Showing posts with label house buying. Show all posts
Showing posts with label house buying. Show all posts
Thursday, June 7, 2012
living room :: revealed!
You've seen the RED dining room, our restful bedroom, the kids blue oasis, the sunny guest room ... but no living room. When I posted the original before pictures I didn't even include the picture of the living room. It's a small living room and isn't as impressive, in my opinion, as some of the other fun features of the house. In short: the living room was not a selling point. We still have work to do in the living room (a fireplace? shelves surrounding the big window with a window seat?), but it's better than it was. AND we have our sectional that we've been lusting after for years.
Friday, May 11, 2012
dining room :: revealed!
Knowing from the walk through before moving to our house that the current wallpaper was busy and dark, I felt confident about a darker color in the south facing dining room.
We chose Benjamin Moore's Dinner Party which seemed like a perfect dining room name.
You know how when you buy a car and then start noticing that car everywhere (well, that hasn't happened with our scion xb, but you know what I mean), the same thing has happened with red dining rooms! Who knew? And I love how the color seems to go with EVERYTHING! I love it with the darker colored furniture and with every single thing we want to hang on the wall. I love this color so much - but with a healthy amount of self discipline I've resisted painting the entire house Dinner Party.
We chose Benjamin Moore's Dinner Party which seemed like a perfect dining room name.
You know how when you buy a car and then start noticing that car everywhere (well, that hasn't happened with our scion xb, but you know what I mean), the same thing has happened with red dining rooms! Who knew? And I love how the color seems to go with EVERYTHING! I love it with the darker colored furniture and with every single thing we want to hang on the wall. I love this color so much - but with a healthy amount of self discipline I've resisted painting the entire house Dinner Party.
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
7 moving tips
This is how I imagine our moving experience:
This is the reality:
Having said that, I have a couple of tips for moving (not that I have that much experience with this or anything like that).
1.) Pack books in small boxes - all that paper is heavy!
2.) Focus on one area at a time when packing (one closet, one bedroom, etc)
3.) Whenever possible leave items in drawers for moving transport. ie no need to unload dresser drawers, move the dresser full. If it's too heavy you can slide the drawers out and move them one at a time.
4.) No matter how much you purge and only bring what you absolutely have to, you'll find yourself wondering why on earth you decided to move this or that when unpacking boxes at your new house.
5.) Move all boxes into as little space as possible at the new house. That way the whole house isn't strewn with boxes. Bring one box at a time to the room it belongs in and unpack it completely before moving on to the next box.
6.) When unpacking, focus on one room at a time. I find that the bedroom is the most important. If at least I can sleep in a place that isn't cluttered with boxes and feels somewhat "settled" I'm a much more settled person.
7.) Old house mess stays at old house. Dust, vacuum, clean whatever it is - ie no dusty shelves or desk or table or etc comes to the new house. We're not moving dirt.
What advice would you add to this list?
This is the reality:
Having said that, I have a couple of tips for moving (not that I have that much experience with this or anything like that).
1.) Pack books in small boxes - all that paper is heavy!
2.) Focus on one area at a time when packing (one closet, one bedroom, etc)
3.) Whenever possible leave items in drawers for moving transport. ie no need to unload dresser drawers, move the dresser full. If it's too heavy you can slide the drawers out and move them one at a time.
4.) No matter how much you purge and only bring what you absolutely have to, you'll find yourself wondering why on earth you decided to move this or that when unpacking boxes at your new house.
5.) Move all boxes into as little space as possible at the new house. That way the whole house isn't strewn with boxes. Bring one box at a time to the room it belongs in and unpack it completely before moving on to the next box.
6.) When unpacking, focus on one room at a time. I find that the bedroom is the most important. If at least I can sleep in a place that isn't cluttered with boxes and feels somewhat "settled" I'm a much more settled person.
7.) Old house mess stays at old house. Dust, vacuum, clean whatever it is - ie no dusty shelves or desk or table or etc comes to the new house. We're not moving dirt.
What advice would you add to this list?
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Multi Generational Living
Lppick suggested a post on multi generational living: the blending of two families.
I don't really feel qualified to discuss this as we've tried it.
It hasn't worked.
And we're jumping into a multi generational living situation again.
I like to think that this time is different.
It also helps me sleep at night.
To think that this will work.
Here are some items we have felt are important and discussed at length as a family group:
- All sides are being as honest as possible in the most respectful way possible.
- Everyone feels that this is "really" the other couple's home - AND we don't want the other couple to feel like they are just guests.
- This is something both couples have wanted for 7+ years ... we've been this close to moving in together two previous times then decide that it's not practical - now it is!
- All individuals are comfortable discussing tough stuff with each other respectfully
- Our values, lifestyles, and goals are similar
- There is a "get out" plan*
- The house has two full bathrooms
- There is some separation to the bedroom areas
- Every person has an area they excel at - an awesomeness they add to the household (Ren Man cooks, Poobah (my dad) is a homesteading enthusiast, Nina (my mom) is patient and generous, and I'm the
aggressive domineeringnatural leader. See? It's perfect -as long as everyone folds to my bossy ways ;)
Anything else we should think about going into this? Any other questions we should address?
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Mother Earth News
Mother Earth News
I love this publication.
It was fun to discover when we were in Providence.
I'm not sure how I stumbled across it.
I happened to mention it to my dad as this great resource I found.
He said he's been subscribing on and off since the '70s.
So now he brings us the latest issue whenever he's done with one (pretty much every time we see him).
I love this publication.
Have I said that already?
Every issue is incredible - cover-to-cover.
I have a random issue next to me with cover stories like:
Build an Easy Hoop House to Grow More Food (very excited about this - won't work with our snow load, but still exciting to read about)
How to Get the Best Firewood for Clean Energy (yay for wood heat and some wooded acres that need thinning!)
Five Low Cost Outdoor Root Cellars (my dad is more excited about this than me because I'm hoping we can use the basement as a root cellar and not have to dig through snow to find our diy root cellar)
Create Better Soil with Cover Crops
The Astonishing Story of Real Milk
All exciting stuff combined with a joint interest with my dad is pretty awesome.
Ren Man purchased a dvd of 40 years of lots of Mother Earth News goodness.
This publication has been vital in our day to day life as we did as much "farming" as we could in our urban rental - how much more so now that we're farming "for real".
What's your favorite farming-related magazine?
Monday, January 9, 2012
Farm to put an offer on - lots and lots of pictures - LOTS
We went to the house yesterday for one more (TWO HOUR) look before putting an offer on this house.
There was some stress about whether high-speed internet, a necessity for our work and my dad's, would be available.
We now know it is - so it's a go.
We can't wait!!
So much to do, so much excitement.
In The Happiness Project, Gretchen talks about how happiness is increased with the anticipation of something and then we acclimate and it isn't so happiness inducing. She says that gardening is an example of something that can regularly make you happy because of the anticipation (and growth, another contributor to happiness).
We're planning to paint, add shelving, oh - and FARM. Lots of continued anticipation and growth to come.
Lots of happiness already by this looking-for-a-farm-with-my-parents process (and a fair amount of stress) and lots to come (stress is expected too :) )
As a side note on pictures of real estate: it is oftenterrible not so great.
So during this trip I brought our camera to get a few quick shots.
There are a TON of pictures. I'll put comments ABOVE the picture I'm talking about.
The house from the road (we love the porch, the split rail fence, the not-busy road)
My dad, Ren Man, Ren Man's mom walking across the larger meadows towards the house (love the space, the mountains in the background, the old barn)
My dad and Ren Man walking along the ridge next to the snow covered pond at the front of the property (it's to the left a little of the house when you're looking at the house but can't see it in the first picture because it's covered in snow)
One of the rooms in the barn that has several stalls. There are two other "rooms" at least as large as this one in the barn with additional stalls
One of the two haylofts in the barn
The front porch
Front porch again (so excited about a front porch!)
This is right when you walk in the front door - so an entryway. My mom really did not want to walk into a room (dining room or kitchen or living room) but to have a dedicated entry area, and I have to agree. This is perfect. I am SOOO excited about the woodstove. It was essential, in my mind.
There is an office area immediately to your right (you can see the edge of the door frame on the bottom right of this picture), behind the woodstove is the laundry room, half bath and set of stairs, the door straight ahead goes out to a mudroom and work room and wood storage area before going outside near the barn, the kitchen is straight ahead and to the left (you can see one of the cabinets, dishwasher, and sink next to the back door), the dining room is to the left (see the corner of the wall halfway up the picture on the left?)
The kitchen. I love how open it is to the house (but not too open) and how light it is. Yes, it's small but efficiently designed.
The dining room. There is a wallpaper problem in this house - we're having fun dreaming up what paint to throw on these walls. We're loving the Pottery Barn collection that Benjamin Moore has. To the left is the living room (that I didn't get a picture of) and the stairs straight ahead go to the landing shown four pictures down and leads to our (mine, Ren Man, and the kids bedrooms).
This is our bathroom (meaning mine and Ren Man's and the kids) I love the paint color already!
My parents bedroom (wallpaper hit hardest here and in their bathroom)
My parents bathroom
The landing upstairs when you go up the stairs that are in the dining room. I'm so excited about how big this landing is. Straight ahead is the bedroom Ren Man wants us to use (it's in the picture below) (I'm not sure if this one would be better for us or the smaller one in the next picture with the blue border wall paper)
Potentially mine and Ren Man's bedroom
Or this one:
The kid's room (both kids are excited about the bunkbeds ... and are fine when we explain that the bunkbeds don't stay):
This is the back door going to the barn. I think the birch bark is so neat.
Not pretty but very functional work room for rinsing vegetables and eggs and storing things like egg cartons and scale never mind the space for refrigerator/freezer items.
So that's the photo tour. We're in love (despite advice NOT to fall in love before closing). Now we have to wait and hope that the buyers accept our offer.
Maybe seeing these help with ideas for farm name advice? We're still thinking through options. At some point the farm was called: Paradise Corners Farm (the farm is located on a corner of a paved and dirt road). We're not loving that ...
What do you think of it all?
There was some stress about whether high-speed internet, a necessity for our work and my dad's, would be available.
We now know it is - so it's a go.
We can't wait!!
So much to do, so much excitement.
In The Happiness Project, Gretchen talks about how happiness is increased with the anticipation of something and then we acclimate and it isn't so happiness inducing. She says that gardening is an example of something that can regularly make you happy because of the anticipation (and growth, another contributor to happiness).
We're planning to paint, add shelving, oh - and FARM. Lots of continued anticipation and growth to come.
Lots of happiness already by this looking-for-a-farm-with-my-parents process (and a fair amount of stress) and lots to come (stress is expected too :) )
As a side note on pictures of real estate: it is often
So during this trip I brought our camera to get a few quick shots.
There are a TON of pictures. I'll put comments ABOVE the picture I'm talking about.
The house from the road (we love the porch, the split rail fence, the not-busy road)
My dad, Ren Man, Ren Man's mom walking across the larger meadows towards the house (love the space, the mountains in the background, the old barn)
My dad and Ren Man walking along the ridge next to the snow covered pond at the front of the property (it's to the left a little of the house when you're looking at the house but can't see it in the first picture because it's covered in snow)
One of the rooms in the barn that has several stalls. There are two other "rooms" at least as large as this one in the barn with additional stalls
One of the two haylofts in the barn
The front porch
Front porch again (so excited about a front porch!)
This is right when you walk in the front door - so an entryway. My mom really did not want to walk into a room (dining room or kitchen or living room) but to have a dedicated entry area, and I have to agree. This is perfect. I am SOOO excited about the woodstove. It was essential, in my mind.
There is an office area immediately to your right (you can see the edge of the door frame on the bottom right of this picture), behind the woodstove is the laundry room, half bath and set of stairs, the door straight ahead goes out to a mudroom and work room and wood storage area before going outside near the barn, the kitchen is straight ahead and to the left (you can see one of the cabinets, dishwasher, and sink next to the back door), the dining room is to the left (see the corner of the wall halfway up the picture on the left?)
The kitchen. I love how open it is to the house (but not too open) and how light it is. Yes, it's small but efficiently designed.
The dining room. There is a wallpaper problem in this house - we're having fun dreaming up what paint to throw on these walls. We're loving the Pottery Barn collection that Benjamin Moore has. To the left is the living room (that I didn't get a picture of) and the stairs straight ahead go to the landing shown four pictures down and leads to our (mine, Ren Man, and the kids bedrooms).
This is our bathroom (meaning mine and Ren Man's and the kids) I love the paint color already!
My parents bedroom (wallpaper hit hardest here and in their bathroom)
My parents bathroom
The landing upstairs when you go up the stairs that are in the dining room. I'm so excited about how big this landing is. Straight ahead is the bedroom Ren Man wants us to use (it's in the picture below) (I'm not sure if this one would be better for us or the smaller one in the next picture with the blue border wall paper)
Potentially mine and Ren Man's bedroom
Or this one:
The kid's room (both kids are excited about the bunkbeds ... and are fine when we explain that the bunkbeds don't stay):
This is the back door going to the barn. I think the birch bark is so neat.
Not pretty but very functional work room for rinsing vegetables and eggs and storing things like egg cartons and scale never mind the space for refrigerator/freezer items.
So that's the photo tour. We're in love (despite advice NOT to fall in love before closing). Now we have to wait and hope that the buyers accept our offer.
Maybe seeing these help with ideas for farm name advice? We're still thinking through options. At some point the farm was called: Paradise Corners Farm (the farm is located on a corner of a paved and dirt road). We're not loving that ...
What do you think of it all?
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