Houses - The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

[princessmahina]

On 12/31/2016 at 2:52 PM, 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 weird as hell. I'm completely in love with it. It's confusing and discordant and I'd get to pretend I'm Molly Weasley (without the red hair and loads of kids and accent and magic and probably a hundred other things). 

This, however, is my dream house: http://www.familyhomeplans.com/plan_details.cfm?PlanNumber=95539

I can't find any pictures of what it looks like already built, but it's everything I want. I hate open floorplans, so I'd probably want to turn the family room into a play room or something to keep an eye on my future kids. 

Edited January 8, 2017 by princessmahina

[PennySycamore]

@princessmahina,  I love that house!  That round breakfast room in the back is my idea of heaven.  I've loved houses with turrets since I was a little girl and there was an old Victorian with a turret in a nearby town.  I don't have any idea that it is still there.  There is an old turreted Victorian in the town where I live now though.  

I don't think it's any coincidence that my favorite place to study when I went to Furman was one of the big bow windows on the third floor of the library.  It was very quiet and sunny.

[ClaraOswin]

5 hours ago, princessmahina said:

This house is weird as hell. I'm completely in love with it. It's confusing and discordant and I'd get to pretend I'm Molly Weasley (without the red hair and loads of kids and accent and magic and probably a hundred other things). 

This, however, is my dream house: http://www.familyhomeplans.com/plan_details.cfm?PlanNumber=95539

I can't find any pictures of what it looks like already built, but it's everything I want. I hate open floorplans, so I'd probably want to turn the family room into a play room or something to keep an eye on my future kids. 

We have an open floor plan and basically every room is a playroom now.

[adidas]

On 6 January 2017 at 2:50 AM, catlady said:

i like the huge kitchen window that doubles as a bar on the patio.  and i like the striped wallpaper in the bedrooms.  wacky opinion here--i like wallpaper.  yes, there are ugly patterns, just like there are ugly paint colors, but in general, i like it.  i don't have any in my house, because it's beyond my budget and i would never attempt to hang it myself for lack of skill.  but i do think a lot of papers are very pretty.

I like wallpaper too.

We just had a servery window the same as that installed in our kitchen! We absolutely love it, it makes entertaining great. We also have the same cupboards as that house. 

But. Our location isn't nearly as wonderful and neither is the rest of our house haha.

[LeftCoastLurker]

So, we live in a seismically active area on a very narrow lot. I like to look at houseplans that would fit our narrow lot in case the house is destroyed in the "big one".

I like this plan because it would allow my DH and I to age in place with everything we need on one level, while still having extra room for our DDs. As you can tell, I like modern and an open concept. We have no need for formal living spaces and I love to cook so a decent size kitchen and pantry are a must. Also, since I don't take baths I love that this master bedroom doesn't waste space with a tub!

https://www.houseplans.com/plan/2184-square-feet-3-bedrooms-2-5-bathroom-contemporary-house-plans-2-garage-37338

[PennySycamore]

@LeftCoastLurker,  thats a great house! If I had that house, I'd make a couple of changes.  I'd put a large, deep  single undermount or farmhouse sink as well as a 36" cooktop or range top in the kitchen.  I do love for houses to have a foyer.  Ours doesn't and I wish we did. 

I know what you mean about not taking baths and therefor need a nice shower, preferably curbless.  My husband, though, does sometimes take baths and uses the bathtub in my bathroom.  I say my bathroom, but really it was the girls' bathroom when they were growing up.  I just prefer it to the "master" bathroom which is too small.  

[MarblesMom]

On 1/8/2017 at 1:15 AM, Purrl said:

Anybody want to move to S Dakota? 

http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/realestate/5000-plus-square-foot-house-on-market-for-dollar137900/ar-BBxYW42?li=BBmkt5R&ocid=spartandhp

I can only imagine the cost of heating this place!

I am laughing and yet... kinda intrigued.  There is nothing in Winner to even entice an outsider (sorry, Winnerites).  You are MILES from a big town. If you want to move away from it all, and be the fodder of all local gossip, please buy it.  

Lovely home.

To the cost of heating/cooling, there is some sort of splitting out of the elec bills, so the heating and cooling part of the bill is much less than the dryer and the stove.  

That being said, being out in a small town where one knows no one can be a rough ride.

 

[DaniLouisiana]

Hey guys, when it stops raining, I'll post a pic of the best house in my neighborhood..& its for sale!

[DaniLouisiana]

I have a serious house going for Kevin Costner's house in Black and White! Its even in Louisiana (NOLA). Gorgeous house + pool + large landscaped backyard.

[catlady]

a few people were discussing appliance colors over in Maxhell, and it made me think of Marina City in Chicago.  Marina City is the pair of buildings with rounded balconies; they look like corn cobs.  Nik Walenda walked a highwire between them a couple years ago.  Anyway, they were built in the early 1960s and had these fun pastel kitchens.  some units haven't been renovated and so retain their MidCentury Modern fabulousness.

i don't know if i could live with a pink kitchen forever, but it does look cool.

if you put Marina City Interiors into Google Images, you'll find more photos and some floor plans.  here is the Wikipedia article--

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marina_City 

[DaniLouisiana]

My Mama had that kitchen when I was little! I love it!

[PennySycamore]

@catlady, that kitchen in the Marina City apartment looks like it could be a steel kitchen.  I wonder if St Charles made the cabinets.

[PennySycamore]

I don't know if anyone will see this, but  Mr Blandings Builds His Dream House comes on TCM this afternoon at 1:45 Eastern.

[catlady]

2 hours ago, PennySycamore said:

I don't know if anyone will see this, but  Mr Blandings Builds His Dream House comes on TCM this afternoon at 1:45 Eastern.

thankyouthankyouthankyou!  i just set my DVR.

 

and just for fun, here is a Saltbox house.  i like these.

 

[PennySycamore]

@catlady, saltboxes are so traditionally Yankee, so New England.  What's funny is that there are lots of saltboxes in Southern mill villages.  The Southern cotton mills were started by industrialists from New England and they brought the cozy saltbox with them.

ETA: I love saltboxes, too!

Edited January 15, 2017 by PennySycamore

[littlehouse]

Mr Blandings Builds his Dreamhouse is such an amazing moving.  Or could it just be Cary Grant....hmmm.

So we just got some drawings back for our dream home.  It has been tweaked quite a bit.  We had originally had a inner courtyard, with the bedrooms surrounding it.  Now it is a glass hallway connecting the living areas to the private areas.

I would love to share and get feedback if you would like to see them?

[PennySycamore]

@jiggleromp, share away!  Some of us are house plan junkies!

ETA: Sorry for the late reply.  I was in DC yesterday with about a million other women and some men.  It was fabulous!

Edited January 22, 2017 by PennySycamore

[Palimpsest]

On 1/15/2017 at 1:33 PM, PennySycamore said:

@catlady, saltboxes are so traditionally Yankee, so New England.

Have you two seen the pics of my as "authentic as I can make it to 1716" saltbox doll house - you might like it. 

I had no idea this thread existed.  I love house plans - I need to go back to the beginning and read the whole thing.

 

[catlady]

I have seen your dollhouse; it's awesome!  An elaborate dollhouse was one thing I wanted as a kid but never got. I did have a Barbie house for a few years that my dad built, along with most of the furniture.  It was nice, but no particular style.  

[littlehouse]

Here they are.  The overall square footage has increased.  So we have to bring that back down.  The dimensions are not on these, but the hallways are 4 feet.

[catlady]

I like the second one (because I'm one of five people on the planet not into open kitchens, but that's just me).  Can I ask what the Cat Room is?

[littlehouse]

I am partial to the second, only because I really want windows over my kitchen work space.  Our designer likes the first as it is more modern than an L kitchen.

The cat room   is a kitty litter room.  It is basically a bathroom, with a strong fan.  So we can shower the whole space down.  It has been a dream of ours for awhile.  Totally not needed, but we have four cats and it makes sense to us.  

[catlady]

The cat room is a *fabulous* idea!!

[PennySycamore]

1 hour ago, catlady said:

The cat room is a *fabulous* idea!!

I think so too, @catlady!  My youngest daughter's old room was the cat room over the holidays as she brought her cats with her and they stayed in there the whole time. (I don't want my dachshund to terrorize them.)  If my husband threw out the litter box, I'm just going to get another and hide it under the bed until it's needed.  He was cleaning it up for a guest that's going to be at the house for 2 days.

[DaniLouisiana]

Weird thing: I have been dreaming of Grand Coteau for the past two nights-had no idea where it is. I thought it was an island in the Caribbean, maybe.  I went and googled it at 1am and just for giggles looked on Realtor.com and Zillow-I found this little gem!https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/131-Barry-St-Sunset-LA-70584/2095406205_zpid/

Just about perfect!