Well, after nine months of searching for a mid century modern house in Atlanta, we are finally under contract living in one!
It all happened so fast - selling our house and buying a new house in a matter of a month! Whew! We closed on the old house at 9am and the new house at 330pm that same day. NUTS! But we did it! Somehow we packed (err...threw things into tubs) and got out of our house in two days after closing.
If you are familiar with Atlanta, we are near the intersection of Briarcliff and Lavista Rd. (just 6.5 miles north of our house in Grant Park) It definitely has a different feel than our old neighborhood. Good thing? More space. I like that we are not on top of the house next to us. Bad thing? More space. It will surely be harder to get to know our neighbors, but actually Nextdoor will help with that. And of course getting to know other parents and Mateo's school. Its a new adventure!
At just under 2000sq ft, this is not a huge house by any stretch. It actually is just 400 sq ft bigger than our last house, but the layout is going to work so much better for us. (At least,I hope!)
Ideas are just racing in my head. I will mention a few here today as there are a lot of changes we want to make. But the house is totally livable and "up to date." (as long as you have granite, you are up to date, right?! ha - this is something I saw in sooooo many listings while house hunting)
Anyway, would you like to take a tour?
(keep in mind that these are the listing photos with the previous owners stuff)
Built in 1963, this house creates that "living one with the outdoors" kind of feel that so many mid century modern houses are known for. All of the windows in the back let the light in making it feel spacious and bright.
Even though the house sits on a .5 acre lot, the back yard is small. I love that it is wooded beyond the fence (which we will be replacing obvs) but there is a HUGE drop off- so much of the "yard" is un-usable land . Not ideal, but perfect for a Tarzan swing or zip-line!! Ha! Still, with all the trees it feels secluded and private. Who would guess that we can walk to Starbucks and Whole Foods in less than 10 minutes?!
Small or not, we are going to make this a kick-a$$ entertainers yard. It's actually pretty shaded most of the day (hence all the moss growing) but some of the trees need major trimming so this will help when we go to plant grass/lay sod.
What sold me right away on this house is the high ceilings.
I told you I bought a 10 ft white Christmas tree on clearance from
Target last year right? Well, that is the main reason I started house hunting. I needed taller ceilings! Ha! That was I said when people asked why we were moving from Grant Park. Yep, it will fit perfectly here!
Looking out to a forest view is awesome! So peaceful too! Of course the peace and quiet ends at the windows for us. See that fireplace in the middle? (that the couch is blocking??!! hello?) Oh yeah! That makes a great running track. As you might imagine, high ceilings and hardwoods make for great acoustics.
I know the walls/ceilings seem light and bright in the photos, but they are painted a dark beige. Boo! They were photo shopped for the listing, but feel a bit drab in person. I am delving into the confusing world of white paint choices right now... Why is white so hard? It's white right? The more I look, the more undecided I am. I bought three samples and I just have to pick from those (Ill show you in another post!) and be done with it.
The light wood floors are great (albeit squeaky)! I will NEVER EVER have dark wood floors again. Ever! The dirt can just pile up on these and I dont even notice! I just LOL while typing that. Yes, I'm still going to sweep my floors, but it won't need to be done daily or heaven forbid twice a day!
Ain't nobody got time for that!
Even though the kitchen is not totally open to the living area, it has great flow. The dining area is large enough to fit my 60' round table too, so I'm happy about that.
Yes, that chandelier is SO out of there! Also those upper cabinets above the peninsula are goners too.
Well, actually the whole kitchen is going to be removed. I know, I know, before you say "but that is a nice kitchen!" Let me say...It is a fine kitchen. The cabinets are great quality and solid wood (cherry I believe). The are in great condition too (unlike our old kitchen's flimsy builder grade Home Depot cabinets) but they are not my style. More importantly though, they are not meshing with the style of this 1960's house. Tell me, would Don Draper look right standing in this kitchen? Definitely not.
I have surprised myself by loving the easy clean up of the vinyl floors, but you know they have to go. Another downside. Electric stove. Its the worst! You think I burnt a lot of tortillas on a gas stove? I am for sure going to break my record with this thing. It takes forever to heat up, it gets too hot, you try to reduce the heat and...blah blah blah...it's gone! (unless of course it costs $10k to get gas run to our house...then we will just suffer it out)
Although there is no on suite in the master, it is huge and I am not caring at all.
Please try to look past all of the fabulous decor here, and notice the windows, window windows!
We did put our bed in the same location and one afternoon, Ernesto was camped out playing his golf game on his phone and "enjoying the relaxing view" from bed. I think this will probably happen again. (and again, and again)
The 2 bathrooms are not terrible. With white tile and light gray walls, I can easily wait for a remodel,
That strip light however, will bug me. See the little vintage one in the shower? That one is cute.
Oh! The previous owners left the plastic curtains (window & shower) so I have been reviewing my chemistry.
This will be Paloma's room, the only other bedroom with ours upstairs. It is light and bright and big! I can't wait to get it all set up.
On the downstairs level there is a family room (with another fireplace!), two additional bedrooms and a laundry/storage room.
There is built-in shelving on either side of the room, and even though my first reaction was "Im getting rid of those" my sister had the idea of having doors made to cover them and wha-la! Instant covered storage! (Thanks Fred!) This set of shelves below are right at the sliders to go out to the back yard and carport, so will probably be a main entrance for us. Again, my sister's idea (master organizer and user of every square inch), but these could be utilized as a make-shift mud room and each kid can have their own door! Jackets, shoes etc can all go here. Paint them out and they are going to be awesome! I AM GOING TO BE SO ORGANIZED!!!
Parkay? No, parquet. No. it's vinyl and although the flooring is not in horrible condition, I really want to put hardwoods down here. I would like it to have the same feel as upstairs (with lower ceilings ha) and I feel clean light hardwoods (and some paint) will do the trick.
There is a HUGE closet with floor to ceiling shelving over to the left too, and that has been designated as "the toy closet." Yes! Ideally I would like to keep all toys down here. Yeah right. That will happen.
Outside, a cement patio is under the deck . We will put some kind of water barrier under the decking because you KNOW I will be on the hunt for some vintage rattan furniture! Oh yeah!
The second bath is plain and simple. An easy fix really. New vanity out of vintage chest...and ....well that is about as much thought as I have put into this room.
Here is the boys room. Big Windows. They will totally be sneaking out of those in 10 years.
It's a great size room. Ernesto is going to build bunk beds in the corner to free up floor space. The boys are pretty excited about it.
Technically this is the fourth bedroom. It does have the closet and window, but it is small.
We are still debating what to do with it. One thing I know is that it is the only room that I can afford to wallpaper. So get ready for some pattern in here!
Well folks. There you have it. Welcome to our new abode. Get ready for some changes to happen. All of which will be documented here on VivaCindy. Yes.. more house posts and a continuing of cute kids pictures and ramblings here on the 'ol bloggy blog. Stay tuned!
We are not even CLOSE to being settled in, but mi casa es su casa! Come visit us!!
