Still House Hunting

I admit it:  I can't stop looking online at houses for us!  And of course I have narrowed it down to a few favorites to share with y'all.

Every house is different with pros and cons of neighborhood, square footage, layout, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, yard size, PRICE... What's fun (and also a bit overwhelming sometimes) is weighing these many aspects against each other to decide which place better suits your needs.  We won't know for sure until we are there in person, but until then we can get prepared by thinking through what's most important to us.  And it's just so fun to imagine what life would be like in each of these different places! 


Like this happy little house.  One thing I really hope we can find is a place that's cute from the outside, and this one fits the bill.  Of course, other things are more important, but until it's time to choose (and pay up!), then I can be as discerning as I like:)  

The kitchen looks like it doesn't have tons of counter space (a drawback), but it has decent storage, nice appliances and countertops, and it would be a perfect hangout and entertaining kitchen with its huge open area leading out onto the back yard.  I know we would just live in this room.

And this house has what we have both been dreaming about for years now... double sinks!  Just about every day when we're bumping into each other in our tiny, one sink bathroom trying to get ready we look forward to the day when we won't have to fight for space:)  And I love the soothing gray countertops and white cabinets.

One of my absolute favorite styles of architecture is Colonial, with its traditional two story, symmetrical box shape and happy face.  There aren't tons to choose from in the area, based on my internet scouring, but a few boast a similar look.  I LOVE the way this next house looks from the curb and would be so happy to come home to see that every day.

Its pretty hardwood floors are a big plus along with the lightness from its large windows.  This house has so much on the "pros" list that we started getting our hearts set on it... until Google maps revealed that it and the others on the same side of the street back up to an apartment building that seemed pretty close from the areal view.  So I sent a friend over to investigate for me, and it's confirmed: sadly, the apartments are really close to the house and have balconies looking straight down into your yard... which could be a little creepy.  So we've crossed it off the list (sigh).

This next house might just be my current favorite, even though it has some drawbacks of its own.   First of all, it is incredibly conveniently located for Jady's commute to work as well as for shopping and restaurants, etc.  Also, it's on a little side street and a dead end, so there's no traffic, which makes it safe for our hypothetical children:)  It's within our price range, has tons of space, a great finished basement, plenty of bathrooms and a half an acre yard!  All things I'm very excited about.  It's for sale by owner, and the photos they posted are not great quality, so we'll have to use a little imagination with this one.

Another bonus is that it has both a formal living room and a family room, which means that you can entertain in one and relax in the other-- and people don't have to see my mess the moment they walk in:)  

Not really my style, but that's ok-- you can always change the decor.

One drawback of this house is that, unlike so many others I've seen, it doesn't have much hardwood flooring-- only in one bedroom-- and there is tons of wall-to-wall carpet everywhere.  I adore hardwood floors, and I'm just personally not a huge fan of carpeting, so that's something we'll have to consider when we look at this one.

Neutral colored carpet is one thing, but if we do choose this house, this dark green in the master bedroom has to go.  It's personal preference, but I'd prefer just about anything else:)

So we'll see!  In the meantime, it's fun dreaming.

Liza