Have I told you lately that I love home shows? Not the boring kind in convention centers, but the interesting ones with catchy titles on HGTV. My personal favorite might be "Property Virgins" which follows people who are looking for (but not necessarily **buying**) their first home. Usually, the host asks them for a brief list of things they're looking for in a house. They'll rattle off a generic list like large kitchens, bathtubs, a deck, etc. After watching unhealthy amount of home shows, I've come up with my own list. It's not actually a list of things I'm looking for, but things I don't want in a house.
1. Split-level. One word: ugly.
2. Prominent Garages. Why would you want the most prominent exterior feature to be the garage? When was the last time you said, "Wow. Check out the garage on the left!"
3. Carpet. Anywhere. I actually like vacuuming, but the stuff stains way too easily.
4. Great rooms. What kind of a person wants everything but the bathroom to be in one giant (noisy) room?
5. Chair rails. Useless, useless, useless.
6. Soaring ceilings. Only more space to cool/heat and cobwebs that require ladders to be knocked down. Also, Paul says they make batteries in smoke alarms really hard to change.
7. Fireplaces. Most, okay all, of them are ugly. Maybe if you have an really old, unusually pretty, non-painted brick fireplace, I would still buy your house, but it would be in spite of, not because of.
Now Paul hates, hates, HATES home shows, especially "Property Virgins." But sometimes, on accident, he'll catch a minute or two. Usually, he will only comment on how much he hates them, but tonight, as two newlyweds perused houses, he offered the follow gem: "We will never have a house unless we have kids. Not that I'm trying to blackmail you, it's just two people don't need anymore space them we have now."
Have I told you lately that I love my husband? He's so easily satisfied. I remember back in our last apartment in Provo, he said we could live happily like that forever and he really meant it. He's just always content.
I, on the other hand, now have to convince him that a charming old bungalow, perhaps a craftsman or Spanish revival, is precisely the thing that two people and a cat will eventually need. I don't want to be sixty and still paying rent.
3 comments:
Jennifer we are two peas in a pod. I love those home shows. I watch them all the time (now even more since we are looking to buy a home). I can solve your problem with talking Paul into buying a house-wait for it-have a kid :) JK. Good luck in that class with the PhDs. Your more smart in that kind of stuff than anyone I know!
By split level, do you mean upon entry? I don't like that, either. But having a main area and then split to the side I'm OK with now. It's growing on me, which is especially good because I first didn't want stairs at all. :) Now that I'm not falling down our stairs daily anymore, I'm getting used to them. :)
On carpet - cleaning is a pain sometimes, but I do prefer it overall. It dampens noises and softens falls, at least a little bit. :)
And I am with you on fireplaces. We never use ours (that idea is frightening with our children!) and it just lets in cold air and poses a mess hazard. The mantle is coming in pretty handy for decorations though...
And I'm with you on the ceilings. We don't even have a "soaring" ceiling in the living room and it's already the hardest area to heat/cool and a pain to try to clean up there.
Some things I would look for:
--Lots of storage space. For clothes, food, etc. Closets help, but it would be nice to have a real storage space!
--An eat-in kitchen. I'm not a fan of dining rooms, especially carpeted ones (one definite exception to my liking carpet!)
--Washer and dryer by bedrooms would be really nice (instead of in the opposite area of the house).
--Fewer (if any) stairs would be nice, too, though I'd probably get less exercise...
--A yard. With a fence. That last part would be sooo nice right now.
--A room for toys. That would be heaven. One that could be separate from the bedroom so the children actually slept when they needed to. :)
Anyway... just some of my own thoughts. Kind of fun to make a list. :)
And I love that Paul is so easily satisfied. That is definitely a good trait to have! :)
Carpeted dining, who ever thought that was a good idea? Stairs never bothered me, though--beyond the initial trouble of getting furniture up them anyways.
Post a Comment