We have our fair share of influencers in the Lehigh Valley (a story on them has rolled around in Style brainstorms for some time now). When we stumbled onto Dana Carpenter's Instagram page (@danecarpenter), dubbed a personal blog chronicling her life in the Lehigh Valley, we hit follow. We saw cute family photos, lots of plants (she's the founder of @fancyplantsclub, which we've highlighted in these pages before) and… a house swap?! “Ready for some crazy news??” her caption read. “We're swapping houses with my in-laws. Yep, you read that right. As in living in each other's homes.” Now she really had our attention. From the moment I saw that post, I knew the Carpenter family's story had to be featured in the magazine.
Fortunately for us, Dana, her husband, Andrew (and their two daughters), as well as Andrew's parents, Sarah and John, were on board to participate! They share the story of how this all came to be and dish what a house swap really looks like when you're going from a whopping 4,000 square feet to a modest 950 square feet—or vice versa. We shot both properties (one in Macungie and the other in Emmaus) on the same afternoon and were equally impressed with the charm, attention to detail and warmth that each home had. Both parties say they're just getting started—Dana and Andrew have plans for an in-ground pool and Sarah and John will be totally transforming their brick exterior.
While these couples are settling into their new residences, there are many just settling into the Lehigh Valley. The pandemic had city dwellers rethinking their leases and fleeing for suburbia. To any of our new Lehigh Valley Style readers, hello, and welcome! While we'll strive to be your guide to the region each and every month, we've created the ultimate newcomer's Must List for you in this edition's pages. We hope it inspires you to learn and explore! And for those of you who are not new to the Valley, perhaps even lifelong residents, we hope to remind you of all that there is to love about living in the Lehigh Valley. It's my favorite place to be.
