What is BrightHaven?

My husband and I bought our first home almost two years ago. The winds and rain of hurricane Ivan had left the lot devoid of trees and full of Florida sunshine. I ran a little contest on Flickr, asking for helping naming our new home: preferably something reminiscent of Lord of the Rings or Anne of Green Gables.

BrightHaven was the winner.

After closing, we walked into our new home and proceeded to strip wallpaper from the walls and pull out every vestige of carpet to be found.  I sincerely dislike carpet: especially since I knew in my heart that hardwood floors lived beneath these carpets.  Perhaps we weren’t prepared for the state in which we found these floors.  They had been painted with multiple coats of green, red and yellow paints, gouged and mildewed from doggie potty breaks.  We worked on the floors for a month before moving into our new Haven and have been working on the gardens ever since.  Join us as we make our little home a true BrightHaven!