Tuesday, June 10, 2014

A Hidden Gem

Although we've had a rocky real estate track over the last 5 months or so thanks to a difficult seller, we have had a little bit of fun exploring some unique places along the way. You really get a glimpse into someone's personality when you're given the invitation to tour their home.

The real fun is when the current owners surprise you by being in the home for your showing. Hello, awkward. Don't mind us opening all of your cabinets, closets, etc...while you sip tea in the living room.

This past weekend, we had the pleasure of touring a home with great potential. Some rooms made me feel overwhelmed, while others made me chuckle out loud. You could tell the owner had put a lot of money into the home, but just hadn't maintained it as it deserved due to a bustling career. I teetered between "this is too much work" to "this could be doable and very worth it" with every room I entered.

A few of the rooms that made me laugh were the bedrooms. It was very apparent that this parent loved his children very much and allowed them to embrace their passions. Each bedroom had a professionally painted mural, and you KNOW I HAD to take pictures. Sadly, they'd all be painted over if we were to move in, but as I kid, I could see feeling like you had the coolest room on the block so I respected them as I snuck a few photos.
 
Can you guess what each kid loved at the time of the murals?




And as we began to leave the property, our agent reminded us of the tree house in the backyard and asked if we wanted to view it before we left. Duh. To be honest, the tree house was part of the reason I was intrigued by this property. Granted, a smaller reason, but a reason nonetheless. And after the owner unlocked the door to the tree house (yes, it has a lock and security system), I knew I should always trust my gut, even on the "small reasons".

This tree house may be nicer than parts of our house. Ever see the show Tree House Masters? Well the contractor who stars in that show built this tree house. Who knew?! He even went on to build Selma Hayek's tree house immediately after leaving Rockford.

To protect the owner's privacy, I won't share every photo I secretly snagged, but to give you some perspective, here are a few specs of this tree mansion:
  • Total cost= $65,000
  • It's made of all natural products including cherry oak and 150 year old oak that was once the inside of wine barrels in Spain
  • It's wired with a Bose surround sound system and a flat screen TV
  • It has an intercom so you can chat with your kids from the house
  • It has AC, heat, and plumbing (sink only, no toilet)
  • It has a deck that can seat 4+ adults
  • A zip line runs from it across the backyard
  • It houses 6 oak bunks for camping out. And these bunks are swanky with cubbies for storage, windows, etc...
  • It has two ladders that run through the inside that go up to an observation deck on the roof of the tree house.
  • It's insanely large. These pictures do not do it justice.
Suddenly everything that needed work in the house no longer scared me. I wanted that tree house. I'm not sure if I wanted it for our kids or for us when we needed a break from the kids;) I could spend hours in that perfect oasis.


To give you a little size perspective, look at the black bar stool directly under the house.
This thing is huge.

 
 
This is not a great shot of some of the bunks, but I was trying to be sneaky.
You can at least get a feel for the interior and the quality of the wood. Gorgeous.
 
 
The zipline platform that made this personal injury attorney's wife very nervous.
 I trust kids on it more than I do our adult friends.


Hmmmm. How much work is "too much" on a house when you can take breaks and sit in your air conditioned tree house and sip wine and watch movies? Honestly, it can't be that much, right?

1 comment:

Annet said...

That is amazing!!! I WANT that tree house!! Please buy the house, so I can live vicariously through you :)