The hubs and I have searched for over 20 years for a lake property on which we both could agree. I had a commune fantasy where everyone could live together in their own little cottages. I wanted it to look like summer camp in the 60s. We could run barefoot down to the lake, where we would all leap in together, holding hands and laughing.

His vision was a little different. He wanted it new, modern, and not so big.

I did almost talk him into an abandoned group of cabins, but I reluctantly moved on.

There were a few details we both wanted. First, we wanted everyone in our family to be able to get there reasonably quickly. That eliminated most of the lakes in Texas. I wanted a casual, country feel, absolutely no “Dallas” house. He insisted on a boathouse. I wanted to have opportunities to add my touch to the house; he wanted to be able to use it immediately. I wanted to have a place that I could fill with family and friends. I wanted perfect imperfection where running, t-shirts, and fire pits to toast marshmallows fit right in.

We both have fond memories of summers by lakes. One set of my grandparents had a house on Lake Tyler in East Texas. I loved waking up on the lumpy sleeper sofa on a screened-in porch, watching the sunrise over the mist-covered water. My other grandparents would take us to a company-owned property on Lake Tyler. They would stake out a spot where we would picnic as the kids ran to jump in the lake while grandpa would fish. Hubs spent time in the hill country with his family, boating, and swimming.

We spent endless hours driving around almost every lake in Texas (and beyond). We would dream and talk (and argues sometimes) about what we were looking for. We had narrowed it down to a few lakes that were weekendable (I know, it is not really a word, but it should be!) from Dallas and Austin. I kept the Realtor.com app busy all..the..time to see if anything new popped up.

And I knew this was it. (or more accurately, hoped and wished and crossed my fingers) The location was ideal; the description sounded perfect, but …..we have looked at so many places that looked good in the pics and did not quite live up to the billing. We decided to drive down and look around before we made an appointment to see it. Some rough-looking areas surround so many of the lake properties we have looked at; I am talking really rough.

This one was different; large farms and country property surrounded it. Next door, the lot was a vacant property, so we walked through it to look around the house and property. You see that gorgeous white fence, well, it fell apart in our hands when we touched a post. So we knew there was some deferred maintenance to deal with. We still loved it and made an appointment to see it the following weekend.

It was a perfect blend of being in good shape but needing the updates I like to do. It had a boathouse that the hubs insisted on and room to spread out for our family.  We made the offer (and someone else also did!), but ours was selected.

If you have found your perfectly imperfect second home, I would love to help you design and furnish it. My eDesign services and curated shops are available to create the place you have dreamed about.

Have you wished for a second home for a while?

What is your dream?

A mountain retreat? A coastal cottage? A lakefront compound?