Mayor's Mansion?

The New York Times featured a story on the mayor's mansion in Denver. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/13/us/13cableland.html?partner=rss&emc=rss Evidently it is too flashy for the city's first lady and will be sold to raise money for college scholarships. More photos of "Cableland" can be viewed here: http://www.cableland.org/ I personally think it looks like a fun place to live. There is a pole in the master bedroom to use to slide down and land in the theatre. How convenient is that? What do you think?

Bathroom Update

So, to update you all on a project that started in the summer and finished months ago, ahem, it is done.  I got kind of bored with it all when I realized watching my husband tinker and watching paint dry isn't that exciting after all!  Aren't you happy that I spared you the details?  You are welcome.  

With the new year there is a new project and this one is way more exciting and will be more noticeable than going from a white wall and no window treatment to a grey wall and a roman shade blind.  Truly fascinating stuff.  Stay tuned.

Here is a photo hint:

Something did happen along the way to report.  Do you know what happens when the said guest bathroom toilet leaks for probably weeks and nobody notices?

This:

What does the built-in buffet in the dining room have to do with the upstairs toliet leaking you ask?  Well let's go in for a super extreme close-up:

Ugh!  Gross, right?  The martini glasses are now filled with leaking toliet water that passed through the 100+ year old floor boards and plaster and whatever else they used as building materials back then.  Don't worry too much, it was a clean supply line that was leaking not the sewer part, double gross!  And, I hand washed all of the glasses, I swear!  Cocktails anyone?

Prep, Prep, Prep!

Remember when I said this project would only take 1 week?  Well, that was about 4 weeks ago!  Um, I'm not really sure what happened.  Maybe a combination of laziness and busyness?  (Is that a word.)

We made our list before going off to the hardware store, again.  A hardware store employee once told me the average household project takes 3 trips.  Great.

My "handy" husband began taking off the original hardware from the built-in cabinets.  I was originally going to replace them but have had no luck finding anything I liked well enough to purchase.  I think they look like butterflies...

Bathroom Project Begins

The dog days of summer are here and that is when we traditionally begin any indoor summer projects we have left over from the indoor winter projects we didn't complete.  Being outdoors working too hard in the baking sun and heat is no fun!  

The plan is to paint our guest bathroom, add a window treatment, and add new light fixtures.  This is a small bathroom project that will be done within a week if we are able to work a little bit each day.  

The photos show what the bathroom has looked liked since we moved in about 5 years ago!  It hasn't been a priority because there were sooooo many other projects that needed attention and money.  The bathroom is white white and so is the original tile surround and tile floor.  At least there is some contrast with the black in the surround and black and gray in the tile floor.  We replaced the window last fall and now there is no privacy because I have never added any window treatments!  I know, I know, no window treatments in the bathroom?  We just don't use it and when we do it is only for the toilet.  : ) At least the old window had the frosted glass look going on as you can kind of see from the photos. 

We just got back from the hardware store and will start the wall prep tomorrow!

House Chatter Debut

Welcome to my premiere post for House Chatter!  I plan on using this blog to share with you what is going on with real estate in the central Indiana area, ideas for selling and buying houses, and projects around my own house. Naturally, there will be some indulgences along the way.

Since 2001, I have been in the real estate business.  I started as a licensed realtor and became a licensed independent broker in 2002.  I sold actively for about 3 years then wanted to try a different career path.  Photography was a hobby of mine that I wanted to explore and I found a way to marry real estate and photography by becoming a real estate photographer!  Genius, I know. However, lately, I haven't been doing much of either.  This is a personal choice I made to take a break until a friend has called on me to help her get her house sold.  More on that later!

I have photographed and set up virtual tours  and shown countless buyers thousands of  houses in Indiana.  So, I have seen quite a bit of the good and bad of the real estate industry.  When I began in 2001 the rates were way down, lots of new homes were being built, and lenders were practically throwing money at buyers.  Now, as I start again, rates are creeping up, an abundance of vacant homes can be found, and the mortgage and banking industry is reaching a critical peak. Yikes!  It will be great to come out on the other side of this fiasco.

So much to talk about!  I will begin by letting you know the other motive of mine is to sell my own home within the next two years.  My daughter will be graduating high school and moving on to college and my husband and I have dreams of living on a lake.  Between now and then I have to prepare my house for selling and keep my fingers crossed that the market will improve in our favor.  Right now, as it sits, we would never be able to get what we paid for 5 years ago.  HOW SAD IS THAT?  More on this topic later!

I hope you enjoy the journey, I hope you find my photographs decent, and most importantly I hope you find some useful information.

Thanks for stopping by!