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gardenmom5
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a house up the street is for sale (we're sort of stupefied at what housing prices are doing), so as we were discussing housing prices in our area, dh wanted to know what was the most expensive.   we came across this

https://www.redfin.com/WA/Bellevue/Undisclosed-address-98005/home/100963512

 

oh my goodness ... the address is undisclosed - but I know *exactly* where it is.  I remember when it was under construction as I was picking something up from someone who lives very close.  we've been at gatherings with college classmates of dds who live near it (have a very nice house) and called it "the orphanage" just based upon it's size.

now - we got a look at the inside. . . :ack2: :ack2: :ack2:  gag. me. with. a. spork!   just goes to show money doesn't mean you have taste.   dd was looking through the pics - and I knew when she came to the first :ohmy:  one.

the only house in this price bracket that had a similar (but severely reduced) reaction  was a beautiful 1910 mansion - that they turned into ultra modern avant garde on the inside.  :svengo: desecration. (I don't have a problem with someone wanting ultra modern - it's what they did to the historic house to get it.)

and just about every other house in this price range has lk wa waterfront or a spectacular view.  this has neither.

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Not my particular taste - I don't mind large or grand houses but I like them to maintain warmth and a human scale to the details. This is missing on both counts. And way overpriced.

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there are rumors (that go back at least 10 years) of eastern european mafia.

 

 

as for house prices here - there are 16 house >$10M in the seattle metro area.  most have waterfront or a spectular view - or even both.

 

here's the most expensive.  it's on MI on the east chanel .. . not a prime  location (west facing is), but low bank waterfront with a view of rainier.   https://www.redfin.com/WA/Mercer-Island/5330-Butterworth-Rd-98040/home/257061

 

Edited by gardenmom5
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While there are a few rooms that aren't my taste in the first house strictly because of the contrasting patterns, I'd take it over the second house you posted any day.  The second house is white upon white upon white and I hate white (or pale or neutral colors).  Give me bright and bold!

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https://www.redfin.com/WA/Clyde-Hill/9219-NE-26th-St-98004/home/250481

 

This is my style.  Unfortunately not within my price range.  And I don't live anywhere near WA.

 

The one you posted certainly does look mafia-ish.

 

that's a nice one.  much more live able.  I like the open beams in the kitchen/breakfast/family.  there was one I'd seen awhile back - but deleted the link.  craftsman, unstained fir woodwork .. . it was my style.  the location wasn't what I'd want though . . .

 

I only posted the "white on white" as a reference for what prices are like in this area.  I wouldn't want to live on MI - ever.  (hassle of location and trying to get anywhere off the island is. not. worth. it.).  I've seen houses over the years I've liked much better.  and the difference between waterfront/views and not.  (the marble monstrosity has no view.  maybe a peek-a-boo of the cascades from the east end (the house faces north) -but nothing to get excited about.

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That master bath decor made me dizzy. I'd probably fall and clonk my head on that marble/granite/whatever every morning.

 

Also, I'm not a photographer, but if you are selling a 15 million dollar house, you would want to get photos where there isn't a glare off every surface, yes? Very distracting. Although I imagine people buying houses in that range aren't scrolling through websites themselves.

 

Side note, in my area houses like that are pretty concentrated to one suburb and rarely get over 4-5 million. While looking at listings this morning I found an adorable, freshly rehabbed 2bed/2ba house for $270K right at the edge of that town's limits. If the kids were grown, I would jump on it. Just to watch all the expensive sports cars go up and down my street every morning while I chug my coffee.

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Well, if you want the manor from the Vicar of Dibley, it's on the market too.   The outside is charming (for a manor house) but the inside.....  ugh.   What the heck is that big blue thing in front of the TV??  

 

https://www.propertyforum.com/property-in-the-uk/vicar-dibley-mansion-sale.html - house

 

http://search.savills.com/list#/r/detail/gblhchlac160013#fpCarousel - realty photos of the property/house

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Imagine the echoes...and the echoes from the echoes.  It makes my head hurt just thinking about that, then that giant bathroom would probably throw me into a seizure, the non-stop patterns in the marble are like a 3-D picture from the '90s. 

 

I DO approve of the sauna, hot tub, and indoor pool though. I would just live on that level 9 months of the year.

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The first one reminds me of a house near my mum's old place - the same kind of too much tacky marble.  OUtside it was stucco, pink, totally inappropriate for our climate.  Eventually it was bought by one of the Trailer Park Boys.  THough he got rid of the pink, at least.

 

There is a big giant ugly place for sale here last summer, in the same vein - people with a lot of money who just don't seem to know when to say stop.  It's right on the harbor and from the water side, it looks like some corporate monstrosity.  I've seen some amazing modern properties, some I might not want to live in, but these are not like that.

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I finally see what they mean by "new money."  There's no way that someone who has had money for a long time would want these hideous houses.  They're so flashy and cold.

 

I want a small colonial house with giant fireplaces and wide plank floors with lots of dings in them.  :)  

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Not my style and out of my price range. To be honest, for that money I don't understand why there is no outdoor pool.

I imagine that there is no outdoor pool because people don't enjoy swimming outdoors in the winter. You can swim year-round in an indoor pool!
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Not my style and out of my price range. To be honest, for that money I don't understand why there is no outdoor pool.

 

I don't imagine you've ever been to seattle in the summer - let alone spring or fall.  that immortal line from sleepless in seattle. "it rains nine months a year in seattle."  which isn't strictly true - it drizzles nine months a year.  chicago has more rain.   and just because it's summer - doesn't mean it's not raining.  . . .

and the average summer highs are:

 

J 69

J 72

A 73

S 67

 

I have friends with outdoor pools . .  one uses solar panels to heat the pool and if the weather is decent it's warm enough by july.

 

do remember - we're further north than bangor maine.  about the same latitude as quebec city.

 

I finally see what they mean by "new money."  There's no way that someone who has had money for a long time would want these hideous houses.  They're so flashy and cold.

 

I want a small colonial house with giant fireplaces and wide plank floors with lots of dings in them.   :)

 

and squeaks . . oh, sigh. and grain.

 

I detest sprayed on baked-on modern finishes.  (that's assuming it's real wood to being with).  My paternal grandfather (died before I was born) was a cabinet maker/woodworker.  I think there was something in that genetic material I inherited.

 

I used marine val-spar to make my kitchen table waterproof.  applied in about five layers.  you can't get that effect with anything but handwork.

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a house up the street is for sale (we're sort of stupefied at what housing prices are doing), so as we were discussing housing prices in our area, dh wanted to know what was the most expensive.   we came across this

https://www.redfin.com/WA/Bellevue/Undisclosed-address-98005/home/100963512

 

oh my goodness ... the address is undisclosed - but I know *exactly* where it is.  I remember when it was under construction as I was picking something up from someone who lives very close.  we've been at gatherings with college classmates of dds who live near it (have a very nice house) and called it "the orphanage" just based upon it's size.

now - we got a look at the inside. . . :ack2: :ack2: :ack2:  gag. me. with. a. spork!   just goes to show money doesn't mean you have taste.   dd was looking through the pics - and I knew when she came to the first :ohmy:  one.

the only house in this price bracket that had a similar (but severely reduced) reaction  was a beautiful 1910 mansion - that they turned into ultra modern avant garde on the inside.  :svengo: desecration. (I don't have a problem with someone wanting ultra modern - it's what they did to the historic house to get it.)

and just about every other house in this price range has lk wa waterfront or a spectacular view.  this has neither.

 

 

I just noticed that the $26M one on Mercer Island has had to cut its price:  $22M.  (Or so.)   I guess 80' main entry ways are hard to price.  

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Even in the summer here there isn't a guarantee of warm enough temperatures for an outdoor pool.

 

Last summer we got very little use out of our pool...it was such a cool summer.  But the summer before, oh, yeah.  It was nice.  

 

And at least it doesn't give me hay fever.  (I'm bitter at the moment...hay fever city...)

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Oh! Oh!  I have to tell you all the BEST most FUN hobby you can have with the English language.  Get hold of the high priced house ads and read their purple prose.  It is just hilarious!  My 10yo son and I used to RACE home from the mailbox when we got the Exclusive Realty $60 mailer in our box.  We'd laugh and laugh--as well as correcting grammar and punctuation.  

 

Here is one I pulled from online just last week.  Hilarious.  And I swear it is a copy/paste.

 

Whispers of inspiration rushed into the showcase design plans with a roar! Repetitive forms sited to nestle into the topography… maximizing sunlight/sunsets whose bed is Puget Sound and ceiling an Olympic Mountain canopy. Creation of spaces achieved by the drama of sweeping metal concave roof forms as they reach to sliding window walls. A delicate tinge of color on stained concrete floors an ideal footdrop for Owner collections. The reflective outcome, deliberately striking!

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Last summer we got very little use out of our pool...it was such a cool summer.  But the summer before, oh, yeah.  It was nice.  

 

And at least it doesn't give me hay fever.  (I'm bitter at the moment...hay fever city...)

 

it was nice alright . . .a "real" summer.

 

normally - you can 'not' water your lawn, it will turn brown/go dormant, then green up as soon as it starts raining.   that summer . . . I kept telling dh I thought it was d.e.a.d.  it looked like straw.  I actually did start watering.  he kept insisting it would turn green when the rains started.  (and normally - it doesn't take much water.) . . . it turned to black mush.  it was dead.

 

he brought in topsoil and planted new lawns. some dwarf grass that grows super slow.   but that summer - I saw A LOT of old native wild trees that were very drought stressed.  i took dudeling to idllywood park a few times - and I'd just stare at the trees across the lake.  the leaves were brown - and it was august.  (I'd expect that color in october.)  we lost a lot of established stuff.   even with watering.

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Even in the summer here there isn't a guarantee of warm enough temperatures for an outdoor pool.

 

Here, the other issue is that an in-ground pool needs a lot of care in winter to avoid cracking.  Most people who have one at all have a raised pool.  In my city, even beyond that not many do, as we have 23 lakes in the city limits.

 

Rich people who want to swim live on a lake, or the ocean, or join the club with the swanky lido.

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Oh! Oh!  I have to tell you all the BEST most FUN hobby you can have with the English language.  Get hold of the high priced house ads and read their purple prose.  It is just hilarious!  My 10yo son and I used to RACE home from the mailbox when we got the Exclusive Realty $60 mailer in our box.  We'd laugh and laugh--as well as correcting grammar and punctuation.  

 

Here is one I pulled from online just last week.  Hilarious.  And I swear it is a copy/paste.

 

Whispers of inspiration rushed into the showcase design plans with a roar! Repetitive forms sited to nestle into the topography… maximizing sunlight/sunsets whose bed is Puget Sound and ceiling an Olympic Mountain canopy. Creation of spaces achieved by the drama of sweeping metal concave roof forms as they reach to sliding window walls. A delicate tinge of color on stained concrete floors an ideal footdrop for Owner collections. The reflective outcome, deliberately striking!

 

HAHA!!!!

 

What is bugging me about descriptions is realtors who say, "OMG!  You HAVE to see this one!"  

 

Why are we using teen text talk to sell a house?

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I don't imagine you've ever been to seattle in the summer - let alone spring or fall.  that immortal line from sleepless in seattle. "it rains nine months a year in seattle."  which isn't strictly true - it drizzles nine months a year.  chicago has more rain.   and just because it's summer - doesn't mean it's not raining.  . . .

and the average summer highs are:

 

J 69

J 72

A 73

S 67

 

I have friends with outdoor pools . .  one uses solar panels to heat the pool and if the weather is decent it's warm enough by july.

 

do remember - we're further north than bangor maine.  about the same latitude as quebec city.

 

 

and squeaks . . oh, sigh. and grain.

 

I detest sprayed on baked-on modern finishes.  (that's assuming it's real wood to being with).  My paternal grandfather (died before I was born) was a cabinet maker/woodworker.  I think there was something in that genetic material I inherited.

 

I used marine val-spar to make my kitchen table waterproof.  applied in about five layers.  you can't get that effect with anything but handwork.

 

In the PNW, I would LOVE an indoor pool!  

 

We looked at a house here with an indoor pool.  We didn't buy it or like the way they had it done up, but it was in a room off the main house that was all glass.

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In the PNW, I would LOVE an indoor pool!

 

We looked at a house here with an indoor pool. We didn't buy it or like the way they had it done up, but it was in a room off the main house that was all glass.

That sounds like the house (or similar) that our friends had The husband was disabled and swam every morning in that heated pool.

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That sounds like the house (or similar) that our friends had The husband was disabled and swam every morning in that heated pool.

 

Some of them work out great, but when we were looking at houses a number of years ago (here in the PNW), there were a number of them that had indoor pools and ... well ... it is already damp enough out here without all that humidity added.  Most (not all, but most) of the houses smelled mildewy.  

 

I have friends who have one of those swim - in - place lap pools and that is small enough that it doesn't seem to make the rest of the house dank.  It's in a sun-porch kind of area.  They are renting; the owners put this in for lap swimming to help with a disability.

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