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. :)
Nice work on two posts in a row! You know, I think they say it takes 17 times (I hear different numbers thrown around) before something becomes a habit, so if you write for 15 more days in a row, you'll start doing it without thinking!
ReplyDeleteLoved your sage words on how to create a lovely, taupe non-bedroom. :D Seriously, what were they thinking? When they don't put a bed in a room, that means they are trying to make it look bigger because it's really just too small to be a bedroom. Unless it's a Barbie bedroom?
Cute home on the outside.... but makes mine look really good! :)
ReplyDeleteYou should be a professional home critic Jen! Your comments are interesting, humorous, and right on. Based on your pictures, this home is too little for too much. It looked to me like the white outlet and switch covers far outnumbered the chairs used in the bedrooms.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, what color is taupe?
Oh my goodness, all the chairs and the taupeness are cracking me up!
ReplyDeleteHey I have taupe walls and white moldings too AND the occasional food give-away as well ; )
ReplyDeletetaupe
ReplyDelete–noun
a moderate to dark brownish gray, sometimes slightly tinged with purple, yellow, or green.
April...I'm always thankful when I come back to my own home as well!
Joe...that's probably why there seemed to be an over-kill of taupe in this home...these was no food to detract one's attention! :)