Our “New” Old House
Leaving Seattle was really hard yesterday evening. It was a wonderful trip, complete with dinner at the Old Spaghetti Factory downtown, great seafood, beautiful weather, and seeing our “new” 109-year-old house in person for the first time. Well, James already saw it, so it was my first time stepping foot onto its wooden floors.
Bear with me a second because this is going to sound ridiculously cheesy coming from a fairly un-emotional-acting bitch like me, but when I stepped through that front door and saw my first glimpse of the inside of my new home-to-be, I felt myself suck in a deep breath and resisted the urge to burst into tears for a nanosecond.
It’s so perfectly lovely in real life I just don’t even know where to begin describing it.
The inspection went nearly flawlessly. For a house this old, it’s in incredible shape. All of the previous owners appeared to take excellent care of it. Repairs were done well, and all additions and renovations were professionally handled.
I think we’ve decided to make that upstairs room the master bedroom. It has a ginormous walk-in closet that is big enough to easily house even my sister’s wardrobe and obsessive shoe collection. And that’s saying something.
We are also excited because as I previously mentioned, there is definitely some room for improvement. Both of the downstairs bathrooms need some work, the kitchen flooring is just a sheet of vinyl that only looks okay in pictures, the yard is overgrown, and there’s a good-sized utility/mudroom/walk-in-pantry that could use more than a little TLC.
However, that porch?
It just might be even more beautiful in real life than it is in the pictures.
The neighborhood is mellow, quaint, and well-kept. There’s even a small view of Lake Washington from the street right in front our our house. I love the feel of it. And the smell. Did I mention the smell? It’s heavenly.
We just signed the after-inspection paperwork this morning, and our closing date is in mid-September.
How the hell I’m going to wait another month to start decorating those rooms is going to be a true test of patience for me.
Current Mood:
Esctatic
Tags: Seattle
August 10th, 2009 at 12:35 pm
It is beautiful! I love the floors and character. I usually don’t care much for older homes but that one is really charming.
August 10th, 2009 at 1:39 pm
I love, love old homes. They are my favorite. You just do so much with them, make each bit of them your own. I don’t know, I’m a history nut, so I guess that’s me.
I love that porch, I want to come sit on it and watch kids play or cars drive by. I’m like a 60 year old woman stuck in the body of a 23 year old. (Maybe that’s why I lost $20 today?) lol
Love it, it’s just beautiful!
August 10th, 2009 at 2:07 pm
it’s a beautiful home.
i’m sure you’ll love it even more after you move in. 
i grew up in a 300 year old school house-turned-home in CT, and the first home we bought in MO was over 100 years old… i didn’t quite love the experience as much. glad there isn’t any major work to be done, and you can really enjoy the old home without knocking down walls.
August 10th, 2009 at 2:27 pm
Yay, I know YOU’RE a chicken, but I sure hope it’s haunted. Ooh and if you buy me a plane ticket I’ll do any plans for renovations, design work, etc. for freeeeee
Actually, I’ll be visiting you guys soon anyways, so I guess you won’t have to buy my ticket, lol.
August 10th, 2009 at 3:02 pm
Oh btw, I think you should make the upstairs room with the huge closet my room… my closet seems to be rapidly shrinking :-O
August 10th, 2009 at 5:16 pm
I’m in love with your home. The front porch sold me on it, too. The house I lived in as a child in Minnesota had a front porch – I would love to have that again. I look forward to watching you make your new house your home.
August 11th, 2009 at 8:07 am
Have I mentioned how much I love your new house. The more summers I spend here, the more determined I am to leave. I’m so jealous!!
August 11th, 2009 at 9:58 am
So pretty! I’m so happy for you all!!! That front porch is amazing! If I’m ever in Seattle, I look forward to a long chat with you out on the front porch!!!
August 12th, 2009 at 9:56 am
Thank you all! And you’re all welcome to come hang out on that porch and sip coffee with me any time
.
August 20th, 2009 at 9:51 am
My God, Tamra, that house is BEEEEEEEEEEEEEAUTIFUL!!! It just screams “James & Tamra are going to live here and have a beautiful, wonderful life in Seattle”!!! YAY! <3