3 Open Houses...

For once, I'm not referring to school when I say "open house." Today, within a 2 block radius, there were 3 different open houses. I really enjoy open houses. They are great for decorating tips (or for what not to do,) and they usually serve as a satisfying reminder that my house is still the one that suits me the best.

What I found most interesting about the houses today was what they seemed to be trying to accomplish. I know that, for me, there are certain things that I look for in a house. And, despite the range in sizes and prices of today's 3 houses, only one of them met all my personal requirements.

This is what I look for:

1. A vintage feel and that the integrity of an older home has been preserved.
2. Lots of natural light.
3. Space (even a small house can have space.)
4. Serenity--I want my house to always have a cozy, welcoming feeling for myself and others.
5. A good floor plan--public areas on one side (living room, kitchen, family room, dining room) and private areas on the other (bedrooms, bathrooms, hallways.) If it is a 2-story house, then public down below and private upstairs, which most 2-stories naturally accomplish.
6. The house and decorating aren't trying to be more than they are--have you ever seen an older woman who dressed like a younger woman? Picture a house trying to do the same thing, whether it is decorated more modern or more ostentatious than necessary. There needs to be a feeling of consistency with the house.

Fortunately, my house (again, in my opinion) has 1-6. The ones today? Well, you be the judge.

HOUSE #1
This house is the one that got me to go see these open houses in the first place. I walk by it all the time with my dog and have always loved it, especially the turreted chimney. Asking price? A cool $3,650,000. No, that's not a type-o. This is Southern CA, and the house is in San Marino.

I know, right? Wouldn't you want to see the inside of this gorgeous home? Here's the back:
Yet, believe it or not, both my mom and I were unimpressed. Yes, it is huge (5,388 sq. feet) and plush and modernized, but it was not very welcoming or homey. All 5 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms were almost too perfect. It was too much and too big, even for a family with several children. Here are the living room and kitchen:
And, yes, a staging company had been brought in to give it a certain "look." Seriously, I felt like I was in a movie set. Styrofoam bread and fruit everywhere. (and don't get me started on the pyramid made of Campbell's soup cans...)

HOUSE #2
Just down the street from House 1 was this lovely Spanish style home built in 1928. You can move in here for a mere $1,450,000.
Now, I usually favor houses that have a front-facing door--just one of my "things," but this house was so wonderful inside that all was forgiven. I wish the flyer had better pictures. All hardwood floors, minimalistic decorating that was not staged, great combinations of plaids, florals, solids, and stripes. The living room was all off-white with light pink accents. The dining room was the opposite of the living room. The kitchen led right into a very spacious family room that was all off white with different accents and patterns in navy blue. Everything was done lightly, there was space and more space, and lots of welcoming conversations areas. I loved it. For the first time in my life my mom said that that was the kind of house she would be willing to give up her current house for. Now that is quite a house.

The winner of the day.

And then there was HOUSE #3, in Alhambra, going for $799,000 (overpriced, IMHO):
The outside looks cute enough, right? The inside was, well, interesting. If it is possible to be in a house and feel like you're in a hotel, then this house accomplishes that. I don't know the year it was built, but it was rebuilt from the foundation up a couple of years ago. There was no charm, no special touches, just a modern, joyless, sterile feeling. And the floorplan is the oddest floorplan I've ever seen:

You walk into the front door and you're in the living room, which gives way to the dining area (not a room, because they all share the same space.) On the left side of the living room there are 2 rooms and on the right side of the living room there are 2 rooms. The ones on the left are both bedrooms. One has an adjoining bathroom. The rooms on the right are a bedroom, with another bathroom, and the other one is the kitchen with an adjoining laundry room. And that's it--no family room, no entry hall, no hallway. It actually felt like a giant hotel suite, not like a house. And, like House #1, a staging company had come in and prepped the house for showing.

So there you go. 3 houses, 3 opinions, and only one really hitting the mark. All of them interesting!