The Nest

This is where I live. It's a very old house...built in the 1920s by Sarah B. Cochran.

Next door to the house is the Cochran Memorial United Methodist Church. My husband pastors this church along with two other churches that make up the Dawson United Methodist Charge. It has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1982.

This is the front hall of our house. The stairwell is all dark wood and beautifully carved. I try to keep the banisters clear of coats and book bags. This photo must have been taken after a spontaneous cleaning!

These photos are of the living room. It's really a great big room. It was bright, neon yellow when we moved in, but I papered 3 of the walls and painted the other wall to match the sofa. You just haven't lived until you've papered 10 foot ceilings by yourself!

This is the dining room. Again...the woodwork here is awesome. I don't even have a good picture of the ceiling which is the best part. It's is all crossbeams of dark wood. Very impressive. The diningroom set, buffet and china closet are original to the house. I'd like to say they're mine, but they're not! I'm glad they were here though because my small, oak, country-style table would have looked ridiculous in here.

The kitchen may be my favorite room in the house. I painted all of the woodwork a bright, berry red used a lot of primary colors and black to accent. The pot rack was a Christmas present from my mom and dad. It needs a lot of modernization and new countertops, but it makes me happy. I really like the art of Mary Engelbreit and I thought this looked like one of her illustrations. One thing is for sure...whoever follows us into this house will HATE me if they don't like red!

The pantry off the kitchen is painted with yellow to compliment the red in the kitchen. This is the view out the small pantry window.

This is a picture of the landing on the stair well...

and this is a close-up of the stained-glass window.

Behind the house is our garage which is actually more of a carriage house. The "stalls" are too small for today's cars, probably because they were built to accomodate horses and a carriage! Above the garage is a lovely 5-room apartment which is now occupied by a nice little family of four.

This great tree is in the backyard, which is one of the nicest parts of this property. The kids have plenty of room to run around and a big tree for a tire swing. In June, the yard twinkles with fireflies. Summer in Dawson is just like a Country Time Lemonade commercial. I love it!