You guys probably remember us mentioning “the bed & breakfast” house around the corner from us a few times. We’ve admired it for years. Not just because it has an in-ground pool, a tennis court, and a picnic area, but also because it’s just about the most charming exterior around. Here’s a pic we snapped during a snowstorm last year:
In fact, when Sherry and I started our house hunt this fall, we secretly schemed about knocking on their door and begging the owner to let us buy it. But before we could muster the confidence to march up to their doorstep we learned that someone else had beaten us to the punch. The nerve. It had already been sold privately (just a few weeks prior), with nary a “for sale” sign in sight.
So when the lucky bast-, er, people who snatched up our dream house from right under our noses introduced themselves at our moving sale last month, it was a little bittersweet (sweet mainly because they were buying about $100 in patio furniture and rugs from us). But sweet also because they were amazingly nice, and they even invited us over for a tour. Sherry had been grumbling something about not being able to die without knowing what that house looked like on the inside, so I was happy that my not dying wife (well, I guess everyone’s dying…) would get her odd home-related wish fulfilled.
And sure enough, like a celebrity who’s shorter in person, the house failed to live up to our intensely high expectations. Which made us love our future house even more for being so perfect that it inadvertently surpassed even our “dream house” once we had seen the inside. Don’t get us wrong. It’s not like it wasn’t a great house. Because it was. It’s bursting with makeover potential, and is actually a much uglier “before” than our new one (you’ll have to trust us since we couldn’t snap pics, but there was harrowing flowery wallpaper, old blue carpeting, decrepit light fixtures, red laminate countertops, etc). And the new owners knew it. In fact, they were painting and stripping wallpaper while we were there getting the tour (gotta love that they’re fellow DIY enthusiasts). We have no doubt that they’ll do some pretty amazing things to it, especially since they shared some of their plans as they gave us the tour.
In the end we both walked out knowing that it wasn’t the right house for us and the fact that it had sold before we even had a shot at it was how it was supposed to go. It wasn’t the open-floor plan, single-level, and growing-family-friendly home that we need right now. Plus maintaining that lawn… and pool… and tennis court is probably not the easiest thing for parents of a six-month old. So not only did we get closure when it comes to wondering “what could’ve been?” if we’d knocked on that door a bit sooner, we’re also really excited that it has owners with big plans for that sweet house that we’ll always refer to as “the bed and breakfast.” Which definitely sounds better to us than “the one that got away.” Whew.
Pssst- We announced this week’s giveaway winner. Click here to see if it’s you.
Jennifer @ Milk & Honey Mommy says
John,
That’s great! Now Sherry can sleep well at night (and I guess you too, if she talks you to death like I do my husband). I would have figured a way to see the inside too before moving.
Thought…you should consider “house crashing” them when they finish some of or all of the remodel on the home. You DIY people should stick together.
YoungHouseLove says
We’d love to! Here’s hoping they’re game in a year or two when they’re at that point!
xo,
s
brandt @ New House on the Blog says
Let me ask you this: What part was disappointing? It sounds like it has a ton of potential for 2 people like yourselves to get in there and reak havoc. Or did it just underwhelm you going in and looking around?
YoungHouseLove says
Walls couldn’t be knocked down to make things feel open (which is what we love). The layout pretty much made it impossible to create something with lots of flow since structurally things like fireplaces and load bearing walls couldn’t be moved. The bedrooms were also separated which we didn’t prefer (two upstairs, one master downstairs, one across the house and upstairs on the other side) so it was perfect for older kiddos (which is what the couple who got it had).
xo,
s
Page says
We looked for our present house for way too long—about two years. BUT, the good news is that we are in the PERFECT house for us. We drive through all the neighborhoods where we looked before, and all we can say is how glad we are that we didn’t buy another one of the scores of houses we looked at.
Paula/adhocmom says
So glad you got some closure! I truly believe we all end up with the right house! When my husband and I bought our apartment in Brooklyn, we lost out on two apartments before getting the one we live in now. We were so bummed when we lost the second place – couldn’t imagine finding one we would like better, but we did. It really does work out!
cassie {hi sugarplum!} says
Isn’t it grand when life works out on it’s own better than if we tried to force it? We thank our lucky stars every time we drive by the house I was ‘dying for’ but didn’t get. We ended up right where we’re supposed to be!
Lonely Wife Project says
There is nothing more satisfying than closure. So glad you two found it :)
Jaimie MacGibbon says
I’m glad you guys got to see inside and have some closure. It really is picturesque from the outside, but I guess you can’t judge a house by its cov… exterior. I can’t wait until my husband and I can buy our first house. I hope we are as happy as you when we find our home.
Elizabeth says
After working in the film industry I can confirm that most celebrities are more slight than they appear on film or television. However, some of them are also even better looking in person…Richard Gere and Dennis Quaid specifically fall into this category!
MsAmanda says
I just had a similiar experience. My favorite house on my nightly dog walk just went on the market. In fact, I gasped so loudly when driving past it my husband almost got in an accident. Then I looked online at the realtor’s listing. YUCK and weird. Maybe its worth an actual look inside, the pictures I saw did not match up with the exterior at all.
jAG says
Just curious as to why a single-floor plan is more preferable to you? I find with a baby that having my family room, kitchen, etc on the same floor as my baby’s has made it difficult to entertain. We feel the need to whisper once we have put the baby to bed. Is this something you considered? I love my house but am looking forward to not having to worry about disrupting sleep.
YoungHouseLove says
Hey JAG,
We’re big believers in not tiptoeing around a sleeping baby. John’s sister taught us to vacuum right in the room with a sleeping baby and get them used to noise- now Clara can sleep through anything and even though our house is all one level and very small she sleeps like a champ. Thank goodness. We also just love a ranch- can’t help it! We think not worrying about stairs and baby gates will be so nice! And not having to carry clothes upstairs after doing laundry or devoting lots of floor place to stairs and hallways which usually happens in two level houses makes it feel like it’s a great choice for us. But of course it’s totally a subjective thing!
xo,
s
Kay says
It was the “pssst” at the end of this post that got my attention. Thank you, thank you for not inundating your readers with 1)this great giveaway, 2)why it’s great, 3) what you have to do to enter, and 4)who won. Honestly, I have unsubscribed from some design blogs that were great until they got caught up in promoting their sponsors to the detriment of content. Reading those is like a magazine with nothing but ads. I understand that some people make a living with their blogs, but please, not so in-your-face with the give-aways and ads. You guys at YHL are continuing to do a great job–keep it up. Can’t wait to see the new house!
Anne says
I hope they do not read the blog, that would be heart breaking!I am glad you have closure!
Katherine says
Fate took you to the lovely space you share. You landed there for many reasons. And thankfully all of your followers are glad that you were.
But it is SO much fun imagining and drawing up in our minds what we would do with a space to make it special. The only limit is your imagination. Keep dreaming.
heather says
Whew! Isn’t it great when you finally find *your* house? We did the search 3 years ago, well, four if you consider the year we actually spent searching.
The first house we saw was not only above our price range but “U.G.L.Y you ain’t got no alibi” ugly…but in the town we wanted to live in (that rarely has houses for sale).
So, we gave up and looked at a few more. We put in an offer on two others, and lost them (obviously at different times). I can’t say I wasn’t upset when they fell through. I was actually fully relieved when one of them did.
Back to the drawing board we go and one day I get a call from the fiance, then boyfriend and he says “Remember that really ugly house in (name of town), yeah, you need to see this”. We went there, and it was almost as horrible as it looked online. The grass was roughly 6 feet high in spots, the owners didn’t take care of it…but you could tell that at one point, a long time ago – someone had loved it. It didn’t hurt that there is a roughly 40 acre field behind the house which can never be developed due to town ordinances. Then, then the little old lady neighbor stopped by and talked to us all about the history of the house. Her and her husband had helped build it with four other couples decades ago (way before the current owners).
We loved it, and the price had dropped significantly. I had this thing about needing to love the neighbors – and I did. I loved everything about it.
We have lived in this house for 3 years. You would never know it was the same place. The yard is completely overhauled…and we haven’t even landscaped it yet. We found rock walls that had been neglected, and built new ones from all the rocks my fiance and I excavated with our tractor on countless nights. The house is going into renovation mode next summer – right after our wedding.
We’re going to fill it with love again.
You always get the house you’re meant to. :)
Cait @ Hernando House says
Too bad it didn’t live up to your daydreams, but at least you weren’t sad that you didn’t get to buy it after seeing the inside?
I second the “hopefully you can house crash it when it’s closer to being “finished”!
sami buckley says
That’s really cool you got to look at your “dream home” inside and that it wasn’t all that! Like you said, now you love your future house even more! My fiance and I have a dream home too. It’s down the road from us and when we drive by it, we love it even more and NO ONE EVEN LIVES IN IT! It’s just sitting there. Empty. We say that if we could ever buy it, we would in a heartbeat. The house comes with SO much land, so it’s a lot of money, but if we could buy just the house and like an acre of land…hmm…I wonder?? You never know! :)
Leslie says
“I guess everyone’s dying….”?! That made me laugh out loud. ;)
Tanya says
Finally being able to walk away from something you have pined for is such a great, liberating feeling. I fall in love with furniture online all the time and when I finally check out the piece in real life, sometimes it is soooo uncomfortable. And, especially if its pricey, I’m certainly relieved when it failed to live up to my expectations!
Jennifer S. says
This post reminded me of a thought I had recently. I’m wondering if your new house is going to be more of a redecorating project as opposed to a renovating project, which is what brought me to your blog in the first place a couple of years ago. I’m hoping that there will be plenty of renovating amid the new drapes and furniture!
YoungHouseLove says
There will be demo and reno a plenty!
xo,
s
TG says
You made the right choice. A pool and tennis court sounds great until you have to maintain it. I once lived in a house with a pool, spa and other ammenities, it was very time consuming and expensive to maintain in “ready to use” status. Also, the responsibility of other peoples safety around the pool and spa, plus additional insurance. It became cumbersome. I was sooo ready to not have the responsibility. Your new house sounds like a winner.
katie says
Wow. It was awfully cute on the outside.
Curious, does your new house have a basement? It sounds so similar to my house (but with a couple extra rooms) Gosh I just can’t wait for the “before tour”!!!
YoungHouseLove says
It has a separate entry basement under part of the house sort of like ours current one.
xo,
s
Dana @ House*Tweaking says
I don’t think you’re really the pool & tennis court type of people anyway. Are you? Can’t wait to see the ‘befores’ of your new home and hear about everything you plan to do. You can bet I’ll be along for the journey!
Oh, and I totally drive down the road resisting the urge to drive right up to strangers’ homes and ask them if I can come in. Anything for a peek at some interiors! Haven’t done it yet but there’s an abandoned school house a few miles away that I definitely want to check into…
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Dana,
We both definitely love being outdoors and swimming (we go down to the river here in Richmond all the time) so a pool would have been lots of fun (but also lots of work). But no, we’re not swanky tennis folks who envision big fancy poolside soirées. Hehe.
xo,
s
Lindsay@Tell'er All About It says
Glad you got the tour out of your system!! We had a similar situation with a gorgeous home when we were looking and after taking a tour (and touring again just to be sure) we realized that there was no way we could get the floor plan out of it that we wanted without just building a whole new house! At that point, what’s the point? Especially since the neighborhood was just “meh” and the house was already the most beautiful on the block – which of course means renos will never give you a return!
Makes me feel better about not buying that house!!! Great story!
ginger says
That’s a great story. Kinda like the right guy/girl that got away, years later when you see them with “peeling wallpaper”, you are so glad you move one! lol
Question: Did I read this right a couple of posts back…are you really going to close on both and move out / in all in one day? wow.
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Ginger,
Yup, that’s the plan if all goes well. Ahhh! Fingers crossed…
xo,
s
Kasey at Thrifty Little Blog says
Just like those other cute houses you looked at, this just wasn’t “it.” It all works out in the end!
This post does get me wondering about private sales… I wonder how often people buy houses that way.
Annalea says
Sounds like a PERFECT candidate for a future House Crashing post, to me. :o) I’m glad you guys got to see it!
Abby says
That house is too adorable for words… and the snowy exterior in the picture does really “sell” it!
You didn’t by chance “house crash” this one, did you?
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Abby,
We’d love to house crash them when the demolition dust settles and they update everything!
xo,
s
Liz says
I would soooooooooo love to have a tennis court in my backyard, but that’s because I love to play, not because I’m swanky! That might override a bad floor plan in my book.
Lani @ Diapers and Divas says
Yeah…we’re totally decorating!! the boxes were out and rearing to go the day after thanksgiving. Is it sad that while people look for great deals on black friday I was out at homegoods and thrift stores trying to score great little holiday decor finds? That’s my idea of holiday shopping! My co-blogger and I are totally doing it up in our houses this year and sharing it on our blog. You can check it all out at http://www.diapersanddivas.com.
Um…and LOVE your tree! I just had a boy so my scheme goes towards the aqua’s!!
Tracey says
The bed and breakfast house sounds like it has a case of “Pretty from far but far from pretty!”.
YoungHouseLove says
Don’t get us wrong. It’s an amazing house! And it’ll be gorgeous when the new owners get ‘er done! It just wasn’t the right house for us. Love it when things work out like that.
xo,
s
Jenn L @ Peas and Crayons says
I was 100% bitter about missing out on my dream house a few months ago… someone snatched it up for rent when I seriously wanted to buy it. But now that i’ve been renting here for a few months… I sooooooo don’t want to live in that area anymore. not even close! So thank goodness someone stole my dreamhouse =)
xoX0xo
hi-d says
I can see why you were dying to see the inside of the house. The outside is so beautiful! Well, I’m glad you got your wish and that all turned out well for everyone.
Have a great day!
hi-d
Kiran says
Well, it worked out great in the end. It’s meant to be :) good luck on your move to the next diy chapter of your life :)
C Billotti says
At least you have a great pic to make them a personal Christmas card!!!
Kim Leggett says
We know exactly what you mean about not having the ability to create an open space. We live in an 1890’s (hopefully, not too much longer), and we had the same situation when we were untaking a major restoration on this place. It’s a big house but always feels smaller than it really is because it’s so chopped up. It has old house charm for sure but I’m a wide open spaces kind of girl.
lissa says
Curious about the patio furniture….no patio at the new casa? I remember when you got those pretty chaise chairs.
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Lissa,
We actually do have a small patio at the new place, but it wouldn’t accommodate furniture of our size. And we realized as parents of a wee one that we don’t exactly have time to lounge around in those recliners anymore anyway. Haven’t used them once since Clara was born!
xo,
s
Kathy says
A similar thing happened to us when we were looking for our first home. We looked at so many awful houses for so long that we were starting to think we would never find one for us. Then we came across a little house with the sweetest exterior and yard. But when our realtor inquired about it, it already had a serious bid on it so we couldn’t even go in and take a look. For a few weeks, we referred to it as “the dream house” thinking that we’d missed our chance at the best house ever. Finally, after looking at more houses that just did not speak to us, our realtor took us over to the “dream house” so that we could take a look. We went inside and it was cute, but SO small and cramped–even moreso than the little apartment we were living in at the time. It was a total disappointment. Less than a week later, we found our first home, which wasn’t perfect but it was meant to be ours.
Casey says
I have a similar story, with a different twist.
I was renting half of a shotgun double in New Orleans from a woman in her eighties (she lived in the other half). She told me she would be selling it in a few years, and I wanted so badly to buy it! Then one weekend while I was out of town, she got hit by a car while walking to church, and her arm and a few ribs were broken. Her daughter swooped into town to fetch her from the hospital, and purchased a house up the street for herself and her mom, so that she could take car of her. She sold her mom’s house to the son of her friend who had lived three doors down. Really, New Orleans is SUCH a small town, and these private sales happen ALL the time. I came back into town and found my dream house sold out from under me, and I was already living in it!
A few months later Katrina hit, and the house was damaged (but not ruined – all my stuff inside was OK). Two months after that, my lease ran out. I cannot even tell you how happy I was not to be a property owner. I walked away free and clear, and moved in with my boyfriend, whose place didn’t have a scratch on it! I was able to give all of my household belongings to a co-worker who had lost everything. It all worked out in the end!
Congrats on getting confirmation that you made the right choice!
Lisa says
Dont you love it when that happens? I have had a major home “crush” since, well, I was able to notice homes in my sweet little town that I am so lucky to live and grow up in.
Finally, the family grew up, grew out, estate sale..nows my chance…
OMG..the dissapointment was so “dissapointing” I cried in the car after I was through stalking through the house. how could that be, I sobbed through my tears. Small rooms, horrible panneling–everywhere, and the worst? No bath on the main floor? egads, after I gathered myself together, I drove away with a smile with the thought on how my husband would react when I told him we wont be moving–again..
love your blog!
Rachel says
Hey guys! So when i first started reading this post, i thought you were going to say you bought the bed and breakfast! I might have flipped out a smidge :) Definitely would have made moving easy-just walk across the street. Glad you have closure on a house you dreamed about and have even more reason to love the new one… but post about the new one already! I keep waiting for those first pictures of the place! Thanks for bloggin your life… its definitely a cute one!
-Rachel
Handy Man, Crafty Woman says
Some houses just look better on the outside, and make you think there’s something amazing inside…but then when you see the inside…? eh. We’ve had this happen to us before.
It DOES look very pretty in the snow, though.
Ever - The red house by the lake says
It’s funny how important closures can be. I totally understand the feeling you must have had when you realized that it was not and had never been the house for you.
Also, how nice to have gotten to know these new neighbours. If I remember correctly you are not moving so very far away, so maybe you can still keep in touch?
Love your blog. Hope to be able to show you some of my own DIY-projects some day, but I just started my own blog so it will take a while before I get all the pictures together. ;-)
YoungHouseLove says
Yeah, we’re moving pretty close by, so we’d love to stay in touch and see what they do!
xo,
s
susan says
It’s amazing how things work out for the best. I am glad you got to see that the grass isn’t always greener on the other side! susan
pam says
There are 2 homes that I just know I’d move into at a moment’s notice should they EVER go up for sale. One is 500 miles away so that’s probably not going to happen. The other one is close enough to where I live that I purposely don’t drive by it. I love, love that house. No, I’ve never been inside it – don’t want to crush that dream ;). We bought our home almost 20 years ago at a great price because the realtor (seriously) put “strange floor plan” on the MLS. We admit the architect was probably on crack when he designed it but it’s worked perfectly for us. Looking forward to reading about your adventures in your new home!
Lady Kay says
I completely agree about wanting a single-level house. We’re looking to buy a house in a few months and I don’t even want to bother looking at 2-stories. And that’s cool you got to look inside…I always see beautiful houses that make me want to knock on the door to ask to have a tour!
Irene says
Glad it worked out for you, as I’ve mentioned before, the Cape Cod is NOT your style. You’d have to buy a newer version to get what you want which means nothing older than say late 80s/90s which doens’t fit what you need.
Megan says
This house turned out to be the Ashley to your Scarlett. Some things aren’t meant to be and that’s cool you were able to take a tour. Your new home is so nice, can’t wait to see what you do with it!
YoungHouseLove says
It’s true. It was the Jacob to my Edward. Or is it the Jacob to my Bella? You know what I mean.
xo,
s
LiveLikeYou says
I’m all about simplifying your life. A tennis court, huge lawn etc. You become a slave to your house with less time to enjoy life. I’ve been there. I know!!
Liss says
We constantly look at houses that go up for sale in our neighborhood. We have a “neighborhood of envy”, that we consistently look at. While our house is not my favorite style (raised ranch), no other interior has matched up to what we have. Each time we go into a house thinking, “ok, this the dream house, let’s get ready to sell ours”, we leave thinking how great ours actually is. It helps knowing that what you thought missed out on, is what you actually already have.
I love your blog! Your projects are amazing!
Jennifer says
Ooooh! You had me at red-laminate countertops…