ITT: Evergreen talks about houses and real estate

IanExMachina

I really don't like any of those interiors

For one there is way too much wood flooring.

Also the huge foyer (I guess) is just a bit un homely to me.

Also the exteriors they just look a bit 'off' to me, quite a few look like they are aiming for an older look but are just slightly missing.

(I'll be a bit more detailed later, this was just after having a quick look at each one.)

Evergreen

Maybe I shouldn't have gone so Devonwood-insane. I think it was just something I needed to get out of my system. I've moved onto some other stuff.

Like check out this contemporary. On the one hand, it's a pretty typical contemporary. On the other hand...DAT DECOR. I would not want to drop acid in this house. I can't really tell if it's more 80's or 90's, but at least it's in great condition.

glennmagusharvey

DOSE HIGH CEILINGS
DOSE TILES

Evergreen

High ceilings were certainly a good idea in theory, and a good innovation in overall home design. The argument against them would be, I think, that you could be using all that space for something else. Like more stuff on the floor above.

I think it set the precedent for modern traditionalist McMansions having those lofty great rooms in the middle. Not really sure though.

And tiles are nice, but my problem with them is that unless you've got something clever going on with radiant heating, they get damn cold in the winter! Luckily, lots of carpet too. Including groovy multicolor carpet.

captainbrass

I actually prefer that last one to some of the earlier houses. At least it's distinctive, even if the colour scheme is pretty egregious. The very first house, the $1.7 million one, looks like a scaled-down version of the sort of place J.R. Ewing and Su Ellen would live in in Dallas, which now I think about it most of the people posting here will probably never have seen.

I'm also pretty sure that most of those street names are similar to or identical to upmarket London streets, whether deliberately or accidentally, I don't know.

Evergreen

You are of course familiar with themed street names, yes? In a place this pre-planned, nothing is an accident. The very British street names are deliberate, to project an image of traditional luxury. I'm not sure if they're actually supposed to be London streets, to me it just seems like they sought a bunch of British-sounding stuff in general.

glennmagusharvey

I would love it if a city had a street grid like this:

Streets, running east-west: Seth Street, Franz Street, Gilliam Street, Vanessa Street, Moulder Street, Ross Street, Garcia Street, Neimi Street, Colm Street, etc.
Avenues, running north-south: Sain Avenue, Kent Avenue, Florina Avenue, Wil Avenue, Dorcas Avenue, Serra Avenue, Erk Avenue, Rath Avenue, Matthew Avenue, etc.
Crisscrossing these on diagonals, you have these northwest-to-southeast roads: Lyn Boulevard, Eliwood Boulevard, and Hector Boulevard; and these southwest-to-northeast roads: Eirika boulevard, Ephraim Boulevard

Evergreen

I just know that's a reference to something, but I'm just not sure.

Commonly-seen street naming themes: Trees, Ivy League Universities and other prestigious schools, U.S. States, major U.S. cities, U.S. Presidents (I grew up on Lincoln Lane, an offshoot was Adams, the offshoot of that was Harding, and the offshoot of that was Coolidge), the first names of the developer's children and other relatives...

And here, have a typical 90's colonial in a development carved out of the woods of Sharon, Massachusetts. The theme of the street naming is basically colonial/otherwise historical. The house is fairly dated IMO, but knowing your guys' tastes, you'll probably like it.

glennmagusharvey

The streets are Fire Emblem VIII (The Sacred Stones) characters, while the avenues are Fire Emblem VII (The Blazing Sword) characters.  The NW-SE boulevards are the three main characters from VII while the SW-NE boulevards are the two main characters from VIII.

And yeah, there are a set of parallel streets in Fort Lauderdale named after U.S. presidents.  They went up to Taft and I think that's it.

Evergreen

That's what I figured. I recognized Eliwood. 

A large, fairly dated house in Worcester. Notable in my book for the wallpapers and the indoor hot tub.

A contemporary in Sharon notable mainly for its abundance of plants. SO MANY PLANT WHAT DOES IT MEAN. (This meme-type-thing brought to you by Frances, who surely would have said it if she wasn't asleep right now and really busy during the days. Inspired by the tags of her Tumblr post on a sheep. Please don't take advantage of the fact that I linked to her largely secret Tumblr.)

glennmagusharvey

GMH liveblogs his reaction to a real estate listing posted by Evergreen

> 649,900
Oof.

> 3,500 square feet
Whoa.
...but you're still hungry. it's still a colonial.

> schools: "*"
I like that school.  It's a great school.

> pics 1 and 2, front
Meh.  This is a 4-bedroom colonial with 2 full and 1 half baths.  And a 2 car garage.  Typical house is typical.  Except that price tag.  Something had better justify why it's so damn high.
> pics 3 and 4, kitchen
Nice curved countertop...wait, that's SEATING TABLE SPACE!  I like that.
> pic 5
Are they trying to evoke some sort of deli or bakery feel with those checkerboard-pattern tiles on the backsplash?
> pic 7
Meh.  Nice carpet and wall colors.  I would not put that furniture there though.
> pic 8
These owners like that Chinese motif.  And the ornate-looking chairs in the dining room.  Speaking of which, I do like how the dining room and either the living or the family room are open to each other, as shown in this pic.  However, consequently, the dining room is carpeted--which is not preferable for use as an actual dining room.

You don't know how much it annoys me that dining rooms are just for people to leave their table, chairs, and decorations, and rarely if ever see use.  People just use eat-in areas in kitchens for everything.

> pic 9
The dining room area backs up into a dead end.  Not what I'd like, but...come to think of it, what if we turned the dining room into another type of room...put a piano there and it can become an extension of the living room.  Or you can set up a Mystery Hunt team base home office there; the carpet would be nice for that.  Or even a playpen.
> pic 10
Okay this is probably the family room.
Hmm, those sofas are nice.  They don't cover all the way down to the floor.  I guess they're not as cozy if you want foot coverage, but if you're sleeping on them in the winter you ought to be sleeping horiontally or put your legs up anyway.  The fact that these have exposed sofa legs means that the carpet is easier to vacuum.  I like this.
I also generally like the bright color scheme of the walls and carpeting.
> pic 11
So they do have a piano.  Hard to tell what room this is though.
> pic 12
I'm not a fan of that carpet.  In fact, I'm not a fan of carpet on stairs anyway, since they're hard to clean.
> pic 13
Nice colors on bed.  I see this house uses forced-air heating.  Enjoying the carpet though...my room doesn't have carpet.
> pic 14
Not as much a fan of the aesthetics here.  The antiquated wood-checkerboard pattern is not my taste, nor are the colors and quilt-like design of the bed covers.  I understand those curtains match the bed but I don't like their color either.
> pic 15
I don't always like white.  This room has too much.  It would be better served with light-brown wooden cabinetry.
> pic 17
I'm never sure what to do with jacuzzis.  I never have the time to sit in them anyway, and they're a huge waste of water every time you use them.  Yet they're too small to use as a swimming or even a decent wading pool.  They just seem to take up space.  Maybe they just serve as a place to put one's laundry hamper.
Also, that row of vanity lights uses up way too much power so we'd keep most of the bulbs half-unscrewed anyway, lol.
> pic 18
This is probably the basement.  The basement appears to be at least partially finished.  And finished decently well too.  I don't mind the wall color; I'm happy that it's a solid color anyway.  Compartmentalizing the basement also seems like a good idea.
> pic 19
Yay second lounge area / family room.  In other words, where to get away from your parents when you want to occupy a television with your gaming.

glennmagusharvey

@ 77 Trenton

Okay, now, that's more like our price range!

Interesting tiles in the foyer.
Dated look in the kitchen, but I'd be fine with it.  Range in the center is a nice feature.  Though then you lose the hood.  But it's cozier.
The pink tiles do look a bit dated, as do the off-white baseboard radiator covers.  But i don't mind them too much.  Though baseboards are a bit hard to clean.
Boo, carpeted dining room.
Pic 6: I wonder what was in this room.  This is probably a bedroom.  Maybe they were using it as an office but just had moved everything out.
Bathroom wallpaper kinda annoys me.  If I want a paper birch tree, I want it outside.
...you mean this hot tub surrounded by blue tiles?
That master bedroom is unnecessarily big.  Make it a damn base of operations if you're gonna make it that big.
...
...
......oh.  That hot tub.
...no, really, wtf?  An indoor hot tub.  In the great room.  That's the only thing there.  I guess they probably moved everything else out.

Well I guess it makes sense if you want to use your hot tub during the winter.  Must be nice if you can enjoy sitting with your spouse in swimwear even in the dead of winter.

Evergreen

Now this is the kind of analysis I like! Please keep doing this when you have time! And in the future I'll try to provide more house variety, but I seem to have this weird obsession with 70s-early 2000s.

Sharon is overpriced, wow. And there's so much empty land there too! Worcester is cheap because it is an unimpressive city.

Yeah, the hot tub. I have no idea.

I don't mean to overwhelm you, but I was browsing the streets around our big local mall back home and found this mostly outdated house with an old TV and basically a whole other house in the basement. With an awesome mural.

And now I present more early 90's Fairfield luxury, now in glorious HDR! Wonky photography aside, it's pretty nice.

Here's more early 90's luxury from the most expensive town in Connecticut. Admittedly, it's even bigger than anything in, say, Devonwood, and four acres is respectable. But still, this isn't worth ten million. It's near the New York border and apparently is elevated enough to give a distant view of Long Island Sound.

captainbrass

Re street names - Where I grew up there was an area called the Canada Estate which had streets called things like Manitoba Avenue and Calgary Avenue. A few of my parents' friends, and their kids who were friends of me and my siblings, lived there.

They should have really gone for the theme, planted the with maple trees and made everyone who lived there wear lumberjack shirts.

glennmagusharvey

> house within a house

Hmm.
> 1
Okay, it's a ranch.
Really, only 2 bedrooms?
> 2
Wait, what is this?  Is that like the stairs leading down behind the handrail at the back of the picture?
> 3
Oh wait, that's the front door there!  They like their double-doors.
The dark brown colors in a lot of other places kinda annoy me with how dark they are.  The blue carpet would go nice with some contrasting light brown and white colors.  Also, this room doesn't give the impression of being well-lit.  On the other hand, I have no objection to that TV set.
> 4
Old cabinetry, old tiles, and old furniture are old.  Well, at least they look dated for some reason, especially the tiles.  That said, I like the flat-top range.  Come to think of it, the cabinetry doesn't look that old either, and seems to shine pretty nicely.
> 5
Oh, there's more brick and dark wood.
> 6
Just change the tiles to a lighter color.  Or change the table/chairs set to a lighter color, even.  That would help.
> 7
Oh my, wooden wall panelling.  Can't say I'm a fan of that or the pattern on that couch.  However, everything does look to be in very good condition; I'll give you that.
> 9
How come, in these old houses, it's the bathrooms of all things that are so gloriously bright?
> 10
Observe: Correct use of oversized master bedroom: It doubles as an office.  And lounge, if the bottom-right corner of the picture is to be believed to be a couch.
> 11
See that lighter-brown cabinetry?  Yeah, why can't we have more of those colors?
> 12
I hope it's camera stupidity that caused the sliding doors over the bathtub to become curved.
> 13
Ahhh, here we go.  Finished basement contains entertainment center.  Wait, are those windows with curtains?
> 14
Ohhhkay, then!  Here's the mural you're talking about.  Can see a bathroom too.  And is that a door behind those curtains?
> 15
Whoa!  It's a full-service kitchen, complete with oven, range, sink, fridge, and a better-looking set of furniture than the set used upstairs!
> 16
...a dining room too??
> 17
Is this upstairs or downstairs?  If this is downstairs...
> 18
This looks to be a half-bath.  And I think this is the same one as shown in pic 14, so this is in the basement.
> 19
Yeah!  So it DOES do what I think it does--the property slopes down toward the back, providing a walk-out basement.

Y'know what?  They should put a full bath in the basement, put at least two bedrooms down there, and then rent it out.  Instant tenant income.

Evergreen

Excellent assessment. I see we continue to differ on aesthetic tastes, but that's life.

I have headed off in pursuit of things other than typical houses listed on Raveis. And found some very interesting things.

Here's an old estate in Pittsfield, MA, not exactly cutting-edge but nice, and with nice property and outbuildings. Listed for almost 4 million, which I guess is accurate...

This isn't just an estate, it's a damn cult compound! I don't know what EnlightenNext is or why they're selling all this or why it's listed at only almost seven million. Seems likes a good value. I mean, just look through the whole thing! There's a manor turned public spaces, condo townhouses, separate houses, and probably a lot more.

Want a 1992 neo-Victorian sort of place with a barn and 18 acres for 1.8 million? Beautiful setting, looks nice from outside, the 90's-ness of it all is quite obvious inside.

Now that's, acreage, and a view. Depending on how isolated it is, I might not want to live here at all, though. But it's a nice house. And a good value, I think, though 1.395 million isn't exactly cheap.

An interesting old estate called Ingleside that to me looks like maybe it should be haunted...

Another kind of haunted looking estate, Birchwood, an excellent example of a Queen Anne Victorian...

This is Thistlewood, and I have never seen such a monochromatic interior like...anywhere. Renovation is all well and good, but something just aint right about nothing but white, gray, and black in all the major spaces of a house! On the other hand...so many bedrooms! If you had a big family, you could host Thanksgiving here every year quite ably...

I think I'll stop now.

IanExMachina

The Old estate house has terrible furnishings.

I feel the kitchen cupboards look a bit strange with them all being so flat and just in one space.

The conservatory bit looks ok though.

The cult compound doesn't look too bad in terms of design, quite pleasing for me really. Pretty awesome the amount of buildings, I mean you get a mini library. Would be good to start a mini town.

I have to say I disagree on the 1992 Neo Vic house exterior, the pale colour/wood for me looks quite unnatural.

It is very 90s inside isn't it, also the kitchen layout is a bit chaotic as is the media room it appears.

More white paint on the acreage and view.

The view could do with some landscaping rather than just plain grass to a line then trees further back. (Honestly I'd prefer english woodland, because it looks more natural to me but seeing as this is in America it is unlikely to say the least )

I like the interior inside though it has a cosy ish vibe.

Ingleside again is bright white

I like the trees shading it and the garden though.

The living areas look nice and warm but the kitchen looks so cold and dull in contrast.

The bathrooms are in need of some modernisation, and tiles.

Birchwood again is white

Bit too much wood everywhere in the great hall.

So much detail on everything might be over doing it.

That office it looks like it is trying to recapture victorian style poorly.

Too much wood in general for me.

Thistlewood is white *sigh*

The pool looks ugly and very formal.

The gardens are nice but could do with some colour apart from green, I mean hopefully some of that stuff flowers but those pictures are just green on green.

It really is monochromatic, but still much too much white everywhere.

I shall endeavour to find some interesting (ish) houses from the UK to se what you guys think of them.

Evergreen

White exteriors are pretty conventional in this part of the U.S. They're much rarer in the U.K., I gather? (And actually, my research does support the fact that they are.

When you've got something good, I would be happy to see it.

IanExMachina

Yeah also they aren't usually wood either, mortar plaster or bricks so they tend to look nothing like it.

I'mma searching just now

IanExMachina

First The Old House which is a listed historic building, once a rectory then owned by royalty 13 acres and lots of outbuildings. £2,250,000

It isn't white and the outside isn't wood!

I have to say even with the Aga I love the kitchen, wood beams and cosyness, also there are alot of low ceilings which I like.

You also own a bowling green, which whilst yours is used by the village so if you were a massive dick you'd let them use it.

Ermine Way, grade 2 listed historic building and it has a moat! 738 acres £8.5 million.

I have to say there is way too much land, some of which is farmland. Athough the grounds look nice.

The exterior looks nice, oldish red bricks.

The kitchen is too woody for me though.

A modernist country house 14 acres just under £3million.

Whilst I'm not too keen on modern stuff I don't mind this, although I'd prefer the kitchen to have more going on and the tiles near the pool to be a different colour.

Kingstone Wood Manor Estate grade 2 again, moat again, ridiculous acreage again (740) £8.5million again.

You get farmland woodland, and a listed bridge as well as 4 cottages.

15th century apparently  Ignore same as the Ermine way.

Again a grade 2 listed building this time in Gamlingay. 35.5 acres. just over £2.5 million.

I have to say I love this house, ivy on the outside, oldschool conservatory.

Oak panelled dining room!

(You could buy less just for the main bit or go the whole way and get several cottages and some agricultural land.)

Evergreen

Uh, I looked at these yesterday and Ermine Way and Kingstone Wood Manor Estate appear to be the exact same house. Not sure how that happened.

These are all very charming. (The old ones, that is. The new one is just cool, I think.) But I don't have much of a way to judge them relative to American houses because they're rather different. I do like the last one, though.

So anyway, I found that Foxhollow, my so-called "cult compound", is basically exactly that! It's this guy's headquarters. Such an archetypal new age culty-thing. I can't make heads nor tails of its philosophy.

IanExMachina

So they are.

Hmm stupid different estate agents naming them differently.

captainbrass

^^ Mr Cohen's teachings sound like a rip-off of Buddhism/Hinduism. With a dash of jazz-funk.

The most impressive thing to me about the houses Ian's dug up is that they include sporting rights i.e. rights to go into some wood and blast the heck out of a bunch of pheasants/partridges. If you've got serious ambitions towards country gent-hood and a few million quid to spare, these are what you want.

Evergreen

A sampling from Windsor, CT. It's a mostly working-class town. My ex lived in an attached house sort of thing there.

The most expensive house in Windsor. This one is actually quite nice. 10 acres on the river, and an indoor pool!

A 1989 contemporary. Pretty typical of the type. Somewhat stuck in 1989.

A 1957 split-level that is near the bottom end of the market. It has that neat but dated and faded quality of a house owned by the elderly. And a basically unaltered kitchen. I wouldn't be surprised if the previous owner(s) died.

Evergreen

To accompany it, a broad sampling from the neighboring town of Bloomfield. This is also the town where my grandmother lives, and which my house is nearly in.

There's just something about this house, which is located fairly close to the top end of the market.  More of that same quiet datedness, I guess. Notice how they park their RV by the pool...

Similar concept at this one, I suppose, though the property is rather different. Notice the TV on the chair...

A fairly normal and pleasant Cape Cod, a good example of neo-traditional styling for this part of America, as done in the 80's. Note, however, what seems to be an obsession with mermaids...

A split that's obviously an old-people-house.  This person seems to like plants and piano. Telltale giveaway of the old-person-ness in the description: "Well cared for". That and "Lovingly maintained", among others, usually mean "Elderly owner, some things may be dated."

Another obvious one, the description even says "original owners." Since 1956...and not much has changed. Flag over fireplace suggests someone was a veteran. I'm willing to bet once again that whatever owner was remaining died there and thus it arrives on the market.

Finally, this is why you think before you add an indoor pool. I'm not sure what happened here, but I think someone got a bit too ambitious. Sometimes, truly crappy houses do show up in the listings, and this is certainly one.

glennmagusharvey

...an indoor pool?  In Bloomfield...?

...I think I may have seen a listing for that house before.  Like, seven years ago.  I know there was a property either there or in Windsor that had an indoor pool but was surprisingly cheap for such a feature.  This may very well be the same one.

I like the Windsor contemporary you looked up.

Evergreen

Maybe they've been trying to get rid of the house for years on and off or something. It's very peculiar, but I think it's neat that for once someone who wasn't wealthy tried to make an indoor pool. Well, it's not so cool because it didn't work, but whatever.

What I like about the contemporary in Windsor is that the exterior is red. That's rare, often they're such dull colors. Also, I knew you'd like it. You're predictable like that. (Not an insult...)

glennmagusharvey

I don't mind, lol.  I know what I like.

Though that doesn't mean that I can't like some other things.  Yeah, I also do like a library/study room with strong wooden color tones and a sort of old-world atmosphere, for example.

Though my preference for generally lighter colors and contemporary stylings and high ceilings derives mostly from the fact that I grew up living in such a house so it feels the most like home to me.

Evergreen

Your second paragraph. Just...your second paragraph. See, this is why I love ordinary houses and cars so much. I want to know and to share in other people's life experiences. I have only ever lived in two houses. My mom has only ever had four cars within my 21 years of existence (one of which isn't even a year old yet), my dad has only had five (one of which, again, is less than a year old). I crave familiarity and understanding of the spaces others inhabit, because there's so many people out there and I feel like I'll never really know who they are or what they're doing...but stuff like this can help me along. This combined with my general interest in architecture and the changing of architectural trends is why this thread exists.

Wow, big philosophical moment there. Cool. Um...yeah...

Fact: This thoroughly average, almost archetypal example of a modern colonial is quite close to Bradley. The airport, of course...for those of you who aren't Glenn, Bradley International Airport is Connecticut's only major airport and quite a nice little place, though a bit limited in destinations. It has a big impact on the area around it, which isn't felt quite as far out as this house is, but planes probably come in quite low over it.

To the immediate west and sort of north is a strange, modest street grid directly south of the end of the major runway. There are no houses on the parts closer to the runway. This kind of thing happens a lot around airports. Further to the west is a massive industrial/commercial park that gets bigger every year. Maybe Glenn knows all this already...

glennmagusharvey

Didn't know about the local environs around Bradley, actually.  The only time I've been around there is when my dad worked around there and when we went to the airport itself.