House Hunting

Ian and I decided that since our family was growing, it was time to look for a larger place to live. While our two bedroom apartment has worked well for the four of us, as we add a new member to the family, space will be seriously lacking. So we have been looking for a new house.

Our budget isn't that big, so we have been looking at homes at the lower end of the price range. This makes for some interesting finds. One thing I have learned is that you can learn a lot about a house by its exterior, but you still don't know what you will find inside.

For example, here is an outside shot of one of the houses we visited. I looked at this house and thought to myself, "This was an old person's house. It looks like it was well cared for."

I was somewhat right. I think the last occupants were elderly, and the front two rooms looked nice and updated, but as you went into the bowels of the house it got a little more interesting and in disrepair. This particular house had one or two add-ons and this next picture was taken from the back room looking at a door that once connected it to the other added-on room.

I guess they didn't want that doorway used anymore. and I love the effect of the layered wallpaper on the back wall. Yep. Who would have thought this room would be in a house with the nice friendly front you just saw.

We also found old light fixtures,

and improvised light fixtures (yes, this is a bicycle handlebar with two light bulbs attached by wiring and electrical tape).

We saw interesting paint jobs and creative uses of space. A majority of the houses we looked at were built in the early 1900's, which, in this area, means that the home was originally a one or two bedroom house that has since been added on to. There were lots of rooms that were also hallways, because you had to walk through one bedroom to get to the next. There was one house that had a bathroom/laundry room that was also a hallway. It was the only way to walk from the front of the house to the rooms in the rear.

Well, after all our searching, we have finally found a home that we like. It is a newer home (only 50 years old instead of 100), and has a floor plan that makes sense. The oddest thing about the home is that at some time in the past, someone took out the wall separating two of the bedrooms and currently there is only a stud divider between the two (as if someone got interupted in putting the the rest of the wall).

Ian and I put on offer in on the house on Friday. We will see how that goes.
Ian and I have been looking at homes for sale for a few months now and have finally found one we like.