Here are just a few images and snippets of the home we built with loving hearts and hands.
Goodnight, Dove Cottage
We have moved from this house near the beach, and we now live in the mountains.
Our new house renovation will begin soon!
XOXO ~Amor Milagre
The new house designs are planned and will be excitedly shared here as each room is updated. Good designs take time to grow just as a garden evolves in time. A house is not finished and full all at once. Over the years, we can make and stumble upon things to adorn the walls and sketchbooks. Renovations will be appearing in this Amor Milagre journal and design books in the coming seasons. Our new home will provide more time for me to release many collections, as well as a quieter lifestyle for our family. We hope no one pollutes our new reverie as they did our darling Dove Cottage. All the good memories we do have from this house are layered with the stress of the sound pollution. We look forward to truly wonderful and healthy memories.
My book characters were born in our first house, inspiring silly dreams at bedtime, many of which are still waiting to jump into the Shop. My husband hand-cleared the land for the house, made paths in the woods by walking his adored daily stroll in the trees years before we met. Later, we married in our wooded haven. We watched a family of deer cross the snowy yard every twilight. Toys danced on the new FSC Certified flooring and little hands circled their first crayon masterpiece, making first storybooks. New vegan recipes shined in the organic no-dig garden and were enjoyed at the table. Illustrations graced the walls, beautifully papered with non-toxic, unscented materials. Radiant heat kept us cozy in the cold months, and mini-split heat pumps cooled us on hot days. All would have been more enjoyable if we could feel the breeze through our new rooms, but the sound pollution from machines, highways, deforestation, and disrespectful new neighbours increased to a level so hard to exist in, our beautiful new large windows that brought Nature in, had to stay closed. No open fresh air means ill health, even with a mechanical ventilation system. Where is common curtesy? Where is compassion? Where are manners and human dignity? Where is Love for all living things? We’re hopefully moving there…or at least we will continue to encourage these loving practices wherever we go…
‘Dove Cottage’ is only now ‘finished’ because we are leaving it. A home is never ‘done’, but rather it changes over time and when in new hands. We only just now finished the interior projects in order to move, some varying from our plans, and after all of our work, we haven’t even been able to live in the finished spaces due to our hastened move caused by sound pollution. Though we did carve out some lovely exterior gardens, we haven’t had time to finish the garden plans around the house to share. Our sacrifice, work, money, muscle, patience, and every second from the past several years was dedicated to Dove Cottage. All was done by our loving hands and imagination with good health in mind for each choice. It has been an unnecessary struggle. We didn’t even get to try the new shower or kitchen that we have only just finished. We told the house to share the Loving Energy we gave her to the new owners and visitors.
***Amor Milagre, and our family, is in no way associated with any new owners, but our original designs of this house are copyrighted: All Rights Reserved © 2011-2019 Amor Milagre. I will finish and release some projects that include imagery from this house, but if any images of our house are shared online that are not by myself, Amor Milagre, then please remember that it is not us and we are not responsible for them or any messages or actions they put out into the Universe. The internet sometimes connects images, but the sources are often lost, so please do not confuse Amor Milagre with anyone else. The house will look similar to how it does now, as fixtures, wallpaper, paint colours, curtains, and other items are staying. Of course, any changes to the designs going forward are not done by us and we are not associated with or responsible for new or changed designs after we move. We are not them, and they are not us. We designed and made this house. Our new house will be our home and the new place of Atelier Amor Milagre (Design Studio & Office).
*Humans need to realize what they are doing to their own lives and everything all over. Deforestation destroys ecosystems and sound barriers. Machines (and neighbours even after speaking to them and then reporting them) need to stop polluting in every way. We hope to regain our hearing that was lost and to recover from illnesses and stress made by constant sound pollution. It is very serious and needs awareness to be made for it in order for healthy long-term changes to be made worldwide. We hope to build a new home to last many lifetimes in a peaceful place for good health, and not suffer anymore from the selfishness of others. That was what our Dove Cottage was supposed to be and why every second was pushed for it so that at some point we could settle in and truly live. The nomadic life is exhausting and upsetting. Everyone craves ‘home’, wherever that is for them. We simply want to go home.
Leaving our home was made worse by the current system for selling and buying. The real estate system is dysfunctional and massively problematic to endure. It has failed us since Spring. It is completely unorganized, out of order, and one late email or misplaced paper from any one of the many people involved can cause an entire deal to fall apart after the last second is up. The incredibly hectic, unrealistic way it operates is unacceptable. Everyone who speaks of it has their own terrible tale. We have informed the ‘people in charge’ of this system of healthy ideas for a complete redesign of this industry. You can use your voice to change this system. Find your state board of realtors to let them know how troubling this system is. They are aware of the issues, but don’t even apologize for it. “That’s the way it is…” they say. For everyone’s sake, they need to change it. It’s not a nice work day for them either. For us, it’s been yet another challenge to untangle. We don’t want to just get through it, forget it, and move on to more positive things because, if there is an issue that affects everyone, we must try to change it to be positive for everyone. It is still our problem even after we move. What if we have to move again, or our friend needs to move, or anyone needs to move? We don’t want the same system to impair our children’s life later on..or now. There is no steadiness for planning. Everything is last minute and you can’t count on it. It causes you to tell your children unreliable information and that is confusing and distressing to your daily life, memories, and planning. Every detail of life is on hold and disturbed for who knows how long. The fees are too high, and not affected by poor performance; there is no pay reduction consequence for missing deadlines or poor communication. We had to do most of the work ourselves to get anything done. Another industry that needs more care, healthier options, and to charge less is the construction business. We build our houses ourselves because we have to, even though we have very little time with both of us working full time jobs and parenting. The local contractors overcharge and don’t provide healthy practices or good craftsmanship. They also pollute your home, as does the real estate system, even when scent/pollution rules are set for showings and appointments.
*We really care about what we do, whether that is making a family dinner, designing our home, or painting up collections for the Amor Milagre Shop. What we all do matters greatly to everyone and our Selves.
Each industry needs a re-design with Good Health for All as the focus. What industries have you been involved in or have experience with? How can you make healthy choices and changes? Let’s not ignore problems. Let’s resolve them.
We dearly hope to at long last be settled and sleep well, even though we have to start over once again, rebuilding an old house, after building an efficient lovely new one with amazing healthy features and non-toxic sustainable beautiful materials. It’s amazing how truly hard it has been, having a baby, being ill, working, building, enduring and rebuilding our life every day just because the people around us do not care about their effect on the world. All with little to no sleep due to neighbours and highways (deforestation). Not being able to open the windows due to sound pollution causes so many illnesses and all can be prevented. Fresh air is vital. The nervous system and immune system need to feel safe, quiet, calm, and nurtured for good whole health. Trusting your instincts is important, but exhausting if all you hear is threatening sound pollution. Life does not need to be so difficult, complex, and painful. Life, by Nature, is absolutely beautiful, if we let it be beautiful for all of us, every day connecting with Nature. Be aware, be kind, be sensical, be gentle, be loving, be purely you! XOXO ~Amor Milagre
We Moved! All New Orders Will Ship Upon Reopening Oct 8th.
Thank you for your Patience.
Coming Up:
New Book: The Art of Packing & Moving
More Sustainable Home Design journal posts and Design Book Collections, including content from this post and my website.
A Few Related Posts:
Sound Pollution: Quiet the Machines of Humans. Connect to a Sense of Nature.
“The Art of Packing & Moving” New Home Health Tips
10 Helpful Tips For Healthy New Beginnings
New Home Shopping Tips: House & Land Search
New Home Design Series & Books, Interior Design & Sustainable Building
10 Quick Tips for Building a Sustainable House, Organic Home Design
Music of the Moment: Farewell and Goodnight, The Smashing Pumpkins
