Back when we were house hunting in 2010 we shared a series of posts that each profiled a different house that we looked at (you can see them here, here, here, here, and here). And even though our hunt is over this time around, we wanted to revisit 9 other houses that we casually toured (many of them just on Open House days) before we met The One. So we had fun driving around snapping pictures for you and reminiscing (“That was the one with the phone in the bathroom!” “That was the one with the family of deer in the backyard!”).
The Lake House: The first house was very modest in size and located just a few blocks away from our current house. So although it wasn’t in our dream neighborhood… dude, it was on a lake! But we learned that even with heavy renovations, it would be extremely expensive to add a bathroom on the lower level where half of the square footage was, and the extra-low ceilings down there were also a non-changeable feature (there was no way to make them any higher). So although it was under budget and on the water, it was a no go for us.
Note: Just like last time we shared house hunting pics back in 2010, we wanted to respect the privacy of each home’s owner, so that’s why the photos have been doctored (colors and orientations might be altered, we added a filter to obscure them, etc) thanks to our friend Photoshop.
The Big Ranch: You know we love a ranch, and this baby was actually pretty cool. There was a giant kitchen (crazy dated! needed so much love!) that was attached to a giant living room with a big fireplace, so we could just picture how doing some work could completely transform that area into a great open living space in the heart of the home. The cons were that the rest of the layout was a little choppy for us, and the price was significantly more than we hoped to spend.
The Gray Shaker: This house was initially promising because it was in our dream neighborhood and was listed for a pretty low price… but once we poked around we realized why. There was some unusual siding going on when it came to the exterior (the gray part sort of looked like plastic shaker shingles) and the inside was pretty broken up (steps down into some rooms, doorways and hallways between rooms that felt choppy, etc). So although the price was great, it just didn’t give us butterflies.
The Quirky House: This was definitely the most unusual of all of them. We called the basement “the HGTV room” because it was completely redone and looked kinda like the cabin of a yacht, complete with a built-in banquet that turned into bunk beds for kid sleepovers. However, the unusual roof line, the large stained glass window in the front, and the price (it was nearly 100K higher than our new house) weren’t right for us. Too bad because the street name even had “Young” in it…
The Updated House: This contemporary house was also so much fun to tour, because although it wasn’t in our favorite neighborhood and was substantially more expensive than our new house, it was really inspiring since almost all of it was completely renovated, so it was fun to see what they did – especially the giant fireplace in the kitchen. Oh, and this one was the one with a phone in the bathroom.
The Barn: This house was in our dream neighborhood but was more than we hoped to spend. It was really cute inside (a balance between already-a-blank-slate and we’d-do-a-little-gutting-in-some-areas) and it had a really nice circle driveway and a private yard with a deck along and some cute rooms upstairs with peaked ceilings. But along with being more than we wanted to spend, it had some layout quirks that we thought might be harder to work with than some other homes we had seen.
The Garage Theater House: This house was actually yellow when we looked at it, which almost tricked us into driving right by when we went back to shoot these photos for you guys. The new paint job looks awesome, and this house had THE BEST backyard. Complete with a deck and a pergola. The quirky and memorable detail was that the garage had been turned into a theater room (complete with dark walls, a giant projector screen, and amazingly loud surround sound) but there was a note from the sellers that said converting it back into a garage was easily done. It was priced out of our budget, but we’re not surprised at all that it sold (and has even been painted!) since we looked at it.
The Pool House: This house was in our favorite neighborhood, but was priced out of our range and had a bunch of higher-maintenance-than-we’d-like features… like a giant pool and an even bigger deck surrounding it. So we daydreamed about how much fun that would be, but reminded ourselves that a too-expensive house + high maintenance features (the siding covering the entire house is the kind that will eventually need to be replaced) wasn’t the way to go, even if it had one heckova pool out back.
The Double Staircase: This house was in our dream neighborhood, needed upgrading, but was still priced well above our range and felt a little too grand for us (there were two staircases!). But it was really fun to check out and imagine what we’d do. The funny thing is that when we walked through we had one of those “oh man, I wish the smaller, less grand, lower priced version of this house existed…”
Then literally less than two weeks later we saw another for sale sign, followed it back to a quiet cul-de-sac, and this was staring back at us.
When we learned it was the same size as our current house, well within our price range (nearly 100K cheaper than many other things we casually perused), and in need of tons of love… well, it was the easiest offer we ever wrote.
And that’s how casually walking through open houses can lead to buying a house. You have been warned…
Man all these houses have so much land around them! I love just looking at the pictures, they all look like they’re out of some great movie or historical setting. It’s so weird for me that you saw so many house with the same type of landscape and big trees. Where we live it is all subdivisions and most of those are within the last 5 years…the trees around here are babies! Just looking at this post makes me want to hop on a plane and come drive around Virginia!
Come on doooown!
xo
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Ohhhhh YAY! I am so glad you did this, I was just telling a fellow blog reader about how bummed I was that we wouldn’t be able to “follow your house hunting journey” this time around!!!
BTW…I think you will get a kick out of this. I went to your book signing in Chicago. While we were waiting (and because I was that weird first in line girl) someone on the other side of the glass started a cute sign language conversation to ask what time we had gotten there and how tasty the cookies were. Skip to 7 months later and we just took our first “official meeting” road trip together!!!! You all are like blogger match makers :) So thanks for introducing me to such awesome people. As if I needed ANOTHER reason to love you guys!!!
I LOVE THAT. Seriously, that’s awesome. Best readers ever.
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I totally agree that looking at a lot of houses is essential in a house hunt. Even though looking at lots of “not-quite-right” places left my husband and I feeling a little frustrated at times, it definitely helped give us some perspective and context when we did find the right house. I love seeing the photos of all the places you didn’t choose – looks like you were pretty thorough and held onto the important parameters like budget, location, size, and how much work you’d have to do. Thanks for sharing this!
This is one of the things I miss most about Richmond, the character of these older homes. You guys hit the jackpot though; your house is adorable!
Did you know your first house is on the market?
http://www.coldwellbanker.com/property;jsessionid=6C48D6AB5B003658013BC4513A666C91.sky-node05/va/Bon%20Air?propertyId=1000005407147&mode=detail&brandType=ERA
Oh yes, I think there’s a pending sale on it! We met the person who bought it and she’s cool with us house crashing once she’s settled! Here’s hoping!
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Whoa just looked at the first house listing. Looks like the changed Clara’s room back to a dining room? Haha it is like a never ending loop! Also surprised to see the den as an office.
I actually think her room is an office and the den is a dining room! Can’t wait to see how it all evolves with a new owner :)
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Aw, it bums me out to see that the current owners removed your bed and built-ins in the master bedroom.
I think they might have had a king bed (ours was a queen) so maybe it didn’t fit?
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I miss the bed/built-ins too! They were so cozy; basically my favorite project ever. And now it’s a giant bed in a room. :( (I do like how I feel all possessive over it—I’ve never even seen this house in person!)
It’s so weird to look through those photos…especially the nursery colors in the office. Their taste (solely based on their furniture) seems really different than the colors you painted the house. And it is kinda sad about the built-in closets. I understand why they needed to, but it was so lovely :)
Ughhh…yeah that makes me a little sad too – I loved the first house! I was so warm and cozy…not so much now : (
“And that’s how casually walking through open houses can lead to buying a house. You have been warned…”
That was my problem. Now hubby (who at the time was still boyfriend) doesn’t like when I go to open houses! I still do though!
Haha!
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Super fun post! Sounds like y’all landed up with the right one! Nothing like snagging a great deal on the house of your dreams :)
Are those dogwood trees in the front yard? I would have bought the house for that!! Ok, maybe not, but I do love dogwoods.
Yes! Three of them! Hoping they survive (some have some gashes/issues) but now they’re leafy and sweet looking so here’s hoping…
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It’s so cool that you guys show us the process of buying a house. I’m nowhere near ready to own a home yet, but it’s nice to hear that it’s worth being patient to find the house that fits you best. :-)
I am curious what styles of houses your parents have and if that influences you in the style of the houses you buy.
I grew up in a ranch but in my area space is a premium so my house looks like a tall runaway townhouse. But it has tall ceilings and windows and bright lots of stairs and small square footage.
I think I was always looking for my mother’s backyard –very private and a gardener’s paradise…
Both of our parents are more traditional (I think if you check out our House Crashing page, we’ve house crashed my mom and John’s parents’ new house). They have two story homes and we grew up in two story homes but then we moved here and loved our ranches too. We’re equal opportunity house lovers I think…
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So fun to see all the other options you considered! SO in love with the home you bought! Loving the updates already.
We looked at the updated house too! We’ve been househunting the last year and just moved in February. Although I loved some features of that house, the sloped yard and dark basement didn’t do it for me.
No way! Such a small world!
xo
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My husband and I have a “Dream Neighborhood,” too. It’s next to our daughter’s Gymboree Play & Learn space that we go to at least once a week, and every few weeks we basically just go into the neighborhood and look for For Sale signs. It’s one of the only places we’ve ever done regularly that has ZERO for sale, but since we’re really not looking to move for 2 years, this is kind of nice for us so we don’t feel the pressure of trying to get things together faster than we really could manage just for a dream house. In the meantime, we’re keeping our eyes peeled for the chance when it gets closer. If you can do it, repeated visits to the neighborhood can really be a neat way to go about buying a home!
Athena, you might want to check with good local Realtors in the area about that neighborhood. Often in really nice neighborhoods there are ‘pocket’ listings that either neighbors or Realtors hear about first – often those houses don’t even make it to MLS or to the point of having a sign out front. If you find a Realtor you click with, just let them know you’re interested in that area and to keep you in mind in XX years. May not work, but you never know. I got my condo before it went on the market due to my Realtor. Good luck to you!
Wouldn’t it be cool to see what the current home owners have done to the houses you featured here? I just love it when you house crash:)
I’d LOVE to!
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I should have nevered looked at the pics from the original YHL being sold now. I just want to cry! That is not what I remember it to be. I loved how it was decorated and the space used as. So sad! I feel like it’s been butchered. :(
Oh no, don’t feel that way! The new homeowner is so nice and I bet once she moves in (with her pooch) it’ll be awesome to see. I can’t wait!
xo
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Is there ANY way you could give me the address of the salt block house (you called it the updated one) or even if you have clearer pictures? My parents live in one and have been bugging me to help them with a remodel (i’m an architect) and i keep coming up with no ideas ore even any imagery that would help them with a new vision. This house is uncannily close to their house with an addition. I don’t live in the area, so i’m not going to stalk them…just need some good imagery for a jumping off point. Thanks in advance and i understand if you can’t too. ([email protected])
So sorry, the only one we have is of the front that we filtered for this post, so we don’t have any interior ones or even the clear one from the outside anymore!
xo
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Those pictures look so cool with that filter.
It’s funny. My parents have a pool & I think my mom is the only person in the world who enjoys taking care of one. But she’s kinda weird. (She is my mother after all.) And growing up with a pool as fun.
I love looking at houses too. There’s a condo for sale in my complex and I always want to go creep on their open houses. lol
Just goes to show you that “Good things come to those that wait!!”
The house will be fabulous.
B.
I was watching This Old House the other day (as one does) and learned that the style of your new house is referred to as “Five over Four and a Door”.
Neither here nor there, I just thought it was cool.
Love that!
xo
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I love looking at houses. Even though we aren’t looking to sell or move I find myself checking Zillow often on my phone. Sounds like a lot of fun visiting all those open houses and letting your creativity get sparked by other’s design choices or lack there of.
Okay, now I’m certain…Richmond just has better looking houses than Missouri. Booo.
Haha! We definitely have a range going on. These are just some of the ones we liked the most :)
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We had an offer on another place when we toured an OH at our new house. I was iffy on the other place, it had a lot of potential but had been lipstick-flipped and likely had lots of problems beneath the surface. We walked through the OH at our house, and both kept noticing that it had everything the 1st place had, but in better condition and had been better maintained. Yes, it was dated but it was superficial stuff. That night, we both agreed that we wanted to make an offer. We cancelled the 1st offer, and made the new offer, and after a small amount of negotiating we were under contract. The market has since exploded and I thank my stars that we got it when we did. I never thought this type of house would be my dream house but I just absolutely love it.
Hey guys, the choosen house perfectly fits your family, that wouldn’t be possible with any of the other possibilities. Nice hunt! I am here wondering when are you going to show us the floor plan of the new house! I’d love to see it! (:
Thanks Doren! Here ya go: https://www.younghouselove.com/2013/05/the-new-house-floor-plan/
xo
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Aw thanks! Can’t believe I’ve missed it! xo
Thanks for sharing! I am so antsy to move! Gosh, I hope we luck out like you guys did. Your new place looks like a great layout!
the one that has two staircases…are they on opposite sides of the house? it looks kinda like your house but yours has stairs in the middle. two staircases would be kind of awesome
It has the main staircase in the middle by the door where ours was, but then there was a little hidden one on the side (like if our office had one near the bay window that went up to the bedrooms upstairs).
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It’s fun hearing about all the places you saw. When my husband and I bought our loft it was the only place we looked at. We couldn’t pass on the 12 foot wall of windows in the living room – especially coming from a little dark apartment.
How fantastic that you were able to find such a fantastic house within your budget!
About the Lake House … you could have always followed Sarah Richardson’s example — on the very first house she renovated for “Sarah’s House,” she dug out the too-tiny basement … at a cost of $50K. She swore never to do that again!
Woah!!!
xo
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Did a double take when I went back and saw your house hunting on October 26,2010. The Red brick cape cod house in Westwood was my in-laws home. They did have 4 bedrooms, although the first floor ones were small and it did have central air. It was a good hike to Target at Libbie Place.
I did repaint the upstairs bedrooms and loved the rear screened porch.
No way!
xo
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Love to house hunt!!! We are looking now! :)
THought I would share this,lol. I actually had a dream about you guys last night. So odd. I had invited you over for dinner, and after you all arrived, we sat around talking and I went in the kitchen and realized it was 7:45 and I had forgotten to cook dinner. So off we go in this giant SUV with my brother in law at the wheel (which is also odd) to find something to eat. I don’t remember much after that but it was such a different dream. weird….
So funny!
xo
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So hard to believe the new house has the same sq footage as the old house. It’s on looks alone, I know, but still. Next week we totally need a preview of the room you’re hitting up first. Also, when is Clara getting out of her crib to the big-girl bed?
Oh yes, the second house was deceiving because there was an 1000 square foot addition on the back (hidden from the street) – so that big living room, sunroom, and master bedroom and bathroom were all back there but not visible like the second floor of our new house. As for Clara, she’s still in her crib but whenever she’s ready to slip into the big girl bed we have it in her room too :)
xo
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This isn’t related to this post, but I just saw you guys in two of the last three magazines (one was HGTV and I think the other one was Cooking Light) I bought and I got so excited and turned to my husband to talk about your blog! He looked lost, but still listened. I just wanted to say Congratulations!
Haha, that’s so sweet! Thanks Lakatia! And don’t worry, most husbands are confused about us (ex: “how do you know these people again?” haha).
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I’m just curious why you looked at so many houses that were over budget? Was it because you weren’t really looking and were just having fun going to open houses?
Oh yes, they were just open houses we slipped through (especially when they were in our favorite neighborhood, we just liked to see what was inside).
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Ack! Two staircases?!?!
I’ve always wanted a house with two staircases because the houses on the sit-coms that I love always had two staircases — one in the living room and one in the kitchen. (Cosby Show, Full House, etc.) You don’t see that a lot in real life.
Well, I guess a lot of people have two staircases — one leading to a 2nd floor and one leading to a basement … but you know what I mean. :)
Oh yes – Home Alone has two of them too!
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We are in the process of adding a second stairway which will come down into a new kitchen from the upstairs. I am soooooo excited, because it has a homey, old-fashioned family-friendly feel, and I feel like it is going to make all the difference in the world to our house. Two staircases has always been a dream scenario for me! (And I am finally going to have a kitchen that is bigger than a shoebox!) :)
Oh man, that’s awesome! Send pics!
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I just emailed you guys, but this may get a quicker response. I clicked over and was reading about your previous house hunting adventures, and the link at the bottom of the Cape Code post doesn’t work. I guess it links to a post about why you guys loved Bon Air so much and were looking there. I was just curious to read that one. Thanks!
Weird! I couldn’t find the post at all to relink to it. Sometimes there are glitches where posts back in the archives disappear and (hopefully) come back later. Here’s hoping!
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I’m feeling grand today, for I have 2 staircases.
Though… in my part of town EVERYONE does and only like.. 1/53 of us are truly GRAND.
I’m just… nifty.
Haha, you’re GRAND, baby. Embrace it.
xo
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I am so excited about one day getting a bigger house, as well. House hunting is a fun process and very exciting whenever you find the one. I recently wrote a little post about my own wish list for the next house. Coincidentally, before I saw your pergolized carport, I was only a garage fan. But you guys really did a great job and converted me over to the pretty carport idea and therefore you get a shout out on the blog. Thanks for the inspiration and can’t wait to see the rest of the big move.
http://livingywf.com/2013/06/06/the-next-home/
Aw, I love that! Thanks for the shout :)
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Cute cute cute! I love how you ended up with exactly the scaled-down version of the one you’d previously liked best. (You’re right: fussy features are never worth the trouble.) Amazing how exactly your new dream home fit your wistful wishes re: Double Staircase! Clearly meant to be.
The watercolor filters are surprisingly appealing. Good on you for respecting others’ privacy, and finding a way to share too. <3
Since I haven’t commented in a while, just wanted to join in on the Congrats! on finding a new house, and I also can’t wait to see how this house transforms. :) I’ve started thinking about house-hunting (just graduated and moved back to my county) and now my realtor-mother and I are looking through listings of old, outdated houses that need love. You guys have really inspired me to look past what might have made me cringe and instead see how I can make it my own.
It is a beautiful house.
I am SO excited to see how you guys will transform this house! It has so much potential and looks like it’s been lacking some “love” for a while. I’m sure it’s happy that you decided to buy it, too :-)
Man, makes me want to move to Richmond. I love the prices in Texas, but no trees. From what I’ve heard Richmond is pretty comparable. Maybe we’ll end up there for residency.
8 years ago my then boyfriend/now husband and I went with my family to Williamsburg. We LOVED the area. I recently learned it is crazy expensive, though. Richmond sounds like an awesome alternative
Oh yeah, it’s affordable and green here!
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My goodness, the neighborhoods in Richmond are gorgeous! I am in love with all trees and wooded areas. THAT would be my dream neighborhood. Congratulations you guys!!!
totally unrelated to this post, but: I always read your posts and most of the comments, and I’m curious if the (awesome) State of the Womb made a huge difference in people asking you about those private questions or if you just stopped approving their comments? Either way, nice to not have to see the super personal intrusions on a daily basis in the comments section! Go $herdog!
That really curbed them! Probably have only gotten one or two since then! And that was over a month ago!
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An idea for when you run out of projects to post about on your “forever house”…. go to open houses and post about what you would would do to the house if you bought it. It could be a good way to move some inventory in the real estate market… therefore increasing the value of your own home… hey maybe you should do this sooner rather than later.
That sounds fun! We’d just need to get permission from the realtor/homeowner which might be tricky (when we wanted to share pics of our first house when it came up for sale the realtor said no, even when we said we hoped it might send them more interest).
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It’s so fun to see house journeys. Ours happened mainly online while looking at MLS for the past 9 months. Once we paid off my student loans we started looking for real, open-house style over a weekend to two houses, then the following Monday met with our realtor. From that meeting, we went to one house we were considering (but decided against), then to one on a hotlist which we KNEW was the one. Our offer was accepted that night, and now two months later, TODAY we closed! So excited to rip out carpet!!!! Thanks for sharing your journey:)
So exciting Lindsey! All the best!
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What a gorgeous part of the world you live in and what great choices you have made to allow you to follow your dream. Bravo!!
I am intrigued by “You have been warned…” at the end of your post…
Can you imagine trying to find Clara in the double staircase house? You could literally be running in circles! I love the house you chose. I will miss your gallery walls in the other house though. Will you use the same furniture that you just bought, like the sectional sofa? I’m interested to see how you take what you have and make it look different!
Haha! She would totally run us in circles! As for the furniture, we’re sure lots of things will be changed and layouts will be different (different rugs and dressers and chairs in different rooms, etc) but we can’t wait to see how it evolves :)
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Hi there – loving the new place! Just wondering/hoping/daydreaming if you’ll be putting up some floorplans and maybe kinda thinking about/starting/maybe hoping you’ll put up some ideas that you had on what you will do?
We actually did a floor plan post a few weeks ago! Here’s that link for ya. And here’s a post full of all of our ideas (with links to inspiration pics and everything). Can’t wait to see where we end up!
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I love to see how different houses are in other places… I’m in Australia (about an hour from Melbourne, ours is a “country town”) and even this far from the city people dont have front yards anywhere NEAR as big as that! Most houses are built 4 meters from the footpath – only on farms do people have as much space at the front of their house as all of those photos!
The fence thing gets me too…Do you not have many fences around there? Here each property is surrounded on three sides by fences at least 5ft high, only the front is visible.
Many houses have them! We installed one near our patio just for privacy since the neighbor’s driveway was right there. I’d say maybe one in five houses probably has one all around the back with the front open like you describe :)
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