1925 Hip Roof Colonial

Over the past year, we have looked at many houses.  Being an artist, I find that the visual appearance of things is very important to me, and this very much applies to houses.  Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind a house that needs some updating and improvement (I can easily look past garish wall paper or dated colors), but if I don’t like the overall style and structure of the house (raised ranch, anyone?), it’s difficult for me to even consider it.  So, while I do try to keep an open mind, I’ve learned that it’s probably not worth my time to look at houses that are not pleasing to my design sense and instead focus on looking at houses that are. 

Once I have found a house that looks appealing to me, there are a few top priorities to consider: location, size, number of bedrooms and bathrooms.  Then there are other details I look for: the general layout and flow of the house (is it open and smooth, or small and awkward?), the configuration of the rooms (will there be space for me to work on my creative endeavors, and my husband to work on his music?), the yard (is it fenced and private, or a uni-yard shared with the neighbors?).  And of course, there is always the consideration of price vs how much updating and work the house needs.

Enter 1925 hip roof colonial.  Swoon. There is so much that I love about this house.  First of all, it’s in a great location.  Check.  The house has a great flow and is big enough to accommodate our expanding family, as well as allow us space for all of our creative passions.  Check, and check. While the configuration of the deck is a little odd, the yard is nice (there are trees!   something that was missing from our first house) and has a fenced in area that would be great for the kids to play in.  Check.  There are two bathrooms   one on the first floor, and one (with a claw foot tub!) on the second.  Check.  It does need some updating, but it is in our price range.  Check!

So now that the top priorities are all met, let’s look at some of the details. We’ll start outside.  The yard and outside areas could definitely use some cleaning up, but there are some nice trees (did I mention we love trees?) and hedges around the border.  As for the house, there is a nice large front porch, complete with a bench swing.  

 

Now let’s go inside.  Going in the front door, you are greeted with a display of bold floral wallpaper lining the entryway, hall, and stairs.  Not my first choice for walls, but it’s in surprisingly good shape, and we could live with it for awhile.  Off to the right is a nice living room with hardwood floors, what appears to be original molding and trim, and a nice wide opening with columns into the dining room:

Hardwood floors continue through the dining room, which also has a built in china cabinet:

Off the dining room is, of course, the kitchen.  The kitchen could use some updating, but is a nice size:

Back behind the kitchen is a bathroom, laundry area (yay!), and an extra room that was added on which has a multitude of possibilities.  This room could be used as studio space for myself or my husband, it could be a playroom for the kids, a guest bedroom...or even a bedroom for one of the kids should we decide to have another baby in the future.  :)

Let’s head upstairs.  The lovely floral wall paper continues up the stairs and through the hallway on the second floor.  There are a couple of nice little stained glass windows, though, so that’s a plus!  

On the right side is the largest of the bedrooms, which has a little walk-in closet (nice!).  On the left is 2 smaller bedrooms.  The hardwood floors upstairs could definitely use a refinishing, but I don’t mind that.  The upstairs bathroom could use some design help (ugly wallpaper and tile), but it has a fabulous claw foot tub (love!):

So that’s the second floor.  And I would still love this house if that’s all there was to it, but there’s a little bonus:  a finished walk up attic space.  This is a fantastic feature of this house.  It’s a bit steep to get up there, but it’s nicely finished, and with windows on both ends and skylights, there’s a lot of natural light.  This room is like the icing on the cake:

So, long story short, I love this house and can really envision it being our family home for many years to come.  But unfortunately it’s a short sale which already has an offer (boo!).  So now we play the waiting game to see if the bank approves the other offer, or if we will get a shot at it.  Keep your fingers crossed for us!