03 July 2011

house hunting

despite the holiday weekend and steadily rising temperatures, my friend and i decided to wander aimlessly through historic neighborhoods in search of estate sales and garage sales. needless to say, we found not a single vintage ware.


since we were already in one of our favorite neighborhoods, we decided to hunt down the exact location of one specific mid-century home among so many other gorgeous mid-century homes.


sometime last year, i was in this same neighborhood for an estate sale and i got lost.


i have to say, it's the best place in which i've ever found myself disoriented.


on one of my many turns and u-turns and three-point-turns, i found myself on a shady cul-de-sac.


the cul-de-sac was actually a small roundabout with what seemed like a hidden corner.


tucked back in the hidden corner was the most amazing mid-century home i had ever seen in real life.


i literally stopped my car to admire this architectural wonder of the 1960s for a full five minutes, my mouth slightly open, i'm sure. i felt as elizabeth bennet must have upon seeing pemberley for the first time.


after getting similarly disoriented (this time on purpose), my friend and i finally found my mid-century dream house. the trees, the lawn, the clean architectural lines, the glass-walled dining room filled with vintage furniture... i've never seen anything so happily situated.

i'm tempted to try to contact the owner and ask questions and demand interior photos. i can imagine room after room filled with items similar to those in my 1955 house beautiful ads and those are happy thoughts, indeed!

i often find myself torn between my dream house being a small arts & crafts bungalow or a larger mid-century ranch-style home. as a singleton, i lean toward the small bungalow; if i ever have a family, i'd like a mid-century brady-style house. compromise, right?

do you live in your dream house? do you have a dream house style? i'd love to hear about it!



6 comments:

  1. Oh my gosh, I LOVE that house! And the way that it sits back in those beautiful trees! Yeah, that's a dream house right there. I always wonder if the people who live inside houses like these know that they live in a dream house. I always hope that they're not jaded to it and that when they drive into their driveways, they say, "Wow! I live here!"

    My dream houses usually seem to be ranches but I can fall in love with a house in any style if it has that certain *something*.

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  2. I think you have a great idea. Plus there are many stages in life that certain sizes and types of homes fit. I have always appreciated many styles of decorating and architecture. As I have gotten older, (gasp), I find that some of them fit ME better or my lifestyle.Plus sometimes I just get plain worn out on some styles! We just returned from a trip to the beach and looked at two homes I never would have stepped in years ago. A Brady Bunch inside Spanish style outside home, and an amazingly cute MCM built in the 80's ? go figure! I absolutely could see myself moving on from my 100 year old bungalow to one of them. You should take a trip to Chicago to Oak Park - that neighborhood is amazing. FLW studio is surronded by all kinds of jaw dropping fun! Plus you get to do Chicago!

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  3. That right there is my dream home! I too hope the owners appreciate their abode. I think with the vintage furniture in view, that they probably are a hip younger couple who totally "get it" or an aging couple who totally "got it" the first time around! :-D

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  4. Gorgeous! I'm much more a Craftsman girl myself, but I can definitely appreciate any and all lovely design.

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  5. I think I'm probably lumping together several different styles here but I love the style of a lot of the American and Canadian houses that I've seen. They stand on their own little bit of land, without the neighbours crowding you and no two houses are alike.

    In England, houses tend to be built in long, ugly lines of identical brick things and it's depressing. I'm not a recluse or anything like that but I really could do without a dozen other houses pressing in on me. But if I wanted that kind of property here, I'm looking at a crazy house valuation. Wouldn't be able to get near it.

    More realistically, I want a power shower, a huge brick barbecue, a fireplace and a dandelion in a pot. Call me unambitious but a huge, luxurious house just doesn't appeal to me.

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  6. Getting lost is never a good feeling. But I agree; I won’t mind getting lost in this kind of place and neighborhood, because of the beautiful properties. It’s a good inspiration, especially for anyone that is house hunting like you. Speaking of which, what property did you end up buying? I hope you bought the ranch-style home you've always wanted.

    Lee Collins @ Chase International

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