The other house.
Tuesday, August 21, 2012 at 8:51PM 
Before we bought our house, we viewed maybe a dozen other houses, some of them only from the outside.
I realize that by most people´s standards, this is not much. Thing is, we knew what we wanted. We had made a list with all the things we expected from our new home, and when we found something that ticked literally all boxes (okay, except for highspeed internet, ahem) we just went for it. And never looked back.
Well, almost. The week before we closed on our house, there was this real estate listing.. for the house above. It´s in one of our very lovely villages nearby, and people, that house is cute. It´s old and large and has a wonderful garden, and above all, it looks out over the picturesque village pond. I must admit I suddenly had doubts...but not enough to let go of what became our house.
Funny enough, the listing disappeared after one week. I have no idea whether someone bought it that quickly? I doubt it as this is not a region where houses sell after one week. Anyway... I come by this house quite often on my runs, and I sometimes I can´t help to play the "what if" game. If we had bought the other house, what would our lifes look like? Would we be as happy as we are?
Do you sometimes play the "what if" game? With houses, or ex-boyfriends, or whatever? I think it´s kind of fun, no? Oh, and would you like to see some of the houses we viewed back then?
Reader Comments (3)
Katrin, i enjoy reading your posts and have a look at your pics you take. most of them, really marvelous :-)
i definitely would like to see your shortlist of houses... and i don´t think the ´what if´game is of some use as what for :-)) i like the wise words of dalai lama: i find hope in the darkest of days, and focus in the brightest. i do not judge the universe. keep writing and taking pics, please :-)
A story: My aunt always played the "what if" game with another house that she almost bought. Well last weekend I got a call to rent my cottage from a woman whose mother owned a house nearby. "Which house?" I asked. "The yellow one by the cove on Main St." she replied. "With the porch?" (me) "Yes." (her). "We love that house! My Aunt almost bought it!" (me)
She wanted a tour of my home (which BTW - come across that pond and strangle me if I ever rent it again!), so I asked for a tour of hers too. My aunt Stephanie, whose own gorgeous home I have featured on dskool many times, didn't want to come for fear she'd regret not buying the yellow house all the more. So I took my Aunt Sheila, the architect.
Long story short. Stephanie's house is WAY better than the original one she thought she wanted. They are from the same era, with a very similar layout, except Stephanie's has far more generous, light-filled rooms. The other was like a dark, rabbit warren. Sheila and I couldn't get out of it fast enough. (Perhaps it was the tromp l'oeil scene of Venice in the dining room - all the walls, and the ceiling!)
So it just goes to show you, that reality is sometimes better than the dream.
BTW your house is better than this one. It may need more work, but that's OK, because that allows you to mold in more to your own (very talented) image.
Thank you so much Klara!
Justine, I love that story! Venice in the dining room, who wouldn´t like that? ;) I´m actually quite sure we would have dismissed the house if we had ever viewed it. I really like the exterior and the setting, but judging from what I can see peeking through the windows, the rooms are quite small and dark. Also it was way above our budget. So in this case, I think reality is definitely better than the dream... :)