S/o what do you love about your house

[Elizabeth86]

-it was all new in 2006. Someone flipped it. Our price point was so low when we bought it and most of the houses we looked at had wood paneling and green carpet. So even though it is small and not high quality finishes, at least it is new looking. Dh would have never got around to imoroving an old house.

 

The whole yard is fenced. I dont like tbe chain link, but at least it is safe for the kids.

 

Our covered front porch. It is huge and I adore it!

 

The fact it is 1 story. I adore 2 stories but imagine it would not work well for our young family.

Edited October 4, 2017 by Elizabeth86

[wintermom]

We just renovated our kitchen and knocked out 2 walls on the main level. Now it's open concept and lots of sunlight gets in from all sides. I love it! We did a lot of the work ourselves, so that blood, sweat and tears we invested in it make me appreciate it all the more.

[2_girls_mommy]

I love the charm of an old house, the wood floors, the sturdy rock exterior, even the quaint, small rooms look lovely. I love the old tile in the bathroom. I like the large bedrooms, even if the living areas are small. I do love our large yard. 

 

 

[creekland]

The location and view.  Rural area, but not the middle of nowhere. I can be at a grocery store or the school where I work in 8 minutes. Great neighbors.  Oodles of fireflies every year, noises of frogs, birds, and other critters are daily and nightly music to our ears - no traffic noises (or very little anyway - just the occasional siren if the fire trucks are nearby).  A one acre pond to gaze at or fish in (since we stocked it).  Woods and a decent sized creek.  Natural walking paths and our own campsite.  Views of the foothills of the mountains.

 

It's awesome - not the house itself, but where it is and the land it came with.  We can (and have) put up with the house.

 

Oh yeah, one neat thing about the house is it has old chestnut wood throughout.  That's pretty.  And windows open allowing a nice breeze or natural cooling at night/heating during the day as needed.

[MEmama]

Everything.

 

The location. The classical exterior. The open-but-not-too-open, renovated-but-not-too-renovated interior. The natural light. The woodpeckers in our trees. The storage space. The attached garage. The kitchen. Oh how I love my kitchen.

[Elizabeth86]

I love the charm of an old house, the wood floors, the sturdy rock exterior, even the quaint, small rooms look lovely. I love the old tile in the bathroom. I like the large bedrooms, even if the living areas are small. I do love our large yard.

I adore the charm of an old house!

[almondbutterandjelly]

Our fireplace.  The fact that it is one story since I tend to trip down stairs.  Our ceiling fans.  It's a good size for us (about 1400 sq ft).  Cathedral ceilings in the living room.  My kitchen layout (kind of a square, counters and at least lower cabinets on every wall, but not closed in, lots of counter space).

 

Oh, and lots of light.  

Edited October 4, 2017 by perkybunch

[Guest]

The location. ðŸ˜

[Ali in OR]

-single level

-wheelchair accessible

-great neighborhood

-lots of light

-good layout

-can grow old here

-neighborhood pool

-paid for

[desertstrawberry5]

We paid for it outright. Not having a mortgage is possibly the best thing ever. 

It's an unfinished flip, so we get to do whatever we want with it. It's a giant craft project. I just cam e back from Home Depot looking at lumber, tile, paint, etc. I'm in the process of building a dining nook, painting the living room floor. finishing the kitchen cabinets, and wallpapering the shower. Next is tiling the backsplash and hearth, placing a heat reflector behind the wood stove, and painting the kids rooms and refinishing their floors. It's so much fun. I'm thinking about wallpapering the little boys room with their artwork, and doing a paper floor of their choosing. 
Then we'll get started on the outside. 

It's small and cosy and has character. It's from 1973, with an odd layout that I love. The interior shows the cinderblock texture, combined with the wood stove, looks so rustic and lovely. 

We have two bathrooms for the first time ever. It feel so luxurious. I can't wait to have our shower redone, and fix up our bathroom. 

Wide expanses of open land for my kids to play on. 

Beautiful mountain views.

 

Edited October 4, 2017 by desertstrawberry5

[Elizabeth86]

True story no mortgage would be amazing!

[Wheres Toto]

We can afford it.  We're in a very HCOL area and we wouldn't be able to get anything for what our mortgage is without an hour commute to any job except working at Walmart.

Lots of land - we have an acre plus it's on a river that's a designated wetlands so nobody can build on the other side of the river, plus part of it is a county park.  So, very natural undeveloped feel to the land, no real close neighbors, very rural feel.  Yet, dh is 5 minutes from work and we are 10 minutes from the town where there are a ton of jobs, and close to stores of any type.

Affordable.

Fenced in yard for the dog.

Affordable.

Nice river stone fireplace in the house and another one outside.

Lots of big windows so lots of light (a disadvantage when they aren't thermal windows and when trying to place furniture but for the most part, a positive).

Quiet neighborhood that the kids can walk around on their own.  All deadend streets with only one way in or out.

Affordable.

[VaKim]

It's paid for. 

[Guest]

My landlord!

 

Talk about an unpopular opinion, huh; it's probably just because I am living a very rare experience at the moment.

 

I've had horrible landlords. This gentleman isn't one of them.

Edited October 4, 2017 by Guest

[TX Native]

The mortgage was not at the top of our budget or our approved loan amount. I am so not jealous of people who have more bells and whistles with higher mortgages.

 

Practical layout, no wasted space, rooms not too big and not too small for our needs, all ceilings are 8 ft (no extra heat and air bill for temp control of wasted space), master and full bath on the 1st floor (has come in handy for multiple elderly relatives that have needed to stay with us), open layout for the kitchen and living room (made toddler years a dream and I'm not stuck between choosing b/n working in the kitchen and visiting with company with entertaining.)

 

Corner lot that backs up to nobody (I share a yard with just one neighbor- a rental that has had great and not so great tenants through the years-couldn't imagine sharing a yard border with people on either aside and behind since the potential for not so great neighbors would be higher.)

 

Small yard, but big enough for kids to play and to grow a modest garden. Enough to mow to get good exercise, but not too much to be a burden.

 

The value has appreciated with time. Rent for a similar house in our area is now double our mortgage-rent for a comparable place started out being just a bit above our mortgage when we bought the place several years ago.

 

95% great neighbors.

 

I could save this for "What I hate about my house thread," but will state here so everyone knows it's not perfect.). It's a cheaply built tract home and the little stuff that breaks easily or looks tacky over time is bothersome. It has only a small eat in kitchen area and no dining room (a dining area would be nice for special meals with company), the soil isn't that great and most trees we have planted die within a few years even with extra care-so no shade, and sound carries easily-we can't watch TV late at night in the LR without my kids being disturbed even with their BR doors closed unless they are in a deep sleep.

 

Overall, it's a win for our current lifestyle.

Edited October 4, 2017 by TX native

[PrincessMommy]

We just renovated our kitchen and knocked out 2 walls on the main level. Now it's open concept and lots of sunlight gets in from all sides. I love it! We did a lot of the work ourselves, so that blood, sweat and tears we invested in it make me appreciate it all the more.

 

Do you have any before and after photos?  I'm looking to do this at our new house and I would love to see how it works comparing the different looks.

[duckabell]

I posted on the other thread, and thought I should post on this one, too.

 

Things I love:

• After renting for 11 years, we finally own a home
• Affordable mortgage
• Back patio with table we built
• Porch swing on front patio
• Large front and back yard
• Walkable to library, high school, small downtown area with dining, bike trails
• We have 2 bathrooms and one is an en suite
• Large bedroom closets
• We can close off the kitchen and family room from rest of house
• Large 2 car garage with space to have tools and workout equipment
• Nice neighbors
• Good schools
• Lots of light in main living spaces

[AppleGreen]

Location, location, location! Honestly, we have an amazing location in small town America. We can walk lots of places in our community, but can be "in town" in 15 minutes. We also have a room for everyone on almost an acre lot, but our house is not unmanageably large. It is also over 120 years old, but updated with things like A/C, so we have the charm of an old house without all of the unpredictability.  

 

I  :001_wub:  my house and the people I share it with. 

[6packofun]

Our house is old and a little quirky but I do really like that about it!  I will always be glad that we found this house (it's a rental) mainly because it introduced me to this area...and if we ever get to buy our own house it will not be far from here!   :001_tt1:

[Garga]

We can afford it.  

 

It has an element of charm to it because it's 70 years old and has had a few additions.  

 

It's almost one floor. When my oldest was born, we lived in a two story house and I had a lot of knee pain hauling him up and down the stairs all day long. In this house, there is a tiny hallway and bedroom up a flight of stairs, but no one ever goes up there except for the boys when they sleep up there at night.  

 

The walls are sturdy, so sound doesn't travel all through the house.  I didn't realize how nice that was until I stayed in other people's houses and every little murmur is heard throughout the whole house.  'Course we do a lot of, "Booooooys!"  "Whaaaaat?!"  "Can you hear me!??"  "Whaaaaaat??" hollering back and forth.  You have to be in the same room as the person you're talking to to hear them.

 

I like how my eclectic assortment of furniture works in this older house with its additions.  My stuff wouldn't look good in a modern house.

 

I love how a bedroom that was converted into bathroom is the perfect size to have a toilet, shower, and washer and dryer in there.  Doing the laundry is a cinch.  It's not off the kitchen, which would annoy me, but it's off the hallway in just about the most perfect spot ever.  

 

 

Edited October 4, 2017 by Garga

[freeindeed]

I adore my large picture windows in the dining room and in the breakfast room. I'm thankful that we have a carport, especially when we're unloading groceries on rainy days. I like the size of my kitchen. I like the fact that my house is older; that means it has character. :)

[AnnE-girl]

So many things! It's open and light, but not completely open. My kitchen is so much bigger and brighter than the tiny cave-like kitchen in our old house that only got natural light first thing in the morning and was dark the rest of the day. We have space to host large family gatherings. And I have a bathroom that I don't have to share with kids who have poor aim.

[Zinnia]

Our backyard is flat.

 

We have original tile in the bathrooms--pink and gray in the main one, green in the 1/2.  It's so kitschy, and I love it.

 

[emmaluv+2more]

That it is mine and I can live here with my children in relative peace.

[SamanthaCarter]

It's adorable from the street. It's in the perfect walkable location and not at risk of ever going ghetto (borders an adorable well maintained liberal arts college campus) has a flat yard not too big for us to manage well. Plenty of storage space in the full basement and little closets tucked everywhere.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Upward Journey]

that it's big enough for my family. After spending 5 years in a way-too-small-for-us apartment, the quirks of our current house seem like small potatoes.

[mellifera33]

It has a bedroom for each kid, 2.5 bathrooms, and a dining room with doors that we use as a schoolroom. There are separate family and living rooms so we made the living room the music room. It feels huge to me, even though it's relatively modest at 1800 ft^2. We have a big front yard where I can grow pretty things and the kids/dog don't destroy them. It's on the edge of a suburb but it feels rural. We can be in a big city in 45 min, at a salt water beach in 30 min, or at a mountainous national park in 45 min. I love where we live. :)

[Annie G]

Our old house has charm...high ceilings, original wood floors, stuff like that.  I love the improvements we have made- gutted the master bath, added a great deck, redid the whole kitchen.   I love the detached garage. Love the location- right in town. I can walk to the library, hospital, downtown. 

 

The house was super cheap but the taxes and utility bills are high.  

[TechWife]

The second floor front porch, aka the balcony. Also, the location - we really enjoy the town we live in. 

[Scarlett]

I love my new doors and windows and siding and green paint.  :)

[Liz CA]

The location. In the middle of an orchard. I can step outside and there is no traffic (except during harvest season :)). Wide open space around me yet I can be in town in less than 10 minutes.

Possibly the best place we ever lived. :)

[Guest]

The garage is on the north side, and the front faces east. We always have sunlight coming in sunrise to sunset. Also, the basement windows are above grade since the property slopes a bit downward in the back. Not terribly so, but just enough.

[OrganicJen]

We just renovated our kitchen and knocked out 2 walls on the main level. Now it's open concept and lots of sunlight gets in from all sides. I love it! We did a lot of the work ourselves, so that blood, sweat and tears we invested in it make me appreciate it all the more.

This is helpful to read. We are designing a small vacation home and because we want to keep it small but have views from as many areas as possible we are going with an open concept but I've been worried about what it will actually be like to live in an open concept house. I'm glad to know you are happy with the change.

[OrganicJen]

Our backyard is flat.

 

We have original tile in the bathrooms--pink and gray in the main one, green in the 1/2. It's so kitschy, and I love it.

I'm so happy to know someone else likes the original pink tile! We bought a rental house awhile back and since the original pink tile was in such good shape we left it in and I always fear prospective tenants won't like it. I hate seeing so many people rip out the old bathrooms and modernize them just because the tile is that 50s pink or green. I think it's so cute.

[JonesinIndiana]

After leaving Florida to a very affordable Midwest state, I'm enjoying

-3 acres

-LCOL

-hard wood floors

-2 car attached garage

-fireplace

-very affordable mortgage that we're working on paying off early

-600 sq ft she-shed where I do my crafts and watch mommy tv!!

[DawnM]

Large

3 car garage

2 fireplaces

almost 3 acres (it is a blessing, and a curse!)

In an excellent school district

[lllll]

nm

Edited October 16, 2017 by lllllll

[Rachel]

I love the tall ceilings and big bedrooms.

 

I love the openness of our first floor.

 

I love having our room on the first floor and the kids upstairs. I adore my big bathtub.

 

I love the blue walls, the curtains I made, and hardwood floors we laid.

 

I love having a garage and a dishwasher!

 

It isn't a perfect house, but we bought a foreclosure so we are in a much nicer neighborhood than we could have afforded otherwise. It has taken time to grow on me but now it feels like home.

[goldberry]

This is our first house that has a dishwasher for me (yay!) and a garage for DH (yay!)

 

 

[Element]

I'm forever thankful for the huge, old pin oak in our backyard that shades our home in the summer when it's full of leaves. In the winter, when the leaves are gone, the sun warms the house. As much as I don't like split-levels, they're extremely energy efficient. I only have to cool the top floor since the bottom floor is halfway below ground. Our combined gas and electric bills are $80-140/month for a 2000 square foot house, and we keep it as cool or warm as we like. Temps here range from -10 to 105F. 

[Annie G]

I love having our room on the first floor and the kids upstairs. 

 

Same here! People thought we were crazy to buy a house with this setup but it worked beautifully.  When the kids were young being on the main floor was great- we could shower and get ready just steps away from where they were eating breakfast or playing. And then when they were teens, having our bedroom door near the back door meant we knew when they came home. So we could go to bed and still hear them coming in. 

 

Now dh's elderly dad is coming to stay with us and he can have our first floor bedroom so he doesn't have to struggle to go up and down stairs.  Quite helpful for an 85 year old guy. 

[ScoutTN]

We can afford it.

Safe, convenient neighborhood.

Lots of good memories made here. 

Small enough that it doesn't take too long to clean (at least to my not so high standards)

 

 

 

[Granny_Weatherwax]

Our house was built in 1921 and has all of the original woodwork and doors with skeleton keys. I love the fireplace and the sunroom with french doors.

[MrsMommy]

You know, in general, I like our house. I'm always thinking about things I wish we had, things that are different, whatever, though.

 

Today, my children had a friend over. And he walked in the house, and his first reaction was "It's so huge!" (To the seven of us, it's definitely not, and sometimes, it feels a bit cramped, but seeing it through his eyes made appreciate that fact that it really is a pretty big house). His next response was "it's a dream come true!" That was more about what's in the house (specifically Lego sets and lots of games) than the house itself, but it also made me see what a great place this is. That kind of thing makes me remember that a little more space, another bathroom, getting the basement finished, really doesn't matter...our house is a great place, just like it is!

[ErinE]

Location. We've lived extreme urban and extreme rural, and I love where we are now. The library, a park, three schools, restaurants, friends, etc. are all within a short walking distance. Even a few churches, if we were inclined to attend.

[Meriwether]

Our schoolroom. It is the entire length of the house in our walkout basement. Dh and I built bookshelves on three sides at one end to hold my books.

 

Also, it is handicap accessible. I love not having any steps into the house and the wide doorways. We might be able to stay in the house longer, too.

The kitchen, dining room, and living room are all on the small side, but the open concept makes a nice area to entertain several families. And with the schoolroom downstairs plus the kids bedrooms, we can get away from each other if we want. It is a really nicely laid out house.

 

Edited October 5, 2017 by Meriwether

[happypamama]

I love a lot.

 

I love (and occasionally hate) that it’s almost 200 years old.

 

I love (and occasionally hate because it’s sometimes inconvenient) its location: in the country, with stunning views and nice neighbors. And a big yard for my kiddos to run around in. And in an area with nice people, enough amentities to be useful, and wonderful libraries and state parks that love families and homeschoolers. (And proximity to great medical care.)

 

I love that it’s cheaper than renting for a family our size, and for what we have, it’s a good deal.

 

I love that it has a music room/office so people can work or play music in quiet, and I love the sewing room DH built just for me.

 

I love the beautiful new bathroom DH built, and the schoolroom with the custom shelves he built for me.

 

I love my sunbeam yellow kitchen, even though the walls are about the only things I love about the kitchen right now.

 

I love that laundry is not in the basement.

 

I love that after ten years, we finally have a vision and a plan for the house, and when it’s done, it will be amazing.

[Selkie]

I love that it's paid for.

 

I love our beautiful, secluded location (no neighbors!).

 

I love our many built-in bookcases.

 

I love our huge walk-in pantry.

 

I love the laundry chute that goes all the way from the top floor down to the basement laundry room.

 

I love the kennel room for our dogs, with indoor runs and dog doors leading to outdoor runs.

[rebcoola]

So this is more theory than anything because we are moving into it in 2 days and living in a house is different than just imagining.

 

The location it is as close as really possible to DH work.  Kids will be able to walk/bike to their charter classes. Close to bike path.

 

It's cute.

 

Attached garage a first for me.

 

Brand new roof.

 

Cupboard under the stairs perfect for a reading nook.

 

Brand new kitchen that seems well laid out.

 

Room for a school room/library.

 

 

 

 

 

[Sarah CB]

My office.

 

We have a detached garage with a workshop, small office, and large office. When we renovated, we had them properly insulated and we had a good heater put in. My office has tons of big windows, sliding doors that open onto my deck, and French doors that lead to dh's office. I absolutely love that it's detached from the rest of the house. I can come in here and it's quiet. 

 

 

 

Edited October 5, 2017 by Sarah CB