Well... it was December and we were supposed to move out of this god forsaken, I mean lovely town we live in. But circumstances prevented us from getting out of here. This was our second attempt. We were living in a 1900's farmhouse at the time that was falling down around us. Our little guy (my first child) was about 6 months old and there was NO WAY I was going to let him learn to crawl in that house! So we decided to face facts, we were never getting away from here, so we might as well settle down and buy a house.
Well the house hunt began. It came down to three contenders. House #1 had a great location, great view from the back, and some charming features. However the previous owners were untalented do-it-yourselfers and we would have to re-do A LOT and it was a split level. (not my favorite floor plan) House #2 was the largest of the three and had a three car garage. It was on a HUGE lot, in a cul-de-sac, and was a ranch style home. The down fall was that it was very plain. It had golden oak cabinets (gag me) and was located in a not-as-nice neighborhood. House #3 was located in the nicest neighborhood of the three and had hardwood floors, alder cabinetry, and was the only one with a fireplace! I was in LOVE with this house but it was the smallest of the three, was a two-story so all the bedrooms were on a separate floor than the living areas, and it had the smallest lot of the three.
So which did we choose?
Well, remember that I am married and my husband had an equal vote in the choice. We ended up choosing house #2 because of the ginormous lot and three car garage. It was far from love-at-first-sight but my hubby assured me that everything I liked about the other house we could put in this house.
We have been in this house for 3 1/2 years. So far we have painted every wall, updated the hardware on the cabinets, put in stainless steel appliances, replaced all the lighting, re tiled the floors and counter tops in the bathrooms, put in a fence, painted the front door and garage doors, spruced up the flowerbeds, and completely finished the basement.
Here are some pictures of our home in its current state.
Things I still WANT to do is refinish all the cabinetry, put in hardwood throughout the kitchen and living room, install concrete counter tops in the kitchen, do a backslash, build a patio out back, and plant a bunch of trees. However, I worry about over building for our neighborhood so I'm not sure how much farther I should go with it. I guess we just have to decide how much longer we are going to stay in this house to determine if its really worth it. I am also considering some minor redecorating this fall as we've had the blue for almost four years and, well its still my favorite color, I'd like to try and use it in a different way, but that's another post.
Anyway, overall I am really happy with my house. We love being in a cul-de-sac, I love having a single story and I don't know how we could ever have less then a three car garage.
Thanks to Our Suburban Cottage for the fun post idea and link party!
