Waterville Valley

In 2021 after selling our new build near Sunapee, NH, I searched though NH and VT for something to work as a ski house and rental. I settled on a 3-bedroom townhome attached to 7 other units with a great location right on the shuttle bus to the mountain. The 1980s build needed updating, but we weren’t sure how much work to put in at that point in our lives. I did the “lipstick on a pig” approach and hired painters. Joe Molloy from Scituate, who had worked on the Humarock, MA home, luckily loves going to NH and did a fantastic job. We painted all the kitchen and bathroom cabinets and even did a special painting technique on the old counters to epoxy and make them look like marble. 

The biggest impact, though, came from hiring Becky O’Toole of The Pink Frame to paint a very large canvas in her unique style. Becky used exactly the right blue in the piece, coordinating it with the other blue tones I chose for the kitchen and walls in the great room. Then, in the bedrooms I chose Hale Navy by Benjamin Moore and painted myself 6 large canvases of art – they came out okay, but were not nearly as good as Becky’s.

While we were encountering many issues with the build, sale, and timeline of moving into our new family home, we knew we couldn’t sell the townhome. But once we moved in we decided we would try to switch to a different location. I had already done the research and knew a bigger, better place with a stable, well-managed HOA was available at a better ski mountain. The offer was accepted and our Waterville home sold in a weekend. 

This experience taught us not only about what was right for our family but also enhanced our flexibility in decision making. It’s essential in home owning, building, and designing to be decisive, yet able to pivot as needed and make quick decisions. It’s better to regret something done than something not done.