(Sorry for the small photos. Any larger and they lost sharpness.)
Maybe that's why big swanky houses hold no special allure for me....I see them every day. *yawn* For myself I built a more modest-sized home....3,147 sq feet, two-story, corner lot, study, 24' x 36' Great Room, etc. (I know...what was I thinking?) When I met K and first brought her to my home her jaw hit the floor when she walked in. To me it was just run-of-the-mill, but to her it was "a mansion". She loved it at the same time I was tiring of it. That was in 2006. By 2007 the economic outlook was getting scary. By 2008 it was obvious to me it would be "man-the-lifeboat" time very soon. I could see a little pro-active strategic planning was in order.
In retrospect I'm the last person who should own a home. I HATE yard work, but with a next-door neighbor who was Mr. Yard-of-the-Month I had to put forth at least some effort. To me a yard is just a place for the dog to crap. I don't entertain much at home, and never have any overnight company.
I DETEST doing maintenance of any kind, but of course I do it (grudgingly)....I want things to look good and work right. I flip the switch and expect things to come on. Unfortunately things don't always work like that and my home was by then at the age where maintenance / repair was becoming a regular occurrence.
My kids were long since grown, educated, married, and on someone else's payroll. I had bedrooms....an entire upstairs even, unused. When is a 24 x 36 foot Great Room too big? When you have to wave your arms and yell to get your mate's attention. And besides, when you're in bed asleep you can't tell if your bedroom is 13 x 13 or 23 x 23. The thought of paying for all that unused space, and paying taxes on it, and insurance, and utilities, etc, was really bugging me.
I knew it was going to break my new bride's heart to give up her "mansion", but she deferred to me (thank you Sweetie!) and let me put it on the market. My timing was fortunate....values were still up there and financing hadn't yet seized up. We sold it before the economy "hit the fan" and did well.
Since K had been driving 50 miles round trip in heavy traffic daily to work I told her we'd rent a 2 bed, 2 bath apartment somewhere closer to her work for a while and we could address another, smaller home later. My plan was moving forward.
That's where I'll leave the story for now. Part 2 tomorrow.
S
I've never lived anywhere with much empty space so your "mansion" might be nice, though like you I hate doing maintenance crap. Weekends I just want to sit around watching football or something, not cleaning gutters and mowing the lawn.
ReplyDeleteWe've always lived in tiny spaces. When we were first married we lived in two rooms inside an old home that had been converted to an orthodontist office - they used the downstairs about twice a month. We got the use of the whole house when they weren't there, but the only space that was "ours" was the two rooms upstairs.
ReplyDeleteI guess the biggest place we've ever lived was a three bedroom townhouse in Waynesville, NC. Boy was that nice! But since I hate to clean, small is much better for us!
It's a wise person who has only as much space as he or she needs, And it's interesting just how little space we really need unless we're showing off. I never want a big house again. Leave it to big families with lots of hands to help with the maintenance.
ReplyDeleteWe always seem to need more room. I think it's because we're like goldfish. We expand to fill the available space. Or, at least, our junk does.
ReplyDeleteYes, smaller is better. I can't believe how much time I spend in a room that is little larger than my old YMCA room of youth.
ReplyDeleteSounds like you have something planned. Can't wait for Part 2.
ReplyDeleteMost of the residences I do work in are large expensive homes. I go in those houses and yes there are a lot of really nice details but the first thing that comes to my mind is how much the utilities must cost. Just the utilities! The second thing is keeping it clean. Who wants to have to maintain that big a place?
ReplyDeletenever any overnight guests?? hm, I remember having the priviledge of visiting your "mansion" and even staying a few days! *grins* I loved that house!
ReplyDeleteBut I understand the maintenance side.... me and my new partner will some day have to "downsize" since he can take care of the house and yard much longer do to health (=age) issues and we can't/will not afford outside help! Our yard is something like 2000 sq m.....
And to show you how special you are Dorrie, you were the ONLY overnight guest I had there in 10 years. :) So one guest, 4 days, in the 3650 days +/- that I was there.
Delete