House 1 it is!

Well, the vote was pretty unanimous for House 1.  Incidentally, for those who know me, guess what the street number for this house is?  Yep... 111.  Seriously.  Freaks me out a bit, actually - but at least now you know I meant it when I say - this number is EVERYWHERE ALL THE TIME in my life.

The outside of the house is landscaped well.  There are several tall palm trees in the front yard, and tropical looking plants.  I guess here in Victoria you can grow these outdoors year round - we'll see if they live through the winter!  They look pretty big so they must have made it a few seasons, anyhow.  It is 2800 sf, brick house with a metal roof, and is single story.

 The lot is nearly 1/2 acre, but the house sits way back on the lot - so we have a huge front yard and smaller back yard.  It's nice because it gives you a sense of seclusion.  Adding to the uncrowded feel - across the street are tennis courts and a neighborhood park.

The house has a pretty front porch, and I'll probably put a glider swing on it.

The house has 3 largish living areas including a cook's kitchen with black granite counters which includes a small living or dining area (which will mostly be John's play area) and a wine rack and wine fridge.  

So this is the kitchen as viewed from the family area adjacent to it.  The door to the left leads out to a path around the driveway - in case you don't want to park in the garage.  To the right opens directly into a dining/living area.  The floors are saltillo tile.  There's an island with a lit display case over it.  Tons of cabinet and storage space.  Also a pretty blown glass lamp over the sink, and a window with a view out into the front yard. 

This is the wine area.  Since neither of us drink much I guess we'll stock it for when the Sadehs come visit >:)  You can't see in the picture, but to the left is a large sliding door to the patio (I posted the view out this below).

Behind the family room area is a little hall that leads to a laundry room and a half bath.  Love the sink in the half bath - I didn't like that paint color at first but it's grown on me!
 

This is kindof cool - it's a tile mosaic of tropical fish over the gas stove.  You can tell whoever owned it was kind of artsy and eclectic; they added all these cute details that give it a fun, homey feeling right from the start.  I also have to say, most of the newer homes in Victoria do NOT have gas stoves - which are a favorite of people who really cook.  Instead they favor those flat electric ones.  Not a fan of those - but I'll love cooking on this!

The central part of the house is interesting, with sliding glass doors and big windows to the right giving a wonderful view of the backyard.  Also to the right is a hall (you can't see it) leading to the three bedrooms.  We are going to put a big dining table in this room, similar to what is there now. If you were to look "behind you" that's where the kitchen/family room area is (see below).  The rooms all flow together.  To the left is a small entry where we plan to put the upright piano, and you can also see a bit of the sunken living room.

 

"Behind you" - where the kitchen/family room area is, as in this picture.

This is the view you see to the right into the back yard.  This is a patio with a built in, outdoor grill, an ice maker, cabinet space, and a green glass sink.  There is a sunken hot tub in the yard. 

The main living room is sunken and carpeted, with a wood burning fireplace, bookshelves, and a row of big windows that look into the front yard. 

There are three bedrooms.  They are all together which we love, since we need and want to be near our toddler at night.  Yes, he is moving to his own room :(.  It makes me a little sad, but it's time.  When we go on playdates, I can tell he is kind of bewildered because other kids have their own rooms, their own space, their own little beds.  Anyhow I digress.  I'm sure I'll post a million pictures of him enjoying his own room once I set it all up, and bore everyone to pieces with mawkish mama lamenting.  (I don't know why I'm fretting over it, since I'm probably going to end up in there with him every night.)  We're doing a Cat in the Hat theme!

Anyhow.  I didn't take any photos of the master bedroom.  It's a decent sized room with no particular features that are outstanding or weird - just a nice room.  The bathroom is different.  This big brown bathtub has double faucets and is like 3 feet deep.  We will be putting a high bolt on the outside of the master bathroom door and keeping John locked away from here AT ALL TIMES!

I shudder to think of the waste of water it would be to use this everyday - but to use once in a while - it'll be like taking a bath in a hot tub or something.  The adjoining shower has dual heads.

There's a window for natural light, also a skylight above.

That's our agent and yours truly, trying to stay out of the picture.  These are two sinks.  Strangely, the toilet is NOT in the main master bathroom.  It's a separate little half bath in the master bedroom, with its own sink.  Fine with me! 

This is the next bedroom down the hall.  It will probably become John's room.  You can just barely see it on the right, but there are some nice built in shelves there. 

This is the third bedroom down the hall.  Guest room?  Please come visit us!

And the guest bathroom.

Here are a few more pictures of the landscaping and layout of the backyard, and there is also a side yard with a largish tree (last pic) where we will put John's playhouse and and all those other brightly colored plastic outside toys toddlers know and love.

Looking back onto the porch.

OK, that's all folks.  Hopefully we will get it - and if all goes well, we should be able to move in by mid October!  YAY!  YAY!  If you have any brilliant design ideas I would love to hear them!  And now that we finally are going to get our own grown up place, anyone who cares enough about me to have read all this, is more than welcome to come and visit.  We would love to have you here :).  Welcome to (we hope) our future home!