Posts Tagged ‘Home’

By Toni, Contributor, Hemp and High Heels (@ToniSue)

Silly, silly me. After having moved out of my parents house and lived on my own for thirteen years, nine of those being in houses that were rented/military homes, I thought I knew exactly what I did and didn’t want in my first house. In that amount of time, I had lived in four apartments, and six houses. I had seen the good, the bad, the ugly and taken detailed notes along the way.

When it came time to buy our first house, I would not make the foolish mistakes you always hear first-time home owners making. I was careful to get a set interest rate, a safe neighborhood, good school district. So, what did I do wrong?

Everything else.

I took the first house that was just “ok”. It didn’t have everything on my wish list. (In truth, it had very little on my wish list) While it may not have made my heart sing, there was nothing wrong with it. It was a new- build, with a warranty, in a quiet neighborhood.

Sold.

Here’s the thing about “just ok” houses. They can turn into “How soon can we sell this house?” really quickly.

The one thing I wish someone would have told me is to slow down. Hold out for a little more “OOO!” and little less “Ehh…”. There is absolutely wrong with my house. The problem is that I call it a “house”. Not HOME.

When making a purchase in something so important, you want to make sure that not only is it a financially sound choice, but it needs to also make your heart skip a beat in a good way. You should love your home. Want to be there. Want to fix it up to show off it’s beauty, not to make it so you sorta like it.

Your home should equal love. It should reflect you. My house is like a vanilla cone. Nothing wrong with it. It will quench an ice cream craving. But, does it make my heart happy? Not at all. I would have much preferred a Cherry Garcia with whip cream and cherry on top. Vanilla pales in comparison.

The moral of the story? It’s a very exciting time, when you purchase your first home. Don’t let that excitement get in the way of common sense, and don’t forget that this is something you might have to live with for the rest of your life. Give it more thought than you do when ordering dessert.

 By Michaela

When my husband and I bought our home a few years ago we had a list of things we wanted it to include, but not a list of things it shouldn’t include. If and when we ever upgrade to a larger home, you better believe there will be a list of want nots… and topping that list will be a fireplace.

Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with a nice cozy fire on a cold night… snuggling up next to your loved one with a glass of wine and a blanket (of course in this scenario the kids are not at home, you got a full night of sleep the night before and you were able to shower and shave your legs without being interrupted 100 times by someone under 4 ft tall). It’s especially practical when the fireplace is a gas fireplace complete with fake logs and ashes, like ours is. Though the smell of a wood burning fireplace is nice and romantic, I do love the fact that I don’t have to clean up the mess the next day.

My problem with a fireplace is this… it is usually placed on the “ideal” TV wall. You know the one… the wall where there is no glare from the windows… the one across from the “ideal” sofa wall… just plain and simple, it’s the TV wall. My husband and I have noticed this to be the case not only in our home, but also in many of the model homes we’ve looked at over the past two years.

Sure, if you have a flat panel TV you can go and hang it up above the mantle… you would think that this solves everything, but having it here still poses a few problems. First is that if the TV is above the fireplace, you become very limited in how you can decorate your mantle. I can’t put any vases or flowers up on the mantle… no mirror or oversized clock… our TV is our decoration. That’s great if you’re living in a bachelor pad, but it’s not so nice when you want to make the place feel homey. Secondly… you will always be staring at the TV with your neck tilted upward. Now that may not be a problem for everyone, but believe me when I say that it gets old after a while. Those are just the problems for those with a flat panel TV… there are even more problems for those that still have a tube TV… believe me I know, because we had one… there was no good place to put it with out making the room feel cramped.

Maybe we’re the odd ones, maybe my husband and I are the only ones who are bothered by the placement of the fireplace. I do know that if and when we ever move, we most definitely will not have a fireplace in the family room… because that’s where our TV belongs.

What is on your list of home “want-nots”?

Michaela is a student, a wife and the mama of a rambunctious toddler and a newborn. She posts regularly at her blog Mama Michie’s Musings, where she writes about her family, her life and her inability to be more like June Cleaver!

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