next neighborhood over--easier to manage and maintain, easier to furnish, and easier to end up in the same room together.

Nearly everything in our house is second hand, from furniture to paintings; we have not spent more than $300 on any one piece, new or vintage. We love showing our guests that making a home beautiful and welcoming is not expensive or difficult, and can even be fun. We also love that our home is filled with things from across the generations, across our combined experiences, and across the world. Things always look best when they fit, and our "new" old home fits us just right.

Thanks, Aimee!

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