If you follow me on Facebook (@Girl Named Fiddy), you've probably heard that J and I are currently looking to buy a home in Denver! Our lease is up at the end of April, so we're *hoping* to find and buy a place before then. That's like, 90 days away. Totally terrifying!
It's no joke that the housing market sucks right now. There aren't a lot of homes on the market, and the ones that are super expensive for what you're getting. Just doing a quick search on Trulia, I found a house in Des Moines, IA that had eight bedrooms and over 3000 square feet for $200,000. Here in Denver, I'm struggling to find a two-bedroom house above 1000 square feet for under $400,000. As I said, it's no joke. In fact, it's kind of a nightmare. But we're looking, and we're hopeful that we're going to find something small that works for us.
The best part about our home search is that it doesn't matter if the home is outdated or not an ideal aesthetic, because my dad actually renovates homes for a living! He'll be able to change just about anything we want, so we're looking more for the area of town we want to live in and the "bones" of a home. All those hours of watching "Fixer Upper" are finally paying off, haha!
Here's some of the ideas we've been thinking of for our first home (once it's been fixed up, of course):
One thing I really want is a yard and outdoor area. First of all, J and I are dying to adopt a dog (we're thinking about a husky puppy!) so we need some kind of area to let the dog out. I'd really prefer a fenced-in space so we can give the dog a space to run around off-leash. I'd also really love a space, preferably a deck, where we could have parties or sit during nice weather. I love the lights, plants, firepit and brick in this space in particular - it looks cozy and intimate!
I know, I know: Too many kitchen pictures. I like kitchens, okay. I really like to cook. Feminists can like to cook and still be totally badasses. I'm living proof. A kitchen that I like that is also functional, open, and accessable to the rest of the house is super important to me. Even though our apartment is pretty small right now, one thing I love about it is that I can see almost all of the living room from the kitchen, so if something's going on or we're watching a movie, I can still see everything.
As far as aesthetics, I love subway tile, but J is definitely not a fan. But we've agreed upon a farmhouse sink and some (but not all) open shelving. With multiple, very furry animals (including some who really like to climb...), it doesn't make sense to have all our shelving be open, but I love how the wood looks on the wall and I would love to be able to show off some of our prettier glasses and bowls!
I struggle with how to make a living room not look like a college apartment. In our first post-college apartment, I was so proud of how J and I made it our own... until I looked back like, a week ago, and was horrified by what I thought was so grown up, haha. When I look at our living room now, I do feel like it looks like a more cohesive space, and I'm hoping that impression says true after a few years away. Part of the reason it looks better is because we've found ourselves attracted to and buying the same type of dark "wood" furniture. Most of it matches - though, to be fair, it was entirely accidental. I think the "mostly" matching aesthetic makes it look a little more purposeful, but I still struggle with how to decorate. I really liked the living room above, where they incorporated the same type of wood with these darker, blue tones and the colorful rug!
I'm still trying to convince J and my family of this, but I really want a clawfoot tub! I want a pig bathtub where I can relax on the weekend or after a hard day at work, with bubbles, and completely submerge myself. Our shower/bathtub now isn't bad (better than our last one), but it's not deep so taking a bath is doable but tricky. I love the dark tub in this photo with the white cabinets and subway tile - though, as I said above, J is totally not into subway tile so I'll probably have to compromise there. 😉
This is totally something I would love more than J would love - an organized closet space! Right now, we have the biggest closet we've ever had! We can have both of our hanging clothes in there at the same time, as well as most of our folded clothes. But our folded clothes are in one of those hanging, cheap organizers. It looks fine, but I would love a space with a more permanent, classy way or organizing our clothes!
I'm really excited to start meeting with realtors, and I'm trying really hard not to be anxious about the home-buying process. I'm trying to keep an open mind and not make judgments about when we need to buy by or have expectations about what's out there, but it's hard! Trying to just stay open-minded and hopeful. 😊
What was your first home like? Did you fix anything up? How did you choose a realtor?
No comments:
Post a Comment