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Houses - The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly


ClaraOswin

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@DaniLouisiana, that front porch is just crying out for a porch swing!  I love all the nooks and crannies in the upstairs bedrooms.  

I love 4 season porches, too and magnolia trees.  We are turning our Florida room into a 4-season room (sunroom) when we renovate this year.  My grandfather used to have a huge magnolia tree in his front yard.  I'd like to write on the petals of the flowers and they smelled heavenly.  He also had a sycamore tree and pecan and black walnut trees.  There was not a boring tree in his yard!

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8 hours ago, SamiKatz said:

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

(I watch too much HGTV) it looks like it was designed/built/whatever by Scott McGillivray! (In a good way)

8 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/

That...is a very weird ass house.

3 hours ago, catlady said:

I don't like open kitchens (I know I'm in a tiny minority here).  

 

3 hours ago, PennySycamore said:

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

I agree. I would never want an open concept. Every time someone starts ripping out walls, I cringe.

Spoiler

house plan.jpg

I love ALMOST everything about this plan. I'd add another few feet to the length of the house, so that the bathrooms were longer, and more room for a wall in between the kitchen/dining and living rooms. I'd move the master closet to the current position of the master bathroom, and move the master bathroom off to the left so that almost the whole thing is sort of sticking out from the rest of the house, so that there would be lots of windows, with a big shower and a soaking tub. The current master closet would become part of the laundry room as a pantry!

 

I adore house plans and look at them all the time, this is still my favourite (with modifications).

 

Great thread idea, @ClaraOswin

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We built our "dream home" and moved into it this past July. It is a little under 3,000 square feet Craftsman on several acres, half wooded with a creek and the other half cleared. I always wanted a long tree lined driveway with up lighting on the trees leading up to the house, space for a massive garden and my animals and this property was perfect for that. It has all one story living, but the top has stair access attic space for storage and such. We could finish it out in the future if we wanted and it would add another 2,000+ square feet, but I hate stairs, we already have plenty of living space, and I would rather have it for organizing my holiday decorations. Outside has a combination of cedar shake, hardy, and stacked stone with a large front porch. We have an attached side entrance 2.5 car garage with storage area plus an detached garage that can hold cars/boat. There is also a barn on the back cleared portion, but it is not massive. It is enough to house some goats when we get them and the equipment for the property. 

Inside is open concept with split bedrooms. Our master bedroom is on one side and the two guest bedrooms and bathrooms are on the other. I opted to not have a formal dinning because in the past we never used them. I do have a large eating area and a large island in the kitchen where I have several bar height stools. Our table in the eating area is round and seats six right now, but it can be expanded to seat more if need be. I also have an outside dining area with a large table off the great room under a covered porch that seats six, plus a large concrete patio area that has a outdoor living room and outdoor fireplace. We have plenty of room to entertain for dinner and such. We are having a pool installed possibly this spring. My kitchen has white shaker cabinets with the cabinets going up to the ceiling. My sink is a white 36 inch farm sink. I have a white subway tile backsplash and Juparana White Ice counter tops. I went to get quartz countertops, but when I saw the ice slab I opted for it because it was just so beautiful and would go well with the gray grout in the subway tile in the kitchen and the light gray wall color throughout our home.

When coming from the garage, I have a mud room with a coat and a shoe closet. I had a long bench with cubbies/lockers installed. The mud room leads into the laundry room and a bathroom. The laundry room is nice and spacious with tons of cabinet space, both upper and lower, and a full stainless under mount sink. It also has a door that leads into our master closet. Our closet is rather large and was custom built with shoe shelves and drawers. It is very nice having the laundry room set up that way so I do not have to drag our clothes across the house. It is just me and my husband living here. Our master bedroom has two separate vanities for each of us. My vanity is larger because I also have a make-up vanity area. We have a separate toilet room with cabinets for storage and one of the biggest freaking walk-in linen closets I have ever seen. We opted to just have a massive shower with the rain shower option and frameless glass. In our past homes we did have large soaking tubs and they were never used. Never. I found them to be huge dust collectors, and I hated having to clean something that I never bloody used. We do have a tub/shower combo in one of the other bathrooms just in case one of us ever got the itch to soak in a tub.

One thing I wanted in this house is storage space, and I have plenty of it. I have a really large pantry room with a sliding barn door for the entrance. I also have a walk-in kitchen equipment pantry. I have a smaller walk-in closet that I use to store cleaning equipment such as vacuums, mops, dust mops, etc. The guest beds room have large walk-in closets that have been outfitted with custom shelving, etc. 

When you walk into the house, there is a seating area that we use as a reading/library area. My house has 10 foot ceilings throughout the house, but our great room has vaulted 18 ft ceilings. It has a large gas fireplace and a feature wall above the fireplace to house my beloved Sleepy Hollow painting. I have wood floors throughout the house and tile in the wet areas. 

We are done with moving and that is why we did a complete custom build home for long term living. We wanted larger bedrooms to accommodate visitors and such and that added a wee bit of the square footage. We tend to have long-term visitors since they have to travel so far to visit. We put money into making the house very energy effient. We have tankless gas water heater and a whole property generator. There is a bit of a hold up with the solar panels we wanted to install and that sucks because of the credit you get in installed this year, but we have to get approval and that has been going on for awhile. With that being said, our utility bills are very low. Our electricity bill is $67 this month for example. We have a higher seer HVAC system and propane gas tanks that deal with our water tank and gas fireplace. We have been in the house for six months now and barely used a dent in the gas. Just checked today.

I guess that is it. I bet you guys are thinking I need to shut it. LOL! 

P.S. After living in both open and non-open concept homes, I do prefer open. I hate feeling closed in. 

Edited by Mecca
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Nice, @Mecca! My husband would love it!!! That's what he wants....I would be all right with it too-just not where he wants it (lol)!

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10 hours ago, SamiKatz said:

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.

My god that view!!!!!  I love Hawaii, I hope I am able to go back there again. I would love that condo, who am i kidding i would live in a shack, have no running water, or electricity as long as i have views like that i wouldn't care. 

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5 hours ago, just...sare said:

 

  Hide contents

house plan.jpg

I love ALMOST everything about this plan. I'd add another few feet to the length of the house, so that the bathrooms were longer, and more room for a wall in between the kitchen/dining and living rooms. I'd move the master closet to the current position of the master bathroom, and move the master bathroom off to the left so that almost the whole thing is sort of sticking out from the rest of the house, so that there would be lots of windows, with a big shower and a soaking tub. The current master closet would become part of the laundry room as a pantry!

 

i like your modifications!  another thing i would do is put a big window on the sidewall of the living room.  i realize the designer left it solid for either a couch or tv, but with the kitchen walled off, a window could go in.

 windows are another fetish-of-sorts for me.  my house has them on all four sides, which give really good cross-ventilation in the summer.  and i don't cover them.  my winter curtains are thermal-lined tie-backs.  the idea is that we can close them on windy days to cut drafts, but i did that exactly once about 10 years ago during a storm on a sunday afternoon, and the darkness they caused made me claustrophobic.  so they stay open 24/7.  my summer curtains are tied-back sheers with valances.  i like having daylight and being able to see out.  i also don't have the "i'm on display" feeling at night with lights on and open curtains.  i figure the neighbors have better things to do than look in, and they all have their blinds/curtains drawn anyway.

we have no blinds.  i hate blinds. my apologies to the 99.999999% of the population who think otherwise.  our house came with them, but the first thing i carried in on closing day was a screwdriver, and i took them all down.  when we moved into our previous apartment, the mgt was transitioning between their ancient wide-slat metal blinds and new vinyl miniblinds.  they told us that they'd replace the old ones in our unit within a month.  i declined and just let them take away the old ones.  

so, yeah, when my dreamhouse transitions to an urban apartment, it always has floor-to-ceiling windows.....

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We snagged an old (1910ish) craftsman style house with lots of original wood (floors, footboards, trim, a pretty staircase) for $75K in the rural midwest! It's cozy- we've lived in larger apartments, haha, but it has an attached garage and lots of character, so it fit the bill for us!

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I am too lazy to quote people.

That house in VT give me a Pride and Prejudice Pemberley vibe even though I know it isn't built around the same (fictional) time.

I like the IDEA of old houses. And I love looking at them. But the reality doesn't appeal to me. Too much work for this lady...ha! My brother's house was built in the 40's and they have had so many problems. I know they aren't all like that. And even new houses have problems. But it would just make me nervous, I guess.

Whoever said they love looking at floor plans....me too!!

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@catlady,  you are my window soulmate!  I don't think you can have too many windows in a house and I LOATHE the recent trend to build house with no windows on one side of the house.  UGH!

We don't have many curtains in our house, but I don't like what we do have.  In one bedroom, we have these boring navy curtains which aren't  the same length, the living room curtains are heavy, don't slide on the curtain rods well, and aren't floor length.  My m-i-l made them so we're stuck with them.  (Heaven forbid, I tell my husband that I don't like something his mommy made! He worships the quicksand she walks on.)  We do have miniblinds and need to keep them.  My granddaughter has albinism and is very sun-sensitive. (Not just her skin, but her eyes as well.)  I need to be able to close the blinds when she is here, particularly if she goes into the sunroom.

A house at night with the lights on and the curtains/blinds open feels more alive and welcoming.

ETA: @ClaraOswin, old houses do have their problems like bad wiring and plumbing, lead and asbestos.  The wiring and plumbing you need to take care of, but the lead and the asbestos can sometimes just be encapsulated, IOW, covered up.  It's cheaper and can be better.   Old houses tend to have better windows.  It's better to restore them , if needed, and get good storm windows.  We have shitty storms, but great windows except in the Florida room.

Edited by PennySycamore
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5 hours ago, catlady said:

so, yeah, when my dreamhouse transitions to an urban apartment, it always has floor-to-ceiling windows.....

Windows - image 1

The main problem with our current residence is the location.  We raised our family in a nice suburb, but now that it's just the two of us, there's not enough hubbub for my taste.   We invested in a tiny urban condo a few years ago and visit often.  I love the floor-to-ceiling windows, and on days when I'm not out enjoying all the activities within walking distance (love to walk!), I can sit in front of the windows and watch the world go by.  I especially love watching the huge storms roll through--southern storm systems are different than what we usually experience in western Washington.

I didn't think I'd enjoy condo living, but it's an option to consider for our long-term, especially since I will not be able to drive myself much longer.  I've tried to link an example of what our condo looks like when you walk through the door and see the windows (image one).  Our condo is not as fancy!

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4 hours ago, PennySycamore said:

@catlady,  you are my window soulmate!  I don't think you can have too many windows in a house and I LOATHE the recent trend to build house with no windows on one side of the house.  UGH!

We don't have many curtains in our house, but I don't like what we do have.  In one bedroom, we have these boring navy curtains which aren't  the same length, the living room curtains are heavy, don't slide on the curtain rods well, and aren't floor length.  My m-i-l made them so we're stuck with them.  (Heaven forbid, I tell my husband that I don't like something his mommy made! He worships the quicksand she walks on.)  We do have miniblinds and need to keep them.  My granddaughter has albinism and is very sun-sensitive. (Not just her skin, but her eyes as well.)  I need to be able to close the blinds when she is here, particularly if she goes into the sunroom.

A house at night with the lights on and the curtains/blinds open feels more alive and welcoming.

ETA: @ClaraOswin, old houses do have their problems like bad wiring and plumbing, lead and asbestos.  The wiring and plumbing you need to take care of, but the lead and the asbestos can sometimes just be encapsulated, IOW, covered up.  It's cheaper and can be better.   Old houses tend to have better windows.  It's better to restore them , if needed, and get good storm windows.  We have shitty storms, but great windows except in the Florida room.

Oh man...as soon as the sun goes down...I close all the blinds and curtains in our house...haha! I don't like people being able to look in. Maybe if our neighbors weren't so close to us it would be a different story. But I like privacy (which is basically impossible here but at least window coverings help.)

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@CTRLZero,  in a way, I'd like to live downtown, but I also like where we live now. I like our neighbors and the neighborhood dogs (for the most part), but the neighborhood sucks for walking.  There are too many hills and even if you decide to tackle those hills you can't get very far.  There are no sidewalks in our neighborhood and few along the main roads.  I can't walk to Target a couple of blocks away because there are no sidewalks along one road and I would have to walk in the grass.  That particular road is also pretty busy.

My aunt lives in a older suburb of Cincinnati.  She walks to the local post office and the library every day.  It must be good for her as she's 90.

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My son is actually napping so I thought I'd look at some more houses.

I kind of like this older house, though it's not in a part of town I'd care to live in. I don't even hate the ugly wallpaper. Ha! http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/5201-Davenport-St-Omaha-NE-68132/75857686_zpid/

I like the exterior and the yard in this house but I don't like the inside at all. I mean, the "bones" are fine, I guess. But overall...not a fan. http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/9310-Davenport-St-Omaha-NE-68114/75829569_zpid/

The kitchen island drives me insane. I could not live with that. And carpet in the bathroom....*shudder.*

Here's another one where I don't really like the house. But I'll take the property...and the indoor pool. :) http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/18205-F-St-Omaha-NE-68135/75831223_zpid/

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@ClaraOswin,  we don't have neighbors that are that close.  On the east side of the house, we have only the kitchen door window which does have blinds on it because my dachshund barks at things she think she sees in the window and in the Florida room which looks out into the neighbor's backyard.  We have a large front yard and a corner lot so we do have more privacy than some.  There are two bedrooms in the front of the house, but they're not used much anymore as the girls are grown.  My youngest did stay in her old room with her cats over the holidays and we did have a friend of my husband's staying with us a couple of years ago.  That idiot really did need to keep the blinds shut.  My neighbor would be out walking her dogs early in the morning and he'd be right in front of the window, blinds and curtains open (the window too and it was still cold at night), stark naked as the day he was born.  My husband had to tell him to close the damn blinds and shut the window.  If we'd not kicked him out, he'd still be here getting free rent.  I might be in an institution though.

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After our kids were all out of the house, we became walking clichés. About five years ago we 'downsized' into a townhouse which, after getting it the way we wanted, was the same price (and size) as our former, beautiful home.  We went from having our bedroom on the main level to having it upstairs. This was just stupid as we loved having it on the much cooler main level.  Also, we now have much closer neighbours, obviously. Our houses are only joined at the garage so we don't hear any noise, and it's neat because we have access to the back yard through the garage, which isn't  always the case in a townhouse.

Anyway, I hate our neighborhood!  Our home is beautiful but I can't wait to move.  So, in order to continue our stereotypical empty-nester journey, we have purchased a small condo. It is in a 'boutique' building of 35 suites and, at present, it is just a massive hole in the ground. It will be ready in the Spring of 2018 at the earliest.

It's going to be very nice but I'm a bit worried about the size, at just over 1,500 sq. ft., and the lack of storage. We have a fairly big home in Florida (cliché again) that we hope to spend more time in once my husband retires, so we felt we don't need a large home here.  But, that's pretty small!  We are looking forward to never having to shovel snow again in our lives, as we will have underground parking, complete with car wash!

The layout is extremely open.  Large kitchen and great room (or whatever that's called), with our bedroom and ensuite on one side and a small den and second bedroom, also with ensuite, on the other.  The finishes are really beautiful. It will be more modern than we've ever had but that'll be nice for a change, I think.  We have some gorgeous antiquey tables that will contrast nicely, provided we can cram them in.

Geez.  That's a long post that doesn't even say much. 

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@ClaraOswin,  I love that first house!  There's not much I would change.  The dining room looks huge enough to have my extended family over for dinners.  I like that there's a Murphy bed upstairs.  I've loved Murphy beds for years.  They're quirky as I hope that I am.   Are those covered radiators that I see?  I'd uncover  of them and put proper radiator covers on some of them and leave some of them uncovered.  Old radiators are charming!  The ones I did cover I'd make a proper window seat to go over them.  These cloth draperies scare me if they are radiators.  I also have a thing for green roofs and dorner windows. 

That second house has way too much carpet!  The kitchen island should not have a peninsula and the facade is not to my taste.  Carpet should NEVER be in a bathroom or kitchen.  That is just downright nasty!

I do love the conservatory connecting the house to the pool in the last house.  I'd love to have a conservatory, but it's a no-go in our house, due to both cost and granddaughter's albinism.

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16 minutes ago, PennySycamore said:

@ClaraOswin,  I love that first house!  There's not much I would change.  The dining room looks huge enough to have my extended family over for dinners.  I like that there's a Murphy bed upstairs.  I've loved Murphy beds for years.  They're quirky as I hope that I am.   Are those covered radiators that I see?  I'd uncover  of them and put proper radiator covers on some of them and leave some of them uncovered.  Old radiators are charming!  The ones I did cover I'd make a proper window seat to go over them.  These cloth draperies scare me if they are radiators.  I also have a thing for green roofs and dorner windows. 

That second house has way too much carpet!  The kitchen island should not have a peninsula and the facade is not to my taste.  Carpet should NEVER be in a bathroom or kitchen.  That is just downright nasty!

I do love the conservatory connecting the house to the pool in the last house.  I'd love to have a conservatory, but it's a no-go in our house, due to both cost and granddaughter's albinism.

On another real estate site it says it has forced air heat so I don't think the radiators are in use anymore.

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20 minutes ago, ClaraOswin said:

On another real estate site it says it has forced air heat so I don't think the radiators are in use anymore.

Well. I guess the fabric coverings could stay then  -as long as they didn't attract too much dog hair!

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1 hour ago, ClaraOswin said:

My son is actually napping so I thought I'd look at some more houses.

I kind of like this older house, though it's not in a part of town I'd care to live in. I don't even hate the ugly wallpaper. Ha! http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/5201-Davenport-St-Omaha-NE-68132/75857686_zpid/

I like the exterior and the yard in this house but I don't like the inside at all. I mean, the "bones" are fine, I guess. But overall...not a fan. http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/9310-Davenport-St-Omaha-NE-68114/75829569_zpid/

The kitchen island drives me insane. I could not live with that. And carpet in the bathroom....*shudder.*

Here's another one where I don't really like the house. But I'll take the property...and the indoor pool. :) http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/18205-F-St-Omaha-NE-68135/75831223_zpid/

I love th first house, but I can't believe the price.  We live in a court and a house at the bowl of the court sold just before Christmas at just over $1 million dollars.  3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms on a small block.

We also live in 'the worlds most liveable city' so that might have something to do with the price.

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A house near Toronto made news recently for going $400,000 over asking price. The agent apparently did list it below market and I believe that they had all offers on hold until a certain date. It is a fixer-upper!

https://www.thestar.com/business/2016/12/21/gta-house-goes-for-400000-over-asking-it-was-like-a-rock-concert.html

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here's one that i like.  i have no ties to the location; merely found it on a random search.  built in 1924, and the decor looks straight out of the 80s, but i love the (presumed) pressed-tin ceilings and the stained glass on the front windows.  and it's affordable!!

http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/355-Main-St_Saint-Agatha_ME_04772_M48661-62694

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@catlady,  I love those tin ceilings!  Of course, they could be like the ceilings that are in the Molly Brown home in Denver where they are a form of pressed wallpaper.  I'd rather have tin though.  I've loved tin ceilings ever since my junior high auditorium had them.   I do wish they'd position the wrap-around porch swing  so that it could swing freely.  It should not be so close to a wall.  A better place for it would be the right-hand corner perpendicular to the front of the house.  

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17 hours ago, Percy said:

I love th first house, but I can't believe the price.  We live in a court and a house at the bowl of the court sold just before Christmas at just over $1 million dollars.  3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms on a small block.

We also live in 'the worlds most liveable city' so that might have something to do with the price.

House prices aren't awful here compared to other places. But the area of that house isn't the greatest. I mean, the neighborhood is nice but some crappy areas are right nearby.

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