fbpx

Blog

We’re Moving! And We’re Finally Sharing Where!

April 13, 2021

It’s been a whirlwind around here. I’m not sure we’ve caught our breath yet, but this post is long overdue and I know I’ve left a lot of you hanging.

In case you missed our big announcement on Heart of the Home Podcast, we’re moving from our beloved Stagg Reno and taking on the biggest home project we’ve ever done for us personally– and that’s saying something.

Stagg Reno as it looks today

We’ve gotten so many questions about why we are moving and where. I’ve been holding off sharing all of the details because in this market, nothing is certain and we haven’t closed on our new project yet. At this point, I feel confident sharing a few details, with a lot more to come very soon! So let’s dive into answering some of your most asked questions:

Why are you moving? Didn’t you go through a huge renovation?

You betcha, we sure did. Stagg Reno was a massive project. It was a 1970 midcentury ranch rambler that had been vacant for eight years before we purchased it. We did all kinds of crazy things to make it what it is today. I’m planning to take a look back at the Stagg Reno process, and also share a bunch of spaces and projects I never got around to showing your. There’s a lot of great content coming up. But I digress…

We love Stagg Reno. It’s the only home our kids know (Ruby was 2 1/2 when we bought it). We poured our hearts and souls into the renovation, and we are so proud of how it turned out. We could have stayed here forever and been very happy! Stagg Reno is also complete. We’ve finished every space, including the yard, and there isn’t anything we would do differently. That being said, we are a couple that consists of an interior designer and a general contractor. Projects are in our DNA and a big part of our lives (and our businesses). And Stagg Reno has no projects left to tackle.

Around December, we started to talk about whether or not we should consider moving. We love our home, but looking ahead to the next 10 years, there are a few things we wish were different that can’t be changed. The housing market is also bonkers right now in Utah and we felt like it might be the right time to maximize the value of our home.

Now, let’s talk about what we want in the next home that Stagg Reno doesn’t have that would make us want to leave our beautiful home, yard I still tear up about leaving, and the place we brought babies home from the hospital.

What do you want in a new house?

As we started really thinking about what we wanted and needed in a home, we came up with a list of items we wanted to check off (or the possibility of making these happen) in a new project.

First, we need a bigger office space and setup. Before the pandemic hit, we were getting ready to pull the trigger on an outside office space (so grateful we didn’t!) and even though working from our home creates challenges, in our current phase of life the pros outweigh the cons. We love being close to our little girls. They are so young, and these years are precious. Nothing is better than having them run in for a quick hug, to tell us about something exciting, and to be easily accessible should they need something. We also love the convenience of having our home to shoot product, share projects, etc. It’s not perfect, but we both feel like we would regret an external office space right now. That being said, our current home office is in a spare bedroom and doesn’t allow for our team to work comfortably together. We also need a better setup for client meetings, podcast recordings, sample storage, and so on.

the current office at Stagg Reno

Secondly, we have a few wishlist items the Stagg Reno isn’t a good fit for. Let me preface this by saying these are purely wishes. None are necessities, as we see the office space, and we know our current home is large by a lot of people’s standards. Again, Stagg Reno is very efficiently designed and we worked hard to make it not only beautiful, but very functional. However, looking again at the next 10 years, we have a few things we’d love in our future home.

We’d love a home gym/studio space. It’s not something I’ve talked a lot about in this space, but in another life I danced professionally and now our girls are involved in dance. Ruby is developing into quite the little dancer, and we would love for the girls to have a space to practice more comfortably. We have long winters here and an indoor space where the girls could run around and practice tumbling would be a dream. Jon and I would love a space to workout that isn’t our family room hall where our Peleton is currently parked, and I also have plans to make this space dual functional for gatherings and photoshoots (I’m always trying to think about how we can get the most use out of a space).

We’d really like a bigger pantry. Stagg Reno didn’t even have a proper pantry before the renovation, and the one we were able to add into the plans isn’t very big. I bake and cook a lot, especially with the girls, and functionally we would enjoy a larger panty and workspace.

More entertaining space. We love to entertain, and we’d like more space to do that comfortably. Stagg Reno has the dreamiest indoor/outdoor flow from kitchen/dining/family room to patio, and our next house will absolutely have that as well, but if it’s a colder weather get together, it’s cramped if the guest list is more than 10. Jon has a large extended family and through the years, we find ourselves hosting the majority of gatherings. Thanksgiving and the annual Christmas party can easily have more than 40 people in some years and it’s becoming challenging.

We want the girls’ rooms to be altogether. In our current setup, Vivie’s room is upstairs, and Anna and Ruby have rooms downstairs. Let me say, having the bedrooms downstairs was something I was worried about when we bought the house and it’s been awesome and nothing at all to worry about. Stagg Reno has a great flow from one floor to the other, huge windows for natural light, and it’s completely been a non issue. When Vivie was a baby, it was ideal to have the nursery right next to the master bedroom, but now that she is four, I’d love to have the three girls pretty close to one another. Vivie’s room is also on the smaller side, and I know her desire for a little bit bigger space will come eventually.

Okay, now these are the few items somehow typing them out feels like opening myself up to judgment for extravagance, but these features are not uncommon in the West where there is more open space for larger homes. We would love a theatre room/lounge space. Jon’s love language is movie nights and it’s long been his dream to have a theatre room of some kind. He doesn’t want a basketball court. He doesn’t want a man cave. Jon loves movies. And he loves large screens. And subwoofers. And if we can find the space for it, Jon’s dream of a theatre room is coming true. For me, I want more land for a larger garden. Outdoor spaces fill my cup. And the girls would die for space for a swimming pool (someday).

So spill the beans already– where are you moving?

Let’s just get this out there, we are not moving out of Utah. We’re not moving out of our city. We’re not even moving out of our neighborhood. We love our current bubble so much, it would be really difficult to leave. We have formed wonderful friendships here, have great schools and community, and the location can’t be beat. We are within walking distance to trailheads and have breathtaking valley and mountain views. All that to say, we don’t want to leave this area unless we have to at this point.

That’s a pretty small geographical area, and we had our work cut out for us finding the right next move. Our neighborhood has virtually no undeveloped land, and almost no homes on the market. It’s a pretty coveted area and it’s not uncommon for homes to change hands off market. If you build, you have to tear down. If you renovate, it needs to be a home that justifies the investment and there just weren’t a lot of options that fit what we were looking for. We were open to tearing down and building, and we were open to renovating again. We just had to find the right project.

The story of how we landed on our new home has a lot of twists and turns, ups and downs, and I promise I’ll share all of it as soon as we can. I want to wait until we close. But I’ll give you something! Otherwise I think I’ll have an angry mob.

Here’s what I can share about our new house:

  1. It’s a renovation, and our biggest yet. And we’ve done big renovations.

2. It’s a bigger house than Stagg Reno, on a bigger lot. And all of it needs love.

3. If this house had a soundtrack, it would include all the songs from Grease (it was built the same year the movie came out!). And it shows. Original 70’s touches and I can’t wait to show you the home in its current state before we start the renovation.

4. The house has an interesting history. I love learning about how a home came to be. I also can’t wait to give it a new chapter in its history– ours.

5. It’s full of possibility, some things we love, a lot we don’t, and a few things we are still trying to figure out what to do with. We are mapping out content now. It’s going to be a wild ride, and I’m so glad you’re here for it!

Be sure you’re signed up for our email list because we’re going to share the first looks at the new home through our newsletter! You can sign up here and I promise, we don’t flood your inbox!

Did you sell Stagg Reno already? When are you moving?

Yes, Stagg Reno sold so quickly and we’ve actually already closed! It was nuts, and will write a whole post about the selling process but I’ll just say this: if you’re thinking about selling, it’s a really amazing time to sell. But don’t do it unless you know where you’re going next and have it lined up because while it’s definitely a seller’s market, it’s not a buyer’s market.

And let me go on and answer your next question: if you’ve closed on Stagg Reno, have you already moved? No, we aren’t moving until later this summer. The buyers are leasing back to us, which is really a dream scenario we didn’t anticipate.

And there you have it! It’s such an exciting time for our family with a lot of change ahead. Thanks for being here for it. We can’t wait to show you the next phase for our family and business!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  1. Jeffrey Herrera says:

    So happy for your family! Exciting times!

  2. Nola says:

    So excited for you!!!

back to top

@jenniferstagg

shop

We're a full-service design firm and home furnishings shop built around the philosophy that a well-designed home should be beautiful, personal, cohesive, and complete. We think home is the most important place on the planet and when you live in a home that is perfectly you, it changes your life. Don't believe us? Stick around. We're confident we'll change your mind.

hello there!

Follow Along

@jenniferstagg

Hey, let's be friends

Exclusive projects, discounts, and extra goodies all in your inbox. And don’t worry- your email is for our eyes only.

Let Us Show You Around

home

about

blog

contact

shop

Services

portfolio

careers

tutorials

guides

youtube

podcast

our home

PRESS

| privacy policy

| terms and conditions

copyright © 2023 stagg design | All rights reserved