Simply put–this adventure has been a journey already. We talked for years about moving into the city to ease commutes and explore living in an urban environment once our kids left for college. For two years, we casually looked on weekends, venturing into the city to open houses to explore options and narrow down our search criteria. Along the way, we met some ‘colorful’ characters (words selected most diplomatically, of course)–from realtors with ulterior motives to sellers we weren’t convinced actually wanted to sell their houses. With each one, we added a chapter to the story of our search.
As soon as I’d start arranging furniture in a space and imaging holidays, we’d be stopped in our tracks–contracts wouldn’t work out, sellers couldn’t substantiate details of what that they’d advertised, and even a past romance would get in the way of an agreement (seriously, I can’t make this stuff up). Each of the seven times we submitted contracts that didn’t work out, we’d simply walked away and continued the search.
To be honest, this house came somewhat as a surprise. A friend of Rich’s tipped us about a house for sale with a lower level (garden) rental unit and with the potential to work an off market deal. The friend knew the building and the owner so we set up a showing.
What I remember from that first showing is the house’s amazing location (easily walkable to public transit, restaurants, bars, the library, groceries, and even our favorite pizza hangout), the soaring 11′ ceilings, the original fireplace surrounds, and the vision of what it all could become. When I say it was a diamond in the rough, it’s no exaggeration. The upper unit (which would be our home) was caked in dust, spider webs, and an overabundance of grunge from its years as a rental. But in the back of my mind, it was what I dreamed of living in–a historic row home, centrally located, and something waiting to be polished.
Of course, there were more hurdles ahead, but patience and diligence worked in our favor. When all was said and done, we’d bought our house in the city.
If this house could talk, I bet its walls would have amazing stories to share. After all, it was built in 1876–the year that Alexander Graham Bell successfully tested the telephone, Mark Twain published “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer,” and Colorado joined the Union as the 38th state. It makes me wonder who has crossed its threshold through the years, shared holiday dinners around the dining room table, and told stories behind the parlor doors.
Now that we have the house, the fun really begins as we turn this old house into our home. There will undoubtedly be many stories–after all, that’s the fun and helps make it uniquely ours. Well, that along with the blood (let’s hope very little), sweat, and tears that may be shed along the way.
All this leads to one question: “Where to begin?!?”
The most practical answer: We begin by really cleaning the place…cleaning every nook and cranny and even the nooks and crannies’ nooks and crannies even before moving in. That will buy us some time to figure out the answer to the more profound question of where we should begin the renovation/restoration. It’s just a tad overwhelming to get too far ahead of ourselves at this point. You know, just a tad.
Stay tuned and I’ll post a more complete tour soon to welcome you properly!
