Keep friends close and mother-in-law closer

<p class="p1">John Puerta claims he built his mother-in-law a cottage nearby because he knew he would wrangle the occasional roast beef dinner out of her. He does. However, that’s not the only reason the arrangement works. </p><p class="p1">He and wife Sarah are family focused. They were accustomed to the perks of living close to family. They lived next door to John’s father and mother before they moved into the 2,400-square-foot house Sarah’s parents built in 1999. John’s son, Scott, moved into John and Sarah’s old house, next to John’s parents, Scott’s grandparents. </p><p class="p1">Sarah’s mom, Brenda Shirley, described it as “fruit basket turnover.”</p><p class="p1">Sarah said, “The kids love it.”</p><p class="p1">John now has only has one yard to mow.</p><p class="p1">The couple immediately went to work making their new house a home. It is not the house Sarah grew up in. However, it held great memories for Sarah, and the couple was pronounced husband and wife in front of the fireplace in the living room about seven years ago.</p><p class="p1">“I decided I wanted this house to reflect all of our personalities,” Sarah said about her decorating choices, “not necessarily follow any conventional rules or guidelines.”</p><p class="p1">She energized and modernized the neutral walls, furnishings and flooring with black and white in the living areas and master suite.  She chose funky, industrial style light fixtures, perfect for the black and white color scheme. Existing fixtures were installed in her mother’s new cottage.</p><p class="p1">Wall décor in the Puerta home holds meaning, or is humorous. On the wall near the fireplace is a photo of the old two-story red brick DeQuincy school that’s long been torn down. Sarah is a counselor at the new school located on the same property.</p><p class="p1">The coffee table was custom made by John, just in the nick of time. The house was featured in the DeQuincy Parade of Homes.</p><p class="p1">“We had to have a deadline or nothing would have gotten done,” Sarah said. </p><p class="p1">Long before the decision was made to build the mother-in-law cottage, John appreciated the Shirley home floorplan. He did add one thing: additional shelving in one of the rooms to hold eight-and-a-half-by-eleven notebook and printer paper in a manner that keeps the paper pristine.</p><p class="p1">“He’s a little obsessive compulsive,” Sarah stage whispers.</p><p class="p1">The laundry room is large and connects to the master bath and the rest of the house. </p><p class="p1"> The large space near the kitchen could be used in a variety of ways. Sarah placed the family’s board games, including their favorite – Scrabble — here. Her brother, Hank, made the shelf holds the oversized Scrabble tiles that spell out Puerta, a gift from Hank’s wife, Gina. Also in the room: comfortable seating, the family TV and family movies. These include the Charlie Brown holiday specials. On the wall is a framed saying: Home is where the WiFi connects automatically. </p><p class="p1">This family is tech savvy, all about the family. They love continuing tradition and establishing new ones. Every year, they have a Charlie Brown Thanksgiving. They watch the movie, and then they set the table and serve buttered toast, jellybeans, pretzel sticks and popcorn.</p><p class="p1">“It was a tradition when my son, Drew, was growing up,” Sarah said. “He wanted to do it for John’s youngest children, Abigail and Landon.” </p><p class="p1">One of the most striking areas in the house is the large foyer that opens to the dining room and living room. On a wall is a cabinet stereo purchased in 1976. It is in pristine condition. Hanging over the stereo are three guitars. John plays them all – and more. </p><p class="p1">“It’s better to keep them out than in the case,” he explained. </p><p class="p1">John has been playing music since high school. The stereo is one of the first things Sarah’s mother purchased with money from work in her beauty shop. One of the oldest albums Sarah remembers her father playing often is Floyd Cramer’s Last Date. She still has the album. </p><p class="p1">“We have every album John ever bought (in the ‘80s), and they’ve only been played once,” Sarah said. “He would get a new one, play it and make a cassette tape and put it back in the sleeve.”</p><p class="p1">The master bedroom tells the story of a couple with a terrible romantic streak. Caution to readers: If there were a rating for the over-the-top sweet and sentimental, this bedroom décor would receive that rating. On the wall is a framed sound wave print of the Eric Clapton Song, Wonderful Tonight. On the wall above the headboard are poems they wrote to each other. In another corner of the room, their wedding kiss photo. Words to a Bryan Adams song are framed: “Standin’ on your mama’s porch, you told me it’d last forever. Oh, and when you held my hand, I knew it was now or never…”</p><p class="p1">When asked how they met, John said, “I cold called her. </p><p class="p1">Sarah said she asked her father, “Is this guy legit.”</p><p class="p1">Her father approved and she said he would have approved of them moving into the house they now call home and building her mother a house close by.</p><p class="p1">As to what makes the Puerta house a home, Sarah listed the following: “Family time, dinners together and games inside and out.”</p><p>Brenda Shirley’s 1,200-square-foot mother-in-law cottage. Brenda made the wreath on the front door. </p><p>Sarah Puerta punched up the neutral floors, rugs and furnishings with bold black and white. Behind the sofa is a stereo purchased by her parents in 1976. She and John play her parents’ old albums and John’s albums from the 1980s. </p><p>This chair is the most popular chair in the Puerta house, sometimes fought over. The pillow is a reminder of Sarah’s late father, David, who always said, "Y’all come in." </p><p>The John and Sarah Puerta home was originally built by Sarah’s parents in 1999. </p><p>John Puerta built the kitchen cabinets in his mother-in-law Brenda’s cottage</p><p>Comfortable, roomy and beautiful describes the living/dining area of Brenda Shirley’s new mother-in-law cottage. </p>