Houses - The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

[ClaraOswin]

A bunch of us in some Duggar threads were talking about houses and real estate so I thought I'd start a topic here about it. Feel free to post anything house-related. Your dream house. A weird house. An ugly house. Etc. Or talk home prices and the real estate market. Anything really. I just thought it would be nice to have all the talk here rather than hidden in Duggarland.

I'll start by posting a link to a house that is pretty darn close to what I would call my "dream house." It's a home not too far from where I actually live. It was for sale a few years ago but the pictures are still up on Zillow. It's well out of our price range but I love just about everything about this house. I even like their furniture and decor! 

Here's the link with photos - http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/10195-Cottonwood-Creek-Blvd-Blair-NE-68008/2105840815_zpid/

It's a larger house than I would probably want. But if I could pay someone to help clean it...then I'd be okay with it. The location isn't ideal though I like the size lot it's on. Quite a bit bigger than our tiny lot. But still in a neighborhood, which I would like. This is a bit farther away from "civilization" that I'd prefer but for this house...I think I'd sacrifice that.

Overall, there's not much I would change. Some of the bedroom paint colors aren't my taste. And I think I'd prefer carpet in the living room. Other than that...it's pretty great.

[ClaraOswin]

Thought I'd add another house....

Here's a house I would refer to as a "weird ass house." (Sorry if someone lives in a similar house and I've now offended you.) Plus, the pictures are total crap. I get so annoyed when agents can't be bothered to put up decent photos.

http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/16399-Musical-Hills-Ln-Crescent-IA-51526/76830647_zpid/

[season of life]

I adore the house they used as the Cullen home in those awful Twilight films. It's in Oregon and I think it's still owned by the rich Nike businessman. You can see the photos of the inside of the house here: http://homedesignlover.com/architecture/the-hoke-house-twilight-cullen-family-residence/

 

[CTRLZero]

http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/609-Weygadt-Dr-Easton-PA-18042/10115014_zpid/

Here is an example of my dream house.   My sister and I have laughingly discussed creating our own retirement community (or a cult!), and this is the sort of place we have envisioned living out our later years. 

Thanks for starting this thread.  I love looking at real estate.

 

[SamiKatz]

I like this place.  Pretty inexpensive for the area, and I really like the yard.

 

http://www.homefinder.ca/listings/5859934-28-columbus-rd-e-oshawa-ontario-e3674480

[Gobsmacked]

19 minutes ago, CTRLZero said:

http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/609-Weygadt-Dr-Easton-PA-18042/10115014_zpid/

Here is an example of my dream house.   My sister and I have laughingly discussed creating our own retirement community (or a cult!), and this is the sort of place we have envisioned living out our later years. 

Thanks for starting this thread.  I love looking at real estate.

 

Can I move in! It's a beautiful house.

[SamiKatz]

My "when I win the lottery" housing: 

http://www.hicondos.com/hawaiiCondos/active_sheet.asp?MLSNUM=201628519

 

My friend that lives out west and I used to chat  on the phone and pick out the properties in Hawaii we would buy once we won the lottery.  This one's on the Diamond Head end of Waikiki Beach (the quieter end), and this was my favourite condo at that end of the beach.

I love Hawaii.

Edited December 31, 2016 by SamiKatz

[JermajestyDuggar]

My dream house is a craftsman bungalow with lots and lots of built ins and no painted wood. I don't want a big house so a bungalow would be good because most aren't huge. I would prefer a 3 bedroom 2 bathroom house with no more than 2000 finished sq ft and a 2 car garage (most likely detached). I would love first floor laundry and a basement for storage.   An eat in kitchen is a must. We are not formal dining room people. I would also like an ordinary sized fenced in back yard. I don't want a giant acre sized lot but  also don't want a postage stamp yard. I also want a covered front porch with a swing. 

[ClaraOswin]

I love that all of our 'dream' houses are such different styles.

21 minutes ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

My dream house is a craftsman bungalow with lots and lots of built ins and no painted wood. I don't want a big house so a bungalow would be good because most aren't huge. I would prefer a 3 bedroom 2 bathroom house with no more than 2000 finished sq ft and a 2 car garage (most likely detached). I would love first floor laundry and a basement for storage.   An eat in kitchen is a must. We are not formal dining room people. I would also like an ordinary sized fenced in back yard. I don't want a giant acre sized lot but  also don't want a postage stamp yard. I also want a covered front porch with a swing. 

Where would you like this house to be located?

[JermajestyDuggar]

26 minutes ago, ClaraOswin said:

I love that all of our 'dream' houses are such different styles.

Where would you like this house to be located?

Plopped down where I live right next door! I really love my neighborhood and my neighbors so I don't want to move. 

[Londish]

2 hours ago, ClaraOswin said:

Thought I'd add another house....

Here's a house I would refer to as a "weird ass house." (Sorry if someone lives in a similar house and I've now offended you.) Plus, the pictures are total crap. I get so annoyed when agents can't be bothered to put up decent photos.

http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/16399-Musical-Hills-Ln-Crescent-IA-51526/76830647_zpid/

 This house is amazing! Such a strange floorplan. I am imagine it might be fun to stay in, as in an Airbnb rental or something similar based on the weird layout and the outdoor space, but I could not imagine living there myself. I love more traditional looking homes, though. 

Unrelated, but does anyone have any experience with fixer uppers? What was your experience if so?

[Maggie Mae]

Honestly? I love my house right now. I like the location. I would, however, like to do a major remodel, and buy the house behind/to the side of us (corner lot) so we can put in a fenced in dog yard. I'd lift the house we have and add a second floor, put in a spiral staircase because I'm weird, put the master suite upstairs with an attached FULL bathroom (for some reason we have a half-bath attached to the master bedroom right now. Brilliant planning.) Add a walk in closet (because building codes won't let me NOT have closets at all, which would be my preference). Replace the fireplace with a franklin stove, turn the bird's room into a nice little jungle gym for him. New hardwood floors instead of the laminate fake hardwood (or at least new laminate). Put the laundry upstairs with the bedrooms. Make the guest room bigger and remove the door to the garage. Add a second stall to the garage, and put the boat inside. Then build more garden. I might have to buy the houses on both sides, come to think of it. And it might be easier/cheaper to just tear down and redesign. 

But if we want my dream house, it would be a victorian style mansion build a hundred + years ago with crooked floors and secret passageways on a farm with a barn and woods for trail riding in the back. 

At no point in any of my dreaming do I own a breakfast bar or chromed out appliances. Yuck. 

[Percy]

I see butlers pantries are popular.  I like the idea of mess staying hidden.

We had an eat in kitchen, it was the first renovation we did to get rid of it.  Every time I wanted to get something from a cupboard I had to move some one.  Now long, thin kitchen with island and dining table on the other side of the island.  Every night we sit down to dinner at 7 pm sharp ( unless you are working) to discuss our day.

I still struggle with no pool fences in those photos.  Pool fences are mandatory by law here in Australia.

[Karma]

I like the sound of your house, @Maggie Mae, but I do love my breakfast bar!  I was confused about why you'd move your laundry upstairs but I figure you must use a dryer most of the year in your climate?

I love our house, and I like our neighbours (aside from the weird ones at the back and the pervy son in law two doors up).  I like that we can see water when we drive down the street, but I'd  love a waterview from the house.  

When we are older we will probably move to a unit in a coastal suburb not far away.  Only downside of that is no dog...

[DancingPhalanges]

1 hour ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

My dream house is a craftsman bungalow with lots and lots of built ins and no painted wood. I don't want a big house so a bungalow would be good because most aren't huge. I would prefer a 3 bedroom 2 bathroom house with no more than 2000 finished sq ft and a 2 car garage (most likely detached). I would love first floor laundry and a basement for storage.   An eat in kitchen is a must. We are not formal dining room people. I would also like an ordinary sized fenced in back yard. I don't want a giant acre sized lot but  also don't want a postage stamp yard. I also want a covered front porch with a swing. 

I want this house but walking distance to a beach. I would walk my dog everyday and look for seashells and shark's teeth. I have pinned many Craftsman style bungalows on Pinterest. We also need a screened in porch and hot tub!   

[PennySycamore]

@SamiKatz,  the views of the sunset (or maybe it's the sunrise?) from that condo are just stunning!  Bt, you you seen that show on HGTV where David Bromstead helps people who've won the lottery choose a home.  It's fun!  I like the more modest house you posted as well.  

@ClaraOswin, of the two you posted. I like the first one much better.  It's bright and looks timeless.  The other house suffers from the lighting on those dreadfully dark pictures, but it needs some good mid-century modern decor to go with its MCM architecture.  I do like the colored bathroom fixtures though.

@CTRLZero,  that stone house reminds me of the homes in the North Main and McDaniel/Crescent areas of Greenville SC.  It's lovely inside and out.

@JermajestyDuggar,  we used to live in a Craftsman bungalow. It just had two bedrooms and one bath, but the bathroom had a clawfoot tub.  The kitchen was too small, but it had a walk-in pantry.  French doors separated the living room and dining room.  It had a cellar and a glassed-in back porch.  There was both a swing and a glider on the covered front porch.  It had push button light switches, two fireplaces and radiators with a boiler in the cellar.  Radiators are one of the most efficient heating methods.  I don't think they're ugly at all.

@Maggie Mae,  your dream house sounds wonderful!  Since most laundry is generated upstairs having a laundry room upstairs makes sense.   My dream stove would be a restored Wedgewood or Magic Chef like this Magic Chef 6300 Right Stack with the bread warmer,  three ovens and 6 burners.

Antique Stoves

Scroll down to see that particular range.  

(I looked at the Magic Chef 6300 on Dream Stoves and they do, indeed, have 8 burner.  There was one of these ranges in the kitchen in Singing in the Rain.)

I don't have room for some of these old ranges though so I'll have to settle for a good 36" cooktop and a wall oven.  I will go shopping for these next week.  Maybe the Buy Two Get One Free offer from Thermador will still be valid.

 

 

Edited January 1, 2017 by PennySycamore
correcting burner numbers and riffle

[Justmurrayed]

My dream house is a log cabin in the woods...I obviously adored the Little House books as a child. 

[ClaraOswin]

A lot of the newer builds put the laundry upstairs. I originally liked that idea. But now I'm not so sure. Ours is on the main level off the kitchen. And since I spend most of my day on this level, I like being able to go in and put it in the dryer without having to go back upstairs. But I'm weird. I just feel like, knowing me...I'd completely forget about my laundry until the evening. I also do laundry after my son goes to bed and I know I won't wake him since it's on a different level than his room.

I would love to not live in my current neighborhood. The houses are all on tiny lots, right up next to each other. And since the houses are somewhat cheaply built, you can hear everything. I have misophonia so I really struggle with the noise. Probably doesn't help that neighbors on one side of us are freaking awful, in general.

I wouldn't mind being in a neighborhood if the houses were spread out a lot so I can't hear so much crap. That's hard to find here though. And certainly not possible in our price range at all here.

In my dream house in the first post, I would add a pool. Okay...in a mega dream house...I'd have 2 pools...indoor and outdoor.

[catlady]

I don't like open kitchens (I know I'm in a tiny minority here).  My 1939 house had the doorway expanded into a breakfast bar; the bar was later removed. This took away some valuable cabinet space which I would like to put back someday. My laundry is in the basement, and we have a laundry chute. I love that thing. No dirty clothes upstairs ever!  

My current dream house is on realtor dot com right now, in Burke, VT for $4.5m. I can't post a link from my phone, but I'll give it a go from the laptop later. 

[catlady]

ok, here is the link i mentioned above--

http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-search/Burke_VT/type-single-family-home/sby-2?pgsz=50 

i like old houses......

[DancingPhalanges]

6 minutes ago, catlady said:

ok, here is the link i mentioned above--

http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-search/Burke_VT/type-single-family-home/sby-2?pgsz=50 

i like old houses......

Wow, that house is incredible. 

[PennySycamore]

@catlady,  that house was only of the properties of the week in this week's The Week.  It is fabulous!

ETA:  You're not the only one who doesn't like open kitchens.  "Open concept" is overrated.

Edited January 1, 2017 by PennySycamore

[CTRLZero]

We currently live in a two-story, L-shaped, fairly typical Pacific NW sort of house.  It's not open concept, but I kind of like having a quiet wing (the other end of the "L") away from the television.  Our laundry is upstairs, which works out well with the bedrooms being nearby, but I grew up in a house with a laundry chute and thought it was the neatest thing!

In recent years, we have started traveling back and forth to middle Tennessee and eastern Pennsylvania, and I am so intrigued by the older homes and different styles of these areas. 

Anyway, we have been fixing up our current house to eventually sell for something a little more sensible as we age.  Our new home probably won't be like any of the gorgeous properties that have been linked, but it's fun to take a peek!

[catlady]

6 minutes ago, PennySycamore said:

@catlady,  that house was only of the properties of the week in this week's The Week.  It is fabulous!

that's where i found it!!  it's my "current" dreamhouse, because The Week regularly makes me change my mind.

5 minutes ago, CTRLZero said:

We currently live in a two-story, L-shaped, fairly typical Pacific NW sort of house.  It's not open concept, but I kind of like having a quiet wing (the other end of the "L") away from the television.  Our laundry is upstairs, which works out well with the bedrooms being nearby, but I grew up in a house with a laundry chute and thought it was the neatest thing!

 

 

 

Laundry chutes *are* fun!  ours is made from metal ductwork, so if Mr.CL and i are at opposite ends and need to talk, we knock on the chute to get each other's attention, and yell through it.  and it's still fun to throw down noisy items......

[DaniLouisiana]

Here's my contribution for the night-(I'm not quite sure how to do links...so) it's on Bank street in the Garden District of Lake Charles LA.http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/1003-Bank-St_Lake-Charles_LA_70601_M80199-44456. The kitchen's a little dark and awkward but that could be photo angles...

I like older houses with character. The must-haves are a 4 season porch and a large magnolia tree or place to put one. I also need a place for a garden.

Husband wants a log cabin in Carson Valley area of NV. Ugh.....

 

Edited January 1, 2017 by DaniLouisiana
I forgot about the awkard kitchen