THE HOUSE IN THE PICTURE

LET’S BUY A HOUSE!

Buying a house suddenly became very important to my husband.  He honestly didn’t really care as much about a house as he did about property. Buying a house was exciting to me also.  Immediately I began to look online.  I needed to understand what interested him and wasn’t having much luck.  One day I took a chance and sent him a picture of an old house, a “fixer upper”.    We took a drive to see the place and immediately called his realtor.  We loved the land!  Most of the 5 acres were wooded but there was enough yard to keep us mowing for an hour or so. In addition to a house, there are 4 outbuildings.  A large quonset hut sits pretty close to the road and three other buildings, a shed, a cement block building and a dirt floor building that looked as if someone might have used it as a garage, sit further back.  All of the buildings would need work one day.  We need a closer look at the house!

THE HOUSE

From the road the house looked large due to the many additions over the years.   The realtor thought there might some asbestos to deal with due to the age of the house.    The field stone foundation was pretty cool but it wasn’t very visible.  We were taking pictures and taking notes as we walked around the exterior and the to-do list was growing.

MAIN FLOOR

THE KITCHEN  We entered the house from the south side off of a small porch and into a pretty large kitchen.  It had the basic things a kitchen is supposed to have but it was all mixed up.  There was a pantry area, a sink area, a stove area and a large open space for a table and perhaps a hutch or two.  There were 5 doors off the kitchen.  The doors that led to the north and south porches, the laundry room, living room, basement, and a large paneled room that apparently was used as a dining room at one time.   The floor was linoleum and was partially coming up.  The walls were painted chocolate-brown on top and white paneling on the bottom.  There was a modern electric stove that sat right next to a 1940’s wood burning stove.  It hadn’t been used in a bit but it was kind of neat. THE LIVINGROOM  The living room had wood floors that looked to be in pretty good shape.  There was a natural fireplace that was nothing fancy.  Facing the south was a big picture window. On the east wall were two more windows that looked into the covered porch.  The door to the porch was the front door but the kitchen was used as the main entrance since there was no side-walk to the front door.   A small coat closet was opposite the front door and there is a small wall niche for knick-knacks. THE PARLOR  From the living room you go into the parlor. One door in the parlor led to the covered porch.  Two large windows faced the road and one faced the side yard.   I thought his room would make a great home office but I think it might have been used as a bedroom.

UPSTAIRS

THE BATHROOM  Opening the door to the upstairs revealed a staircase that almost went straight up.    At the top of the stairs was a small hallway that led to a bathroom and a row of bedrooms. In the hallway there is a small closet and next to it a built-in linen cupboard with drawers underneath. I loved the idea of built-in storage!  The bathroom was large but in pretty bad shape. Tile was popping up, the bathtub was rusted, and because there was no fan, the paint was peeling off the walls.  There  was a window in that bathroom that looked out over the back yard and all the trees.  Maybe the tub could be relocated under the window one day. THE BEDROOMS  The bedrooms all face the front of the house.  There are three bedrooms, one after the other. No hallway. The first room is a good-sized room with 2 large and one small window.  It also has a small closet.  Next room is a decent size bedroom with crazy ceiling angles, one small window, no closet and a door that leads to the walk in attic! Finally, the third room that happened to be my favorite room.  It’s painted a dark teal color and has an angled ceiling on one side. It has one small window that overlooks the driveway but no closet.  I could picture this space as my quiet space because it felt cozy. THE ATTIC   What a great attic!  This attic is huge and it has a staircase that leads to the laundry room off the kitchen.  I could go on and on about ideas for the attic but that is for another day and time. THE BASEMENT  This basement is a Michigan basement.  Field stone foundation walls and a partial dirt and cement floor. It has a dual heating system, wood and gas.  There is a door that leads outside that would be ideal for bringing down wood for the wood burning furnace.  The basement is divided into rooms. A furnace room, a cellar and a tool room.  Since it was a damp, fall day, the basement felt cool and actually kind of creepy.

OUR DECISION

We never went to see any other homes after that day.  This house and its 5 acres spoke to us.   The price was right and it looked livable.  So we began the process of purchasing our first home!