I Bought My Home Sight Unseen in a Town I’d Never Lived in — And I’d Do It Again
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After 14 years of bouncing from one one-bedroom apartment to the next in and around New York City, my husband and I decided it was time for a change. The pandemic had rolled into its second year, and as the walls of our first-floor brownstone continued to feel like they were closing in on us and our two pugs, our good friend Lara — my first New York roommate turned Charlestonian — put a bug in my ear. “You guys should look for a house in Beaufort; it’s like a smaller version of what Charleston was like 20 years ago,” she said.
We always loved the laid-back, low-country lifestyle and cuisine whenever we visited Lara in Charleston. But Beaufort, South Carolina? Never heard of it.
As we researched, we learned that Beaufort — pronounced like how you’d say “beautiful” — is a small sea island town located roughly between Charleston, South Carolina, and Savannah, Georgia. It’s known for its idyllic coastline with live oaks and salt marshes and has plenty of Reconstruction-era history and beautiful architecture. (Plus, a lot of Forrest Gump was filmed there!)
Intrigued, my husband and I began looking online for potential properties. It only took a few months for a house to pop up on our radar. After a virtual tour in April 2021, we decided to just go for it and made an offer sight unseen on a three-bedroom Charleston-style home complete with double porches. We moved from New York to Beaufort in May 2021.
It was a major lifestyle change, but one we jumped right into. We immediately explored the neighborhood and spent our weekends boating with neighbors or paddleboarding on the creek behind our house. What was supposed to be a vacation home started feeling like something much more — especially as I immersed myself into the subculture of tried-and-true thrifters in Beaufort as I shopped for furniture to fill our home.
Having picked up and moved without even touring the town in person, frequenting the dozens of thrift shops in Beaufort was the perfect way to get to know my new hometown — we made it our permanent home a year after moving in. What helped me fall in love with this place was a new routine that included exploring the thrift shops in town and taking trips all around South Carolina to discover hundreds of thrift stores and antique and consignment shops. It was also a great way to make friends!
When I met my neighbor Aleksa at a local rooftop barre class, we instantly hit it off and became thrifting buddies. She taught me when and where to find a good bargain in Beaufort — and to always be early. “If you like something, then someone else will too, so don’t procrastinate!” Aleksa says.
She clued me into the best time to score deals at the Lowcountry Habitat For Humanity ReStore (30 minutes before opening on Thursday mornings). I’ve found some incredible pieces here, including a 19th-century red-and-gold Chinoiserie chest, a mint-condition antique Chinese sideboard, and beautiful vintage coupes. It’s also where I learned a DIY trick to remove water stains from wood furniture using mayonnaise — you need to slather it on and leave it on at least overnight.
I’ve thrifted and upcycled about 90% of the furniture and decor in our home from shops in and around Beaufort, from our dining room set to bedroom dressers and even some dishware.
One of my favorite finds (and stories) is from a dedicated thrifting mission with friends last summer en route to Hilton Head Island. I struck gold when I found a French Louis XVI-style gilt brass and mahogany desk in perfect condition. After a comedy of errors in the consignment shop, including accidentally breaking a $5 glass plate (my husband) and pouring water out of a vase of flowers (me) that I was checking the price of, I still managed to negotiate the price of the desk down from $800 to $600. My beautiful writing desk continues to be one of my favorite, albeit most expensive, antique purchases to date.
Thrifting has saved my husband and me thousands of dollars furnishing our three-bedroom home, but I’ve put in my fair share of work sanding and repainting. I really don’t mind the extra effort, though, because I don’t go thrifting only to dig out perfect gems: I do it because I love the hunt. And restoring these pieces is a sustainable way to decorate, which is a core value of mine. It’s also a rewarding and deeply satisfying creative outlet — I love that moving to Beaufort gave me a chance to turn my enthusiasm for thrifting and antiquing into a full-time hobby.
I’ve always had an eclectic, dare I say maximalist, decor sensibility — what my friend and neighbor Whitney lovingly refers to as “dopamine decor” — and my home is a true reflection of that. Now, thanks to touches like local Gullah artwork and all my thrifting finds, my design style is also a reflection of my new surroundings. I couldn’t be happier to call this once-unknown-to-me town my home.