Ready for a little game of House Hunters? After three days of house hunting in Connecticut and seeing house after house after house, we've narrowed it down to three:
House 1: Charming New England Cape
- Most expensive of the three
- Best location
- First floor master bedroom
- Single pedestal sink in master bath :-(
- Large country kitchen with woodburning brick fireplace
- Office with vaulted, beamed ceiling and built-in bookcases
- Large guestroom with its own bathroom
- Nicely finished basement
- Upstairs landing perfect as a craft/hang-out area for the girls
House 2: Remodeled & Move-in Ready
- Farthest location from work, school, and center of town
- Smallest house of the three
- Priced in between the other two houses but highest price per square foot
- Gorgeous back patio with stone fireplace
- Recently remodeled kitchen with high-end appliances
- Recently remodeled master bath that has large vanity with single sink
- Large walk-out basement (but has dropped ceiling)
- The most move-in ready of all three houses with lots of bells and whistles (great moldings, surround sound stereo speakers, hard-wired generator, etc.)
House 3: Classic Colonial
- Newest of the three houses
- Least expensive of the three
- Needs most work (lots of wood trim, cabinets, and paneling to paint!) but may have most potential for making money on resale
- Largest family room with beautiful vaulted ceiling
- Largest bedrooms (and master closest!)
- Master bath is spacious with a double vanity in one room, attached to another room with a single vanity, toilet, shower, and bath but needs updating
- Finished basement with wood paneled walls and three closets with tons of storage
So, help this tired house hunter out - which house would you pick???
(Your vote should register once the page is refreshed!)
(Your vote should register once the page is refreshed!)
I love house one overall but the patio for 2 is superb. Maybe you can do that to yours in time.
ReplyDeleteCarolyn
Agree!
DeleteI would ask myself what room(s) do I spend the most time in. As much as a nice large sink in the bathroom would be nice - a large kitchen with all the bells and whistles and a large office would be important to me. If I did a lot of outdoor entertaining - then a beautiful large yard/patio would be important. I know that you can't have everything, so these are questions I always ask myself. And, having said all of that - all 3 houses have their own charm - it is a difficult decision and yours to make! Have fun!
ReplyDeleteVery good advice Marlene. I'm not a fan of pedestal sinks for master bathrooms but you're totally right - that's only something to deal with a few minutes in the morning and a few in the evening. The spaces for the girls and the kitchen are probably most important for us.
DeleteI agree with the previous comments....add an outdoor f/p over time...and then redo the master bath when the time comes. In our Crystal Creek redo, I lived with a teensy master forever. We had stayed in so many b & b's that we knew we could live with a small bathroom for awhile, and we did. We eventually made the bathroom larger when the time was right.
ReplyDeleteThe other rooms in #1 just feel great. Love the feel/look of the kitchen, the window seat in the DR and the other rooms had a good feel too. But you were there and know the locales, etc.....I'm so excited for you and can't wait to see what you'll choose! They all have +/-, but my fave is # 1.
Thanks for the comment - your input means a lot to me b/c I know you have impeccable taste. We actually took a second tour through house #1 today and I realized that there is a large cabinet built into the wall next to the pedestal sink in the master bath that makes me feel much better about the functionality of that space. You are right - #1 has a wonderful, warm feel to it. We liked it even better our second time in it!
DeleteThe second one had a beautiful kitchen, but all the ceilings seemed low in the pictures. First one looked like it had little kitchen cabinet space, and needed a kitchen update (expensive). Third one had less charm, but seemed spacious, high celings, and could be greatly improved with the small touches you excel at (vision, paint and elbow grease) rather than major remodeling.
ReplyDeleteHi Melissa - thanks so much for the input. The picture of the kitchen in the first house is a bit deceiving b/c there are actually cabinets all along the other wall of the kitchen that don't show in the picture. The cabinets are much better in person than in the picture (in fact, when I looked at it online, I wrote "horrible cabinets" next to this listing and almost didn't go see the house!). There are some updates to be done though. You are spot on about house #3 - with some inexpensive improvements, that house could be totally transformed! Such a tough call!
DeleteI'd go for location, everything else can be changed over time...
ReplyDeleteYou are right - location is key and something that is weighing heavy in our decision! I learned that lesson with our first house - we built a new house far out from our jobs that was so much nicer than anything else we could afford in a more convenient location. However, after years of all of the extra time spent in the car, we realized that it really wasn't worth it and ended up moving within Cincinnati and paying more money for a smaller house (but ideally located!). We never regretted that decision.
DeleteI agree with Marlene too as it comes down to rooms and how you spend your time-everything else cosmetic. I ahve 3 girls and fr 12 yrs to 17yrs of age I am in my car driving or friends are over at my house-that accounts for about 15 years over the time I am in my house. I would never now want to be farthest fr town/school/friends.I am jealous of great space others have who live farther out but not concern to me now. "I' also would never survive with 1st fl master as when not out they are back in the kitchen near food(no matter basement, they don't stay there!). Noise of chit caht/tv not work with my husband.And as older I try to hang in kitchen and drive to get needed info!!LOL All great perks in each house and workable so depends on lifestyle.If your kids will use backyard to have friends/you love to entertain then don't pick closets over great backyard(wait this is CT-isn't spring/summer 3 months?haha)
ReplyDeleteThanks Joan - some great, great advice! The good thing about the master in house #1 is that it is on the opposite end of the house from the kitchen (and the house is pretty long with most of the square footage being on the first floor and much less on the second floor) - with noise in the kitchen, we'd probably hear less in the first floor master than if we were on the second floor above it. Good point about the backyard, we do love to hang out outside in the nice weather (even if it's not many months long in CT :-) and a smaller closet would just force me to get rid of half my clothes that I should be getting rid of anyway!
DeleteYou didn't mention location on house #3 but that is key, the older and more active my kids get the less I feel like I am home. But given the financial impact and love you have for project if #3 is conveniently located then it gets my vote. Especially of relocation is a possibility again in the next 5-7 years.
ReplyDeleteHouse #3 is not as good of a location as house #1 but better than house #2. I'm totally with you on location - that is weighing heavily into our decision making. I love all of the potential in house #3 - it would be a fun house to work on!
DeleteHouse number 1..hands down. Adorable, character..you can make it your own!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for your input!
DeleteI just don’t know how to describe it, the outdoor was superb and that house is one of a kind.
ReplyDeleteWhich house - number 1?
DeleteI want you you to buy #3 for selfish reasons :) I would love to see what you do with all of the orange wood tones. I have the same and it's GORGEOUS, high quality, upscale, lovely and luxe. BUT I find myself torn - which colors work well with those woods? I'm drawn to spring colors and cool tones but am not sure how to mix those with my cabinets, floors, doors and wood panel ceilings. If you bought house #3 I could learn lots as you make that house your own :)
ReplyDelete#1 for sure!
ReplyDelete