Every time a child says, "I don't believe in fairies," there is a fairy somewhere that falls down dead.
James Matthew Barrie, Peter Pan

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

living vicariously through others until my time comes...

I've become slightly addicted to HGTVs new show "Fixer Upper" http://magnoliahomes.net/fixer-upper/ It's always been my dream to find a diamond in the rough and make it my own. The two houses we've bought previously have been at the top end of our budget, so we've never been able to make the changes we wanted a reality or let's face it, even fix things when they break! For years I've loved to watch the moving shows, but they all become much the same - people looking for the granite kitchen, the finished garden, the perfect house. I'd hate to move in somewhere that was finished to a high standard - but not my standard, not my tastes. I feel like I'd just live with cherry cabinets and beige granite because I'd feel bad about ripping that stuff out. Which is why I have NO intention of looking for any of that when it comes time for us to move.  I love browsing the http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/ site for ideas. The forums are so valuable for real life experiences of what to do and of course what to run a mile from. Now there are hundreds of shows on home improvement there's always something to watch to get excited about. Here are some great examples of a fixer-upper turned dream home - and surprisingly all of these were done with a budget of under $50k!













The house I fell in love with months ago is still on the market, so there's always a chance it will become my dream forever home! (I have the agent letting me know if any offers come in). It's priced very low, and with the profit from the sale of this house we would be able to make it beautiful with cash to spare. There's so much potential. It's on 15 acres, we could sell 10 of those for over $100k in that area and still have a huge piece of land. There's a walkable attic ready to be finished. A double garage could be added with a master suite above. There's a big red barn with 6 horse stalls, fenced paddock, pasture, a stream.. need I go on! Here's a picture of it.. 
...imagine it freshly painted, with shutters, rambling roses, a horse in the background, a few chickens dotted around and children playing and you there you have it. So until I have it, in the bag, I keep that image in my head on days like today when I'm faced with the end of school rush, piles of laundry, noisy landscapers and a messy corner office that I can get no work done in! Happy Wednesday people - the weekend is just down the hill.