On a recent Saturday jaunt with our friend who's in her search for her perfect first home, we came across a very unique property. One that instantly had my curiosity itching the moment I saw it on screen. This home shows like a 1920 Craftsman from the curb, but once you step inside you're transported to the current century with lofty ceilings and an open living space.
I immediately checked the NWMLS for past sales and photos. I found a previous listing from 2012 that further illustrated the transformation of this property. I was not disappointed by the before and after photos.
The exterior was spruced up with cement planked siding in varying shapes, a new classically styled front door and color scheme. Once inside, the house is unrecognizable to its previous iteration. The fireplace is no longer the center of the home, and one's eyes are drawn upward to the newly vaulted ceiling and out toward the back of the home past the open kitchen that sits on the other side of a creatively designed open stairway that leads to the lower level basement.
Although, we're experiencing of softer market for some properties, standouts like this one generally garner a lot of attention and stick to the offer review model that specifies that all offers in by a specific date and time will be reviewed by the seller. This is designed to solicit multiple offers with escalation clauses that drive up the offer price. This home was listed for $585k and solicited multiple offers with a final sale price of $717k.
Stylishly updated and functional homes of this size provide an ideal alternative to town homes, which have seen a sharp increase of inventory that is testing support levels for median market values. Would be town house buyers may drive competition for these listings as they try to obtain a unique footprint on a shoreline littered with the boring boxes that we've seen flooding the residential landscape the last couple of years.
Check out the transformation of this 1920 charmer. Will the renovations survive the time, or will the style fade in time? I see many homes from a century ago, that are updated to our time with green choices that include solar panels, ductless heating and cooling, open concept floor plans and additions. Some have been remodeled consciously with timeless design choices, while others transport you throughout the decades based on the homeowners' discretion at the time. We've walked into 1910s homes to discover kitchens from the sixties, bathrooms from the late eighties and everything in between.
BEFORE
AFTER
This home definitely unwraps to reveal an eclectic mix of styles seen through a modern lens. We see the sharp and clean geometric lines popularized during the Mid Century along with earthy loft simplicity that lends to our current lifestyles. The take away is to consider your improvements and design for resale value to other buyers - I think this one will keep them coming through the years.
What do you think?