House #3: Familiar on the Outside, Different on the Inside

So the first day that I went out with my realtor was sort of a bomb. I didn't see anything that I liked, and I felt badly because she was so sure that I was going to like several of them. Greg had to keep reminding me that we weren't going to buy a house that we hated because I didn't want to hurt my  realtor's feelings :-).

She was awesome, though, and completely undeterred. No worries, she announced firmly when she dropped me back off at the hotel at the end of our day. We WILL find something that you LOVE, I know it.

The next morning we went straight to this house, and it was the first one that I actually liked. On the outside, it is very similar to the house we live in now: a cedar-sided, center hall colonial with big, spacious rooms. It was on a wooded lot and had an attached garage, and I immediately took a deep breath and thought to myself, This could be it!

I loved the living room - beautiful built-ins, a fireplace, and open to a sun-filled office that they added on a few years ago.

Here's another view of the office. It would make a perfect classroom - the only thing I wasn't thrilled about was that it was completely open to the other living spaces, which is not ideal. It's open to the living room on one side and the family room on the other, and our school room is often pretty messy. There are books and papers and markers and playdoh and glue sticks and clay all over the place - we're a busy bunch in there. I just am not sure that I want that mess so visible to my type-A eyes all throughout the day as I'm living in the rest of the home. Doors are a beautiful thing.

I loved the kitchen. The woman who lives there now went to cooking school, and you can tell. Top-of-the-line appliances, and just a very cozy space. I could really see myself cooking and baking in there while I watched the kids playing in the backyard through the big windows.

The family room. One word: UGH.

I felt like I had entered the local Moose Lodge. Horrid. 

The dining room. It had potential. It was crying out for some wallpaper removal and a fab chandelier, but I could work with it.

The master bedroom. 

Here's the sad news. This basement? It looks nice in the photos. I thought so too. The reality? Pretty bad, people. The ceilings were LOW. The carpet was DIRTY. And the worst news by far? It smelled like CAT PEE. If someone wanted to torture me, they could get any and all classified information out of me in five seconds flat if they tied me up in a room that smelled like cat pee. I HATE that smell, and it is impossible to get rid of. It's funny because I whispered to my realtor that I thought it smelled like a cat, and I think their realtor overheard me; when we went back with Greg later that day, there were about 400 scented candles burning in the basement. We almost passed out as we were assaulted with the competing smells of vanilla, fresh linen, apple cinnamon, and cat pee. Ummmm, nice try lady. 

I loved the back yard. It was small but idyllic. Smith kids would have a blast in this little corner of the world.

There you have it - House #3.

So which one did we choose?

Stay tuned to find out!