HBA Home Tour 2010, Part 3

Took some time off to complete other projects, but am back for the final installment of the trio home tour!


The third home on my little jaunt was definitely the most interesting for me. It all started off with what I termed as "the parking nightmare." To explain, this home was built at the top of a cul-de-sac and the road in front was never made for much more than a rickshaw to pass through. So, add all the other homes that line the cul-de-sac and the traffic that is generated by a home tour and you have a problem on your hands. After some magnificent maneuvering on my part, along with discoveries of just how efficient the turn radius of my car could be, I finally settled with my car headed downwards on this little hilly portion of the road/drive/path. Then came the next challenge -- which way was I supposed to turn my front wheels so that if by stroke of bad luck my car was to start moving, it wouldn't wander down the hill without me? Afraid I was going to miss the close of the tour if I took too much more time with the initial parking aspect of this whole thing, I left my wheels in the position they were in, had a stern talk with Mr. Car that it was to stay put or I would ignore it's next wish for an oil change, and trudged up the hill to the house.

First, before we talk about the house, I have to show you the staple of any good home tour (aside from free food give-aways) -- the Bucket of Booties. These classy items can be worn with or without shoes and give everyone the appearance that you will soon be performing an operation of some sort. Maybe that's why many people on home tours resist making eye contact and instead appear to take great interest in door hinges or wall texture designs when you pass by -- they are fearing the potential that you might whip out a pair of forceps with a longing look in your eyes. Who knows! What's also interesting about these booties is that unless you spend copious amounts of time sizing them up while everyone waiting behind you shifts their weight from one foot to the other in impatience, it's nearly impossible to get two of the same size. I usually end up with one child-sized foot and another foot with a weird, floppy growth off the back. Oh well, better that than getting yelled at by the bootie police when I step inside the home.


Yes, I promise we are getting to the actual house...

Weighing in at 5,500 square feet, this Mediterranean stye home by Stone Custom Homes & Remodeling is priced at $899,900. With 6 bedrooms and 7 bathrooms, there is plenty of room to move around as well as plenty of areas to clean! I realize that much of the furniture was only used for staging, but it was absolutely gorgeous! Dark woods and heavy, ornate carvings abounded and if I had a larger house, I would LOVE to accommodate some of these pieces.

Here are a couple of shots of the kitchen and living room. I want that couch. :)

Check out the bed in the master bedroom! I also loved the stand-alone sinks found in most of the bathrooms.

Now, before you start to think everything was completely normal in this house, check out this bedroom...completely designed after the Chronicles of Narnia. I always knew that Turkish delight was really Applets & Cotlets, but I didn't dare mess up their display to confirm that theory. I was glad to see that while laying in bed, your head could be protected from mosquito bites; however, the rest of your body would most likely suffer. And to top everything off, the famous lamp post was found in the closet, although I tried to walk past it into the magical land of Narnia and kept running into a shelf. Stupid thing. Obviously I need to brush up on my wardrobe cruising skills.

This bathroom was truly unique. That's a mirror with 3-D iron "shutters" over the bathtub. I think the intent was to enlarge the look of the rather small room, but all I could come up with was 1) you could pop up out of the tub and scare yourself silly or 2) while relaxing in the tub, you could check the status of the toilet seat lid by looking either left or right.

Here are a couple more "curious" pictures. You can't see it very well with the waning light, but along the back out of the property there is an inset in the wall with a cross in the center. Not quite sure what that is all about. Is it part of many Mediterranean-stype homes? I also realize that it is important to stage garages along with the rest of the house, but did the designers ever think of going with an automotive or storage theme? No! Why not make it look like a secret meeting place for monks. Yeah...that's the first thing I'd think of too.


So, minus a few quirks, this house was by far the best of my small portion of the home tour. It would comfortably hold a large family inside, but I think the main downside is the lack of space outside (well, unless you want to stand in the barkdust and stare at the odd inset-thingie). I'm sure that would be a big hit for kids. Another thing...here you have almost a million dollar house, but all of your neighbors...uhhh...don't. You have beautiful, dark woods, lush carpets, carefully crafted stone, and your next door neighbor has.....

HBA Home Tour 2010, Part 2

Hello to the three or four people I know who are actually reading this blog! I know you have been patiently waiting all day to read about house #2 on my tour from last night, so let's jump right in.

Valued at $319,900, home number two by Don Wyant, LLC is no match for the money, in my humble opinion. Looking out over a West Salem landscape of roofs to the south and the backside of West Salem High School to the east, there isn't much to look at...especially considering it's in a fairly new home development area without a tree or waist-high bush in sight.

The write-up speaks of the home being located in the "prestigious West Meadow Estates" but somehow I missed the whole "prestigious" bit. Maybe the setting sun was glaring too brightly in my eyes or something. My caption on the photo pretty much says it all. There is another section to the garage - no worries - I was just trying to get out of the glare when I took the picture and chopped it off. You are not missing much. The door on that section looks exactly like the door in the section I pictured above. Whew!

The home had a kitchen, a living room, and a bunch of bedrooms...that's all I remember. The one thing I did really like about this house were the wood floors. They were laminate, I'm sure, but it was a pretty mahogany color and did not have any of the rough-hewn, wavy look that has been so popular in new homes for the past few years. You can see a bit of the floor in the pictures. Note the taupe walls with white moldings. They must have been given a really good deal on those two colors because they were used exclusively throughout. While we are looking at the kitchen, I might mention there were no food give-aways. That may also add to my dislike of this home. Except the flooring, of course.

Staging is always an important aspect of making an empty home look appealing to those who haven't a shred of imagination. The stagers in this home went all out, let me tell you. Not only did they carefully select furniture to capture the ambiance of each bedroom, but they ensured that a variety of different styles was selected to properly instill the hope of many future decorating possibilities.

I learned several things from this staging technique: first, a carefully selected chair (or happy chair family, in this case) can work anywhere; second, apparently it is not necessary to lead people to think that bedrooms are for sleeping, only sitting; and third, a taupe chair sitting against a taupe wall on a taupe floor creates taupe overkill. And yes, in case you are wondering, these are three completely separate and distinct bedrooms in the house.

So, in summary, I think I am going to leave this house, with it's flooring, for someone else to buy. If I am desperate enough for pretty wood flooring, I think I can pick some up on my own for less than $320,000. I bet I could even install it for less than that as well.

One more home to tour (cyberly) tomorrow. I know everyone will be waiting! Thank you for reading and, Jessica, please note that I have now posted two days in a row. :)

HBA Home Tour 2010

So, tonight I took an hour out of my landscaping schedule and toured three homes that are on the 2010 Home Builder's Association Tour of Homes. Of the 30 homes featured on this year's tour, two were the most expensive of the listings and the third was in the upper-midrange of home values. All three were located in West Salem.

The first home was valued at $995,000 and was built by Timbercraft Homes, Inc.

Much of the attempted landscaping was saved by the ever-abundant supply of bark dust. I think it was spread approximately two hours before the home first opened for tours. There wasn't a sign of a single weed poking through anywhere. Why can't that ever happen around my home? The house itself was located outside West Salem city limits...still around other homes, but far enough out that you don't feel like your neighbors are living on top of you.

The main design elements of this home were wood beams, rocks poking out of random brick structures and cement. I suppose it was meant to look homey, but in a rustic, mountainy, brick and mortar sort of way.

This next set of pictures shows the dining room living room, and one of the random brick/rock fireplaces in one of the bedrooms. Seriously? I would have killed myself on that growing up!

The basement was...uhhh...cold and industrial to say the least. Unfinished cement abounded, and even throw rugs on the floor did nothing to improve the barren blandness. Metal pipes make excellent clothing rods and it seems perfectly natural to find a hallway doubling as a shower. I guess that would be easy to clean. Add a bar with LED lighting and you are all set to party! Just make sure you don't brush up against anything or it will draw blood.

This home had some very weird touches as well. Have you ever wondered what to do with all those tall candlesticks? You now have your answer! Ever thought of what you would most like to see when you are standing in your walk in closet? How about a urinal at the other end? When you can't build a movie room, have you ever though of building

a door sized for a midget that leads to a tiny, secret media room in the middle of your home? That's here too! Better make sure you hire midgets that can bring you snacks because once you wedge yourself through the door, you may not be able to get back out. Don't worry, there are plenty of shelves in there for books so if you get stuck, you'll have plenty to read for years to come. (Trust me, that's a midget door in the picture...it honestly didn't even come up to my shoulders.)

The best part of this house was the flatbread pizza they were cooking in the brick oven. Yes, that crooked brick thing is actually built into the kitchen. However, it was delicious pizza! I just wish they wouldn't have cut the pieces so small!

I'll continue with the other two homes tomorrow. Figuring out the basics of this blogging thing took longer than expected.