Hello, dear friends. Did you have a good weekend? Ours was quiet, and we managed to attend a few Open Houses. Several readers have asked me to talk more about our house hunting, so here is the rundown.
York House
We visited one house for the second time. The Mister is enamored with it, but I am just so-so on it. It's in a small, charming gated community. The neighborhood is the perfect backdrop for empty nester living. The reason the Mister likes it, even though he won't admit it, is because the study is gorgeous. The above photo is not the house's actual one, but it is along the same lines.
There are two reasons that I am not as enthralled with the house. It has a small 1980's style kitchen with a minuscule area for a kitchen table. There is not enough room to enlarge it. Do you remember my butler's pantry? I need a place to house all of my precious Marshall's treasures. You would think that the Mister would care more about the kitchen since he loves to cook, but he is so in love with that study, he can't see straight.
A couple of other things about the house... The exterior offers loads of curb appeal. There is a spacious master on the first floor, which I like. The master bath needs new wallpaper and fixtures. Itis a good size and includes a vanity.
The house has been on the market for quite a while. Besides the small kitchen, another reason that I feel that the house has not been sold in this hot market is that it is over-priced. The owner has reduced the price once, but not enough to be competitive.
Last but not least, there is no screened porch.
The Mister said that we could add one.
After he renovates the garage.
The second Open House that we attended was in another gated community. It had a lovely study and a beautiful open kitchen with upgraded cabinetry and a generous area for a kitchen table.
The backside of the home is practically all windows showcasing golf course views. The first-floor master bedroom is large and also includes a sitting area.
Architectural Designs
There are a couple of things that I didn't like. The staircase needs updating, and it is also very steep.
I asked the Mister to carry me down.
Sadly, he declined.
The patio area is close to nonexistent and backs up to the neighbor's pool.
While the neighbor's are having a fun pool party, we would be hanging on our patch of grass having our own fun.
The last house that has caught our eye is in the burbs and also has great curb appeal. We looked at it about six weeks ago, and then it went under contract. It has since come back on the market. So now we're wondering what happened. Was it the house, or was it the buyers?
The house features a fabulous layout and is the perfect size for us. The kitchen has painted cabinets, which may be a turn-off to some buyers but not to me. I really like them. The above picture is not the kitchen. The master bedroom and bath are large and do not need any major renovation except some plantation shutters.
Now let me tell you what is holding us back from making an offer. Almost every inch of the home, including most ceilings, features a textured skip trowel with glazed finishes. I don't care for the look. So we need to have all the walls sanded for paint and wallpaper. We haven't talked to a painter about how extensive this procedure will be.
Has anyone had any experience with this?
I would love to hear your thoughts.
I know that we will not get every feature that we want in a house.
The Mister will just have to learn to compromise.
Here's my question for you...
What feature did you have to overlook when you bought your house?
Did you get used to it, or did you renovate?
Until next time...
Allow me to introduce you to my sweet reader, Ginger, and her darling furbaby, McTavish.
McTavish is the newest member to our family! Her mother is a Corgi, and her father is a small Bernedoodle. We decided that since we were both working at home during COVID that it would be a great time to have a new pup to keep our Bernese company. He lost his buddy to cancer last summer and has been very lonely. Well, now he's not! This little gal has filled that emptiness in our hearts. She's 90% sweetheart and 10% Tasmanian Devil. This is her at 8 weeks.
McTavish is definitely the boss! Our Bernese, Captain Jack, weighs 110 lbs, and we've now started calling him St. Jack because of all the abuse he puts up with. She uses him as a vault and pulls him around by the collar, and of course, herds him since that's what Corgi's do.
We have a nickname for her, and it's Noodle.
Mostly we call her Tavish, but she probably thinks her name is NO!
If you have a cute dog, email me a picture with a short bio, and I would be honored to include your little furbaby on my blog.
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