Romance Great

In this charming and nostalgic 1926 cottage, each room receives a festive dose of holiday cheer.

- JO-ANNE COLETT

Sometimes homes have a way of reigniting an old flame.

Sara McDaniel returned to her hometown in Minden, Louisiana, and she rediscovered her lifelong passion in a crumbling-down house. Her love for antique homes started when she was 10 years old while on a class field trip to Jefferson, Texas, a delightful city filled with historic homes. The winsome mid-nineteenth-century homes left a young Sara feeling perfectly enchanted. “I’ve been in love with old houses for as long as I can remember,” she says. “Yet, I’ve never been blessed to own one. Because life has handed me unexpected opportunities and circumstances, I felt in my bones it was time to fulfill my lifelong dream of owning an old home. So, I set out to find the perfect house.

MAKING A WISHLIST

Sara had a few requirements: the home must be at least 50 years old (preferably older), have at least three bedrooms and two bathrooms and be in a safe neighborhood. She also wanted it to be close to the airport and to family. The home also needed to have a small-to-medium-sized-yard, be great for entertaining and be in a picturesque setting. “For twenty-two months, I was unequivocally smitten and completely devoted to wooing and pursuing a broken-down Louisiana cottage built in 1926,” Sara said. And then she found it. “Located just on the edge of the historic residential district in Minden, Louisiana—it was perfect,” said Sara.