Open House Sunday

Renovated Tudor in Edgemere Park

 built 1929
You know how sometimes you have a favorite house that you drive by all the time
and you think you'd love to live there if it could ever be your's?
You wish to see the inside to see just how heavenly it truly is?
Well, that is what this house has been for me for a long time.
It was one of the first houses I fell in love with in my neighborhood.
But I never saw the inside. I loved those front french doors that lead you into the middle of the house.

 I soon realized after buying my own home in the neighborhood that those doors couldn't possibly
be original. They must have converted the porch into a center room.
I still believe this to be true but geez that was some work!
I prefer my historic houses left original as much as possible so although I love the look of the
french doors from the outside. I'd never do this myself to a house.
And once inside...I don't care for it much.
What is up with that huge blue fleur de lis in the center of the tile floor?
That's just odd.

  So inside it's not my taste at all but furnishings and paint would fix that.

Gray walls are in but in this house these walls are just too cold for how open and airy this house should feel.
There is an original art tile fireplace. A very nice one for that matter.
All the furniture is so wrong for this house. I do like that floor lamp though.

 Kitchen has been opened up with wall between kitchen and breakfast nook removed.
Built in bench seating fills the room. Again not a choice I would have made.

Wine bar seems like a silly thing to have to me.

 
Kitchen is your standard galley. I'd paint these cabinets white of course and replace that rustic tile with a nice white subway tile. While I was at it...I'd take out that brown toned granite and replace it with Carrarra marble. Of course a different floor would be in order too.

  Back to the center hall...I do wonder if this staircase is original.

I think that is a very strange fireplace in the corner. It's just terrible.
Whoever made over this house made so many awful decisions in renovation.
The true character of this home has been ruined. Oh..it could be fixed and restored but what a job!
What is that built in shelf thing to the left? Just weird.

 Ah...a basic room. This just needs that hideous fan taken out and different furnishings.

 Lots of unfortunate things happening here....why oh why?
Slate floor tile on the walls? No, no, no.
Mod, vessel sink....um..double no. At least they left the original arch and window.
This bath could be made nice again.

This is the upstairs bath. Not my cup of tea at all...but it fits the rest of the bad by southwest decor. What is up with the molding? 

 This bathroom looks like a cave. Triple yuck.

 Here we have the attic turned master bedroom. I love all those windows.
This could be a fabulous room!

 I'd love a bedroom overlooking the backyard.

 Love this bright little room.

 Back upper deck has great possibilities.

 You'd never think this house was this large from the front side...would you?

Small garage...lots of cement back here...that is strange. I think I'd cover some of it with pea gravel.

And then there is the basement/laundry.
Surprisingly its very scary..something right out of American Horror Story!

see full listing here
 

What do you think of this house?
It's a great house...but for me there are soooo many things that must be fixed to restore it's charm.
This book is not to be judged by it's cover.
Since seeing the inside I don't covet this home any more.
But... I'd love to come up with the plans of changing the inside into an appropriate
historic residence again. I'd love doing that as a matter of fact!

I hope you had a great 4th of July.
I was at the store all day...we had a potluck lunch full of all the typical 4th of July food.

My 4th of July depression is in full swing. (get it every year)
I need to have something to look forward to and fast.

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Fixxer Upper

 I'm sure most of you are aware of the show the Fixxer Upper on HGTV.

It is the only show for me on HGTV that is a must see.

This little cottage was my favorite from season 1.

 Here is how the home appeared before being redone by this dynamic duo.

 Joanna and Chip Gaines

 

Again, here is the after. This little house just fascinates me. 

I wonder it's lineage. It appears to be a cross between a Victorian cottage and a 1920's or 30's Mediterranean villa.
I have seen the episode several times and always wish they'd say if those Mediterranean porches
were add ons later in this cottage's life.
I think they must have been.

It's such an odd cottage...but oh..so pretty inside and out. 

 This is the side porch.

 Inside the layout is very 1920's or 30's in the living room. 

Don't you love those niches on either side of the fireplace?

 The other side of the room has a large bank of windows.

 

French doors off the dining room lead to the side porch. Gosh I love the natural light in this house!

 This view of the dining room shows off another original fireplace. This one looks very Victorian.

Still questioning the original era of this house.

 

 I love all the accessories in this home. Many of these accessories can be bought on the 

Magnolia website which will have a link at the bottom of this post.

 A simple but pretty kitchen.

 Love the bathroom that includes the original tub which by the way looks to be 20's or 30's not Victorian.

 practical little office

 Learn more about the Fixxer Upper and Joann and Chip Gaines and their business, Magnolia

here.

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Open House Sunday

 This little tudor is in my neighborhood. It went up for sale last month and sold within a week.

I shared this home last year when it got Yard of the Month.

At the time...I didn't get upstairs photos and I was losing the light when I took the photos

so I thought it a good idea to share these again.

Some of these are my photos and some are the realtor's photos.

The front yard has a natural landscape. The grass is buffalo grass.

The owners took out the front stone steps and manicured the lawn before putting it up for sale.

This is how the yard appeared last year. 

I guess they were afraid new potential owners would not like the wilder look of this.

This home was abandoned for years in the neighborhood.

 It was owned by a family that moved out long ago but did not want to sell it.

So the home sat empty for like 20 plus years. Cats and raccoons were living in it!

Finally, the owners pushed by the neighborhood's attorney...agreed to sell it.

The new owners had a monumental task of getting this home back into shape.

I love the balcony that looks over the two story living room.

Notice the brick fireplace?

 When I toured the home last year...the fireplace was just rough brick remnants of what had been before. 

If you'll notice the brick is flush to the wall.

 The owners built it out from the wall. 

An interesting choice...it still feels vintage. I had this same situation in my own home.

Someone has ripped out my fireplace decades ago.

I built a fireplace made of antique tile and new antique looking tile to resemble a fireplace of the 

period.

This fireplace would not be what would have been originally. 

There are only a few brick 

fireplaces in the neighborhood - most are tile.

Although it's not original...it works in this home. I'd add a mantel. Something rustic.

Ok, I'm not sure if that is how that light fixture in the dining room is suppose to be 

or if they put a bag on it while painting the room. What do you think?

This was how the light appeared when I took photos last year.

 

There were no kitchen photos on the MLS listing so I was glad I had shot a few.

I thought this kitchen was just amazing. It was small and had no upper cabinets.

But I love the finishes. Love that little nook above the stove.

 Marble counters always make me happy. 

 This is the ceiling in the kitchen.

 Beyond the kitchen was a little room just before the backdoor.

There this fabulous industrial sink provides extra prep space.

This little room does have cabinets.

 Another little nook. 

 And stainless steel shelving for glasses.

A nice simple office. Oh...I wish I could live this simplified.

 

This house is amazing in that it has arched top doors inside. 

Upstairs is the master bedroom.

Wonderful ceiling angles in the top rooms of this home.

This is the master bathroom upstairs.

That sink is original to the home. 

It looks pink in this photo but it's actually lavender.

The home owner told me she was soooo excited when she found electric sconces in 

a matching shade. 

All else in this bathroom is new.

I hope the new owners keep this sink.

It's just too fabulous!

I don't have a MLS page on this home...I'm sorry to say...cause it sold too quick!

Someone got a very special house indeed.

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