Saturday Morning Coffee Talk

Good morning, sweet friends! Welcome to Saturday Morning Coffee Talk. Hope you have your cup of coffee in hand (tea or favorite beverage).

Here on Saturdays, I talk about random things going on over at White Lilac Farmhouse or little something about myself.

Naming of a house

Over the years, I had dreamed of buying an old farmhouse or one that was recently restored. I came very close to purchasing an old Victorian Farmhouse that was well over a 100 years old. It was stunning! I had envisioned passing a home like this down to one of my children.

I have always been fascinated with older homes. Especially, those homes that have been passed down from generations to generations. A home that had so much history.

My husband did not share the same dream with me. And, that my friends would be my greatest defeat. I can talk him into a lot of things, but he would not budge on the decision to purchase this older home. The main reasons for him were: 1) he is 5 years out from retiring; 2) he’s not a handy man; and 3) old homes can be costly to maintain.

I could see his point. Not that I wanted too (the stubborn side of me), but it did make perfect sense.

We set out on building a new semi-custom home. Yes, we could have bought property and built a new farmhouse that looked old. However, together we decided to a semi-custom on a smaller lot would be the best options for us.

It’s called compromising to satisfy both individuals in order to stay happily married.

You do not need to live in a historical home, castle, manor or estate to give your house a name. Why name it?

I believe a house takes in the lives of their occupants. I think by naming your house, you give it a spirit that captures the essence of those who call it home.

So how did I come up with the name of our home?

As a child, I loved my mother’s purple lilac bush. It was enormous and had huge blooms on it. When the wind blew, the fragrance of lilacs filled the air. This lilac bush was grown from a clipping of a bush from my grandmother’s old farm. The bush in my parents backyard had to be 8 ft. tall.

When I built my first home with my husband, I knew lilacs would be one of the first bushes planted. I purchased one from the local nursery thinking it was purple. Little did I know the bush was missed labeled and it was a White Lilac Bush. I did not know that there were White Lilacs.

This is the bush that bloomed the second year after planting it. It use to get the most beautiful solid white blooms on it. The fragrance was just as lovely as I remembered from my childhood.

When we began to build this home, I was sketching out layouts of my gardens on the property. Gardens that we would work on immediately and some for the future years. I was creating a list of all of my favorites plants, shrubs, trees, etc.

Immediately, I knew White Lilacs would need to be planted. As I sketched a large White Lilac Tree in the front yard, at that moment it hit me. The house would be named “White Lilac Farmhouse”. From that moment on, I as referred to the home in my construction photos as building “White Lilac Farmhouse”.

Our first spring in the home, we planted a White Lilac Tree in the front yard. We also planted white and purple lilac bushes on the property. The bushes and tree are still small, but I look forward to watching them grow in the years to come.

I cannot wait until the day when the windows are open and the sweet fragrance of the lilacs comes pouring in through not only my windows but neighbors windows as well.

Have a great weekend friends!