Sometimes it seems like all of the houses everywhere are white, white, white, yes? That doesn’t work for this color-loving gal, so when I spotted Megan Martin’s bright Florida home, I knew I wanted to share it here! The life she shares with her husband and three kiddos is equally breezy and beautiful, and I know you will love getting to know this sweet gal today. Enjoy, friends!
Thank you to sweet Sarahdipity Photos for this lovely glimpse inside the Martin’s home!
The couple: Megan and Jeremy Martin, 30 and 32
Years married: 6
Where they live: Jacksonville, Florida
Tell us a little bit about yourselves. Hi! We are Jeremy and Megan Martin. We were both born and raised in sunny Jacksonville, Florida and still call the First Coast home. And we are the epitome of complete opposites! Jeremy is reserved, analytical, methodical, extremely smart, and intentional. I take chances on a whim, say yes and figure it out later, have a big imagination, and fail miserably at routines, ha! But you know what they say: opposites attract. Although wildly different, somehow, we just clicked from day one and have been learning how to love each other well ever since!
Tell us your love story in one sentence. We’re just two people in love learning to live by grace, embrace the mess, and say yes to taking chances!
What is your favorite part of being married? Truly just doing life together! I love living out the slow, mundane, and daily routine with J just as much as I love the adventurous memories. It is all a joy.
What has been the most surprising thing about marriage? It really does take work. Once the rush of dating and wedding bells slow down, you have to be so intentional to be present and open with your spouse every day. It sounds so obvious, but as life goes on, it has been surprising to see just how real the work of growing together in marriage is. It is good work, though!
Where do you splurge and where do you save when decorating? I don’t tend to splurge too much when it comes to our home. Almost every single piece of furniture in our home was handed down to us or thrifted and refinished to fit our style and I love it that way! My mom kept all of my Mema’s furniture, and when we got married, she let me choose pieces to fill our home with. My favorite piece is her vintage hutch. I painted it blue and gave it pretty new hardware. It is my forever something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue! To juxtapose the vintage pieces, I love to shop for more modern-inspired accessories. My favorite brands for the smaller details include Kate Spade, the Threshold line at Target, and amazing smaller designer businesses like Tonic Living, Framebridge, and The Lighting Connection.
Tell us a little bit about where you live. Since we first got married, Jeremy has had big dreams to build up a portfolio of residential real estate properties, so we’ve been working hard to make that happen. We’ve scrimped and saved and DIY renovated our way to home number three, where we live now!
Tell us about the process of moving in together. Moving in together was so FUN. Everyday felt like Christmas morning when we first got married! When it comes to our styles, Jeremy isn’t too opinionated about the actual visual design of our home but does appreciate clean and meaningful spaces. For us, blending styles has been more about being conscious of each other’s desires. He is so great about letting me stretch my design wings, so to speak, and I’m learning to lean into being intentional about details that matter instead of stuff for stuff’s sake.
Which room in your home is your favorite, and why? My favorite room in our home is the living room. When we moved in, Jeremy made the suggestion to not put a TV in our living room. We turned the traditional living room design around and have our couch on what would traditionally be the “TV” wall, facing the open floor plan. At first, I wanted to fill the open space on the other side of the couch, but we quickly found that having a big open void was perfect for our little family! The girls twirl and dance with Daddy. Sitting on the couch and watching them play is my favorite! It also lends itself to open conversation when we have guests over. No one feels like they are in their own corner, so it is easy for the whole house to feel together!
Which items from your wedding registry do you use the most often? We use our kitchen items most from our registry! We both lived with our parents before saying “I do,” so we registered for quite a bit of kitchenware. We registered for a timeless set of white dinnerware from Pottery Barn that effortlessly blends with any style and still use the same cookware and knives from our sweet wedding guests!
What different decisions, if any, would you make for your registry if you knew then what you knew now? I’d say register for the plush and nice towels! Six years later, I finally splurged on dreamy towels and they are the best! So random, but so good! ;)
Who cooks dinner? Most days I do! But there are plenty of afternoons where I call on J to pick us up something to make the evening easier!
What is your go-to weeknight meal? Weekend meal? We are pretty simple eaters over here! Most weekdays we either eat skillet chicken or steak with a veggie or my favorite One Pot Pasta meal from Martha Stewart. I don’t plan weekend meals. We usually get together with friends and family on the weekends and figure it out as we go!
What’s your favorite place to find recipes? I love the food blog The Girl Who Ate Everything! She has a ton of amazing and easy recipes to follow! I also frequent Martha Stewart’s food blog when I need cooking advice.
What most makes your house feel like home? Having our sweet memories framed on the walls really makes this place feel like home. I love catching glimpses every day of what can feel like distant moments!
What is your favorite memory from your wedding? My favorite memory from our wedding day was our last private dance in the reception space before we made our grand exit! Those last slow moments of soaking in our big day together were so special.
How do you remember your wedding in your home? I have a pretty keepsake box of wedding details and mementos that stays in our master bedroom. Every so often I will pull it out to remember our wedding day and now tell our story to our little girls. And my favorite photo from the night is framed in our living room!
How does your family handle finances? My husband is the brains behind our finances. Mostly because I am 100% a right-brained kinda gal! We don’t live by a strict budget, but I’m sure J wouldn’t mind it if we did. ;)
What’s your best tip for balancing your relationship and other life priorities? We don’t have a perfect balance by any stretch of the imagination. For us, it is all about little intentional choices. When we aren’t focused on daily making time for each other, we can quickly feel strain and stress in our relationship. The time won’t just appear. You have to make it! In our current season of life, that looks like getting up before the sun rises so we can have time to read and study the Gospel together and talk about what is going on in our worlds.
What is one small way you love or serve your spouse? Jeremy is an Acts of Service guy and feels loved when he can come home from a long workday to a clean and uncluttered space. I don’t always make it happen (and he gives lots of grace there!), but I try to focus on serving him in the home so we can all enjoy a restful environment.
Do you have children? We have two little girls and one coming very soon in November! We are going to be surprised this time around and can’t wait to find out if we will be having a boy or girl!
Before getting married, I wish someone had told me… to learn our love languages. We are wired so differently, and the way we receive love is apart of that. In the early years, we often mistook genuine actions for selfish ones because we didn’t fully understand how we give and receive love individually. We are still learning and growing in love every day, but by simply understanding how to best show love to each other, even when it seems completely foreign, our relationship flourishes!
Thank you so much for sharing, Megan! Friends, you can follow along with Megan’s adventures on Instagram and on her site!
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