Your "first meeting" with your house to be
It wasn't perfect. Frankly, it wasn't even close to perfect, and even now, after living in it for three years, there is still a lot to be done.
So what makes one house more attractive than the others?
When you are dating a man, you usually date many times before you decide that "this is it". When it comes to houses, you usually have only a few times to see it before you commit to buy and therefore the first meeting has a lot of impact on your decision. For us- it was eventually the house's location and layout that made us fall for it.
We have asked our houzz blogger friends about their first meeting with their "house to be" and have received some interesting answers. It's surely fun to go back and remember...
How was YOUR first meeting with your house to be?
Share your stories (and photos!) in the comments below for your chance to win a $100 Lowe's gift card. Comments are accepted until Sunday, October 11th 5pm EST.
Sherry and John- Young House Love: We first laid eyes on our house by doing a little drive by to scope it out... but we could hardly see it through the forest that existed in front of the small ranch! We liked the neighborhood and the fact that it was definitely a fixer-upper though, so we asked our realtor to give us a tour (at which point we fell in love with the backyard and there was no going back).
Vivian- Ish and Chi: I bought the house before I was married and my husband and I now live here with our son and cat. I hadn't seen the house before the auction but my parents had viewed and researched the property and I trusted their opinion. Definitely not a recommended way of making such a large purchase but it worked out for the best in my case. When I first walked through the house the thing that struck me was how light and bright the home is. It is an elevated property with a garage underneath. From the balcony we have distant views of the city and it's lovely to sit here in the mornings.
Mrs. Limestone - Brooklyn Limestone: We found the house in terrible shape. A complete gut reno was the only option. But it didn't stop us from falling in love with the place. I like to say the doorknob sold me on the house but I'm not quite sure what it was exactly. Even though there wasn't a single thing "right", it was the right one for us.
Kim - Dear Daisy Cottage: It was pretty much love at first sight! From the moment I stepped on the front porch, I dared to dream that this house could become our home - a dream of mine that I’ve pretty much always had! As we sat on the porch swing, waiting for the realtor to arrive to show us the house, my mind was already spinning with what all I would do to make her ours.
Layla- The Lettered Cottage: When I first tricked, I mean talked, my husband into checking out what we now affectionately refer to as the "Lettered Cottage" he was extremely unimpressed. The house had been vacant, just sitting on the market, for over eight months. It was in need of lots of TLC. The exterior looked so dismal, and the yard was badly overgrown. Inside the house, the wall-to-wall carpet smelled like the previous owners dog, and almost every room looked like it had been painted by Rainbow Brite herself. But at the end of our first walk through, Kevin quickly realized that it was mostly cosmetic work that needed to be done, and we decided that if we could get the house at the right price, we should seize the opportunity to land a spot on our favorite street in town.
Benita- Chez Larsson: Our son Wille was four (he’s now fifteen) and we had been at some friends’ house for the day. When we got back home to our city rental apartment and when Wille woke up the next morning he cried and said he wanted “grass of his own”. We hadn’t really contemplated buying a house at all before, we were really happy in the city centre, but decided to check out some property on the internet. Two weeks later and the first house we ever viewed was ours.
Victoria- sfgirlbybay: I found this building on craigslist.com, but used to live downstairs in a very cute, but very dark apartment. The people who lived upstairs were moving back to Paris, so just for fun, I had a look at the apartment. It was so full of light, with a little terrace, that I knew I had to live here.
Rhoda- Southern Hospitality: We moved to Birmingham, AL about 3 1/2 years ago. After my hubby was commuting from Atlanta for a few months, we decided to make it our permanent home, so he began looking at houses after work and during lunch for a month or so. We both came over and looked a couple of different times and he actually found our house and neighborhood and told me about it on the phone. He had looked inside the house already and told me all about and I was able to look online at the realty pics, but I wasn't overly impressed to begin with. When he brought me in here for the first time, I was underwhelmed to say the least and it wasn't exactly what I had in mind, but it grew on me after we decided to buy it. I didn't like the wall colors and I hated all the carpet.
Kirsten- Simply Grove: My husband and I decided to build for a new experience and to make it exactly what we want. We also decided to build a ways outside of the city so we found our lot while taking a drive one day and then we found out that the builder who owned it was a good friend of my husbands so it all worked out.
Sarah- Thrifty Decor Chick: We had been living in apartments for years and knew we wanted something brand new. Hubby had lived in older homes and did not want the maintenance that came with one. I had never had a new home and it just appealed to me. We looked through model homes for weeks, and as soon as we walked into the model of our home, we were absolutely head over heels. It was exactly what we wanted – open floor plan, high ceilings throughout, two story front room, loft and master bath…it was perfect. Now we know "new" does not mean maintenance free – there’s always something with any house. And although I absolutely love our home and floor plan, I sometimes find myself wanting more separated spaces – it makes for easier decorating.
Karla- It's The Little Things That Make A House A Home: In June of 2007, I got a phone call from my mother-in-law asking if I could quickly drive over to her neighborhood to look at a house that was just put on the market. A little confused, but admittedly excited to go through an open house (we love to look!), I went over and we did a walk through. At the end of our tour, she asked me if I thought we could handle living there. Without a doubt, I said "yes" and a little less than two months later we had moved in. We now rent this house from my in-laws and we live three doors down from them. And yes, we love it!
Kim- Desire To Inspire: The first time I saw my house I was shocked at its size. It’s 12 ft wide. I had never been in a house that narrow before. I could tell right away that I could work with the basics it had to offer as it had good bones. I was also shocked by the poor workmanship on many things throughout the house, such as the makeshift kitchen island and the worst tile job I’d ever seen in the kitchen and powder room. It was October and the season was winding down and I was terrified I wouldn’t be able to find something, and a home that was liveable. I wanted a house in the city and my price range was very limiting.
Q