Resolution
July 14, 2007 at 22:23 We went for the 40-year old house tucked into an established neighborhood minutes from downtown and the train station. Last night we made an offer and it was accepted, and I was both elated and panicked, hoping we'd made the right decision.
The house sits on three-quarters of an acre and backs up to National Park land, a historic battlefield. We can reach the park by walking right through our woods and have access to miles of paved park road for bike riding and lots of hiking trails.
The house is brick with a walkout basement. It has an amazing fan-shaped deck that wraps from the back to the side of the house. Below the deck is a stone patio with pavers laid out in a circular pattern like our driveway in Belgium. The yard is professionally landscaped with planting terraces and stone walls that lead down to mature woods. E may never have to mow grass again.
Inside the house has a slightly rustic colonial feel. The kitchen has solid wood custom cabinetry that's stained a rich Misson brown, and the countertop and backsplash feature ceramic tiles made and cut by a local potter. Even the cabinet hardware is custom made by an area artist.
The owners are antique collectors, and the fireplace mantel is antique. The stair rail was made from an old communion rail from a church in Manassas. The master bath vanity is an antique sideboard with a custom sink. The house has beautiful hardwood floors, recently renovated bathrooms, and lots of nice touches. There's a skylight in the kitchen, recessed lighting throughout the house, big windows facing the woods, a second fireplace in the family room, a security system , beaded board paneling, and an entire room lined with built-in bookcases. It also has an oak wet bar in the family room, and Di, it has a lovely built in wine rack. Ahem.
On Tuesday we're meeting with the owners to discuss the house's history and the stories behind the antique elements. They're very happy to have a family with children moving in because they raised their children there. Our kids loved this house more than the beautiful nearly new one we viewed, something that pleasantly surprised me.
Buying this house eliminates the uncertainty about where we'll live when we move back to the U.S. in 2008, and it helps us all visualize our future. Each big decision we make relieves some of the tension we've been facing. Now we just have to decide whether to come back in March and relocate the kids in the middle of the school year or wait until next summer, when movers are swamped and international shipping slower. And then there's the matter of whether to return the kiddos to private school or give public school a whirl...We'll see
July 15, 2007
Reader Comments (19)
Re. private vs. public schools - check the schools out, talk to locals whose kids attend those schools. I am quite certain that, in the area where you are going to relocate, public schools must be quite good.
Key points for him were probably privacy, low traffic, gardening (he's a Master Gardener), and access to the park for running (he's a distance runner).
We also brainstormed storage solutions that didn't involve having to rent space somewhere.
And finally, I told him the chance to move into a house with lots of space and modern amenities would always be there, but the chance to live in a nice house on nearly an acre backing up to a national park might not come again. If it really doesn't work for us, we can sell when the market picks up--or move into the house we already own in the outer suburbs.
As we say in America, "I'll leave the light on for you."
And as they say in the South, "Y'all come visit!"
:)