A Young Couple Rehabs a Building with Many Former Lives

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Studio kitchen looking from the bathroom (Image credit: Cameron Manwaring)

Name: Shara and her husband
Location: Hurricane, Utah — Zion National Park is our backyard!
The basics: 3 months, owned — 900 square feet

Fate brought Shara and her husband together. After abandoning his plans of buying a boat, the couple bought a building in Utah that has lived many lives. From a post office to a pool hall, it’s now stylish and minimal living spaces.

Tell us a little (or a lot) about your home and the people who live there: After selling his company, my husband was going to buy a used sailboat, fix it up, and travel the world. However, we met and those plans changed for the better. So instead of an old sailboat, he moved to Southern Utah and purchased a historic pioneer building. We started dating while working on this place, we got engaged IN the building, and have sacrificed blood, sweat, and many tears through the process (tears from utter exhaustion).

Both of us are entrepreneurs and often work from home. Given the limited studio space, we had to utilize every bit of space through the design process and make sure it served a purpose. Our approach to minimal living and creating a minimal space allows us to travel frequently and live abroad. We have been living in Europe for the past three months and plan to live in Hawaii for several months next year. However, we will always call Utah home and plan to raise our future family here.

During it’s years, it served many purposes including: * Pool Hall * Soda Fountain * Post Office * School Teacher’s “drop in apartment” * Telephone Central * Power Company * Picture Hall (Movie Theater) * Mercantile. For the most part however, our part of the building served as the drugstore and pharmacy for much of Southern Utah.

The building has an upstairs and downstairs. We converted both levels, and both are available for nightly rental when we are away traveling!

What is your favorite room and why? The kitchen is my favorite! Because I love to cook so much I got to design it and it’s exactly how I wanted it.

If you could magically change something about your home, what would it be? I wish there were more windows. More natural light would be amazing, but we are surrounded by other buildings, so the two in the front will have to do!

What’s the last thing you bought (or found!) for your home? My husband found an old camera tripod at a yard sale for $20 and converted it into a lamp. It’s one of our favorite pieces.

Any advice for creating a home you love? Build around your lifestyle. If you are always on the go, create a space that becomes a safe-haven for you to come home to.

Thanks, Shara!

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