Monthly Archives: August 2016

ooh on black

Location, Location, Location

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Even if you are new to real estate, you are aware of the old adage: the three most important things in real estate are 1. Location 2. Location and 3. Location!  Have you ever struggled with this? Have you ever loved a house that really wasn’t in a place you wanted to live? Did you try to fool yourself into thinking it would be okay?  I have! Oh my goodness, sometimes a house will just make me weak in the knees and I have to give myself a serious talking-to.  It’s easy to be swayed by lovely design and finishes. But once you leave the oasis of that dream home, what are you left with?  Remember, you aren’t just buying a home, you’re buying a neighborhood.

Everyone has their own personal tastes and preferences. Some people think of their childhood home with a sense of nostalgia and seek to recreate that, some do not. My whole life, if my father said “that just screams 1923” I knew it was not a compliment. Why? Because the house he grew up in was built (by his father) in 1923. You think he would wax nostalgic for those vintage details but noooo.  I suppose I can understand. I grew up in a mid-60’s tract home. My best friend lived at the end of my block in the exact same floor plan we had. Not exactly inspiring.  I have a serious aversion to popcorn ceilings, boring boxy rooms, and cookie-cutter neighborhoods. I love unique one-of-a-kind houses in neighborhoods with interesting topography, lots of trees, and as close to the coast as possible! I don’t need (or even want) sand in my front yard, but to see or feel the ocean, or some body of water is a huge draw for me. I do not want the neighborhood I grew up in and houses of that era, unless lovingly restored, just scream “dated” to me. There’s no nostalgia whatsoever.  I will occasionally get sucked into a lovely house in just such a neighborhood and it’s a struggle to remind myself: “buy a house for the things that can’t easily be changed.” What’s the hardest thing to change? Your location.

My house of the week this week is the smallest I’ve ever reviewed, just under 1000 square feet, but Oh, the location! 31731 Seacove Drive in Laguna Beach is an amazing surprise. The house feels bigger than it’s 993 square feet. The bedrooms aren’t as tiny as you’d imagine, there are 2 bathrooms (a must in my book), the kitchen has a great layout and plenty of counter space, the living room is quite generous (and smartly mirror-lined to reflect the amazing view), and the dining room is all you’d need on an every day basis.  Where this house really captured my heart was what happened outside those living room doors. The ocean is literally one house away AND… drum roll, please… there is a pool!  This is the dream scenario for me. Beach-close but still has a pool.  I love to look at the ocean, walk along the sand, and squeal when it splashes my ankles. But I have no plans to swim in the ocean. I want to swim in a nice, clean, warm pool where I can see the bottom and no seaweed will wrap around my leg. The pool was 9 feet deep, giving away it’s age, they simply don’t make them that deep any more.  You can lounge by your pool and see the ocean! If you’d like to visit that ocean, just walk out your side gate, walk past your neighbor’s house, and use your special key to unlock the gate to the famed Table Rock Beach.  The location is so great, and so rare with it’s swimming pool, that I’d want to invite everyone I know to share in that unique experience, which could be a problem, given the size of the house.  The lower level by the pool has a laundry room and bathroom of sorts, but it’s pretty primitive.  I’d love to tear out the whole lower level and build a fabulous master suite on that level. There’s easily the room to do that, and it would bump this house into a whole new echelon of fabulous.

The house in it’s current condition was a 5.5, the location is a 10, and since the house is easier to change than the location, I give 31731 Seacove Drive 8 hearts out of 10. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

living room focal point, besides the view of the ocean, I mean.

living room focal point, besides the view of the ocean, I mean.

good size kitchen

good size kitchen

nice details and finishes in the kitchen

nice details and finishes in the kitchen

how could anyone resist?

how could anyone resist?

laundry and sort-of bathroom next to the pool. this is the level I'd remove and start over to make a master suite.

laundry and sort-of bathroom next to the pool. this is the level I’d remove and start over to make a master suite.

hammock with a forever view

hammock with a forever view

private staircase to Table Rock Beach

private staircase to Table Rock Beach

My next featured home is the exact opposite – where you love the house but don’t exactly get the feels for the neighborhood.  This is not to say there is anything wrong with this neighborhood… What appeals to each individual is deeply personal, and one person’s dream-come-true is another person’s ho-hum.  I’m not into tract homes and suburbia and strip malls.  One woman at the Open House was raving about how this was the best street in the neighborhood and they all know each other and play golf together. That made me really happy to hear and I’m sure that this house will get snapped up by someone who feels it’s the whole package.  For me, it was SO great that I really wanted to overlook the fact that it’s just not where I’d like to live, but if you listen to generations of real estate advice that have come before you, that’s just simply not the best idea.

1873 Tahiti Drive in Costa Mesa is spectacular.  This property had so many features that I’m looking for in a house: entry courtyard (read: cat-escape-proof), a fire pit and water feature right in that front yard, crisp white paint throughout, including vaulted ceilings painted a glossy white.  The floors were wide plank white oak, and there were 6″ (maybe even 8″?) baseboards. There was an abundance of light and sun, but the air conditioning was running on a very warm day and the sunlight was a welcome feature, not something to hide from. There were fun “porthole” details, including faux portholes (with mirrors in them) in the pantry door, and a genuine brass porthole in one of the showers. Hardware and handles were substantial and quality-feeling and light fixtures were top-notch choices. The bedrooms were all of a comfortable size and the master suite was downright luxurious, with a sitting area, a view of the beautiful backyard, and a master bath that checked ALL of the boxes for me. The kitchen was crisp and white, with tons of space and storage, and had a pot-filler above the stove and a great island with eating bar for 4 (across from each other in a friendly fashion instead of in a row). The backyard was spacious and had great details, including numerous sitting areas, raised vegetable beds, a big grassy area that would become my croquet court, citrus trees, and most impressive of all, a huge water feature.  I had to ask myself if I really loved the house or I was just falling in love with the interior design, but I really did love the layout of the house, how it functioned, and it’s show-stopping backyard.  It would be very easy to live in this house and love it every day. Perhaps Mesa Verde life would even grow on me.

This house is 9-3/4 hearts (I’d like the master closet to be a bit bigger) but the neighborhood (for me) is just a 6-1/2 or so. I’m going to average this house out to 8 mixed-emotion hearts.  ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

front entry, picture perfect

front entry, picture perfect

water feature in the front yard. makes a nice focal spot for the front bedroom as well.

water feature in the front yard. makes a nice focal spot for the front bedroom as well.

the entry captures your heart right away

the entry captures your heart right away

family room with it's perfect ceiling

family room with it’s perfect ceiling

dining room with a view of the backyard. fun porthole pantry door on the left

dining room with a view of the backyard. fun porthole pantry door on the left (if you follow my instagram, you’ve seen this pic already. if you don’t, you should! Look for OpheliaLovesIt on Instagram)

whimsical detail in one of the secondary baths

whimsical detail in one of the secondary baths

master suite, sitting area, great light fixture, unique barn door to the master bath

master suite, sitting area, great light fixture, unique barn door to the master bath

master bath walk in shower. so smart to put the controls out at the front!

master bath walk in shower. so smart to put the controls out at the front!

massively impressive water feature in the back yard

massively impressive water feature in the back yard

so much space for creativity!

so much space for creativity!

front yard fire pit with complete privacy due to the high fence around

front yard fire pit with complete privacy due to the high fence around

What’s your ideal neighborhood? What location inspires you the most? Let me know in the comments below!

Have a great week!

Ophelia

ooh on black

Details, Details!

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When it comes to houses, there are the big things – like location, price, size, and floor plan – and then there are the details.  Ah, the details.  Small by definition, but they make such a big impact.  There is the general rule of thumb that as the price increases, so do the details, so the exceptions to the rule are always a refreshing find in an open house weekend.

Have you ever just raced through an open house because there is literally nothing to look at? Square or rectangular rooms, flat ceilings, ho-hum closets, boring bathrooms…  No chances taken anywhere, architecturally or design-wise. Maybe the materials are nice but the same in every room, and the same as the last house, and the one before.  You turn corner after corner hoping for a bit of life, but… *sigh*… flatline.

By contrast, there are houses where you hardly know where to rest your eye. This doesn’t mean they are busy or even cluttered, it just means that there are details.  Even in a sleek, modern design, there can be thousands of exciting details. When I fantasy shop (in the $38M range) (what, doesn’t everyone do this?) there are usually multitudes of heavenly details. Take a look at this listing for 1201 Laurel Way in Beverly Hills. Go ahead and try to pick a favorite feature. I dare you.

In a slightly more reasonable price range, I have two to share with you.  (And again, if $38M is reasonable to you, call me, we need to hang out.) One property I visited that boasted great attention to detail was 3240 Broad Street in Newport Beach; two newly constructed townhomes, identical but reversed, in the Newport Heights area. These contemporary dwellings, designed and built by architect Renato Trotta, are each 1900 square feet of quality details. The materials used have variety, but a thoughtful repetition. For instance, the exterior window ledges match the patio below to give a sense of continuity. The kitchen has a limestone floor while the living and dining are both wood. They come together on a graceful angle, giving a feeling of “custom” not “builder”. There is a brushed marble hearth, raised to an appropriate sitting height  (a must, in my opinion, so that you can sit right by the fire). This hearth shares that same angle, and actually “floats” a few inches away from the fireplace. The outlets in the kitchen are not in the backsplash wall, but are actually up in the bottom of the upper cabinets: convenient and accessible, but discreetly hidden from view. There are no baseboards in the house. The drywall hovers just above the floor.  You simply can’t pull off this look unless your drywall work is of the highest quality! One of my favorite features in the house are the openings in the walls. At the end of the galley kitchen there is an opening to the staircase leading upstairs and toward the garage. It removes the “trapped” feeling one might experience at the end of the kitchen, and creates a feeling of connection to the rest of the house. Upstairs in the loft, there is a pony wall around the staircase coming upstairs, capped in the same light wood as the rest of the cabinetry in the house. This wall stops and becomes a metal railing for about 30 glorious inches, consisting of only vertical supports, no horizontal top! It’s delightful and unexpected and pops up in a few places throughout the staircase area.  It’s difficult to do it justice in words. Be sure to check out the listing or this video. You will marvel at the detail in this home – variated ceiling heights, cut-outs in the drywall above each and every stair, showers with a gentle slope toward a stepped-down drain, the raised walkway in the garage toward the hidden laundry. You know how I feel about garage laundry, but they did the best they could in this situation. Because of the orientation of the laundry, and the smartly placed wall, you don’t feel that you are really in the garage doing laundry, and when you drop your clean socks on the way back in the house (arghhh!) , at least they aren’t on the garage floor.

I love the feeling of quality in this home. I love the surprises and the details. I wish it were just a tiny bit bigger, if for no other reason than to get the laundry inside (and possibly upstairs). There’s a little bit of up and down with the layout of the stairs between the garage and powder room and the rest of the house, and the neighborhood is a bit transitional (but still boasts a fabulous ocean view)  but those were really my only drawbacks. The two homes really are spectacular and special and unique. You don’t often find quality like this in new construction unless you’ve built it yourself. I give these Broad Street townhouses 9 hearts out of 10.  ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

living room fireplace and floating hearth

living room fireplace and floating hearth

you can see a speck of the wall-opening toward the entry area at the end of the kitchen

you can see a bit of the wall-opening toward the entry area at the end of the kitchen

master bath. there are these wood-capped ledges throughout the house. great details.

master bath. there are these wood-capped ledges throughout the house. great details.

loft area and stairs up to the roof deck

loft area and stairs up to the roof deck

skylight-lit stairwell down from the ocean-view roof terrace to the second floor loft and bedrooms.

skylight-lit stairwell down from the ocean-view roof terrace to the second floor loft and bedrooms.

The second house of the weekend whose details drew me in was 2633 Orange Ave. in Costa Mesa. Built in 1999 and impeccably maintained, this home is the epitome of move-in ready. There are designer touches throughout and the outdoor space is incredible. There are 16 feet of slate walls of water and greenery covering every other surface. The family room glass pocket doors vanish, causing indoor and outdoor to easily mingle. If you want a screen to keep bugs out or pets in, one appears from the ceiling like magic. The kitchen has a great layout, with room to work, lots of counter space, a walk-in pantry, and room for two people to cook. The surfaces chosen are surprising and interesting. There’s nearly a cacophony of patterns with the dotted backsplash, the unique circle-pattern granite, and the multi-color “mardi gras” floor, but somehow it all works. There are leather-wrapped cabinet pulls and a wavy glass door on the pantry.  Every bathroom except the master had the same layout, but each had it’s own unique materials. Downstairs the sink was very dramatically lit from inside, causing the stone to glow! This glowing stone was also featured in an eating bar between the kitchen and the dining room. There was a beautiful carved door into the garage as well.  It is evident from the neighborhood that the nine houses on this cul-de-sac were all built at the same time, falling into that “builder home” category.  Once inside this lovely home, it feels completely custom, adored and celebrated by it’s owner.

I loved the layout of the home and the well-chosen, high quality details.  If I were making wishes, I would wish it were a little farther from the airport, with a little more exterior space in both the community and the yard, and I wish the exteriors weren’t quite so… “faux mediterranean”. They aren’t un-attractive, but it’s not my favorite style.  I would also wish for a fireplace, although there is a gas fire pit outside. Even with my wishes un-granted, it earns an easy 8 hearts. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

leather-wrapped cabinet pulls!

leather-wrapped cabinet pulls!

appliance garage in the cabinetry. pantry with custom glass door

appliance garage in the cabinetry. pantry with custom glass door

viking stove, surrounded by exciting finishes

viking stove, surrounded by exciting finishes

lit-from-inside stone eating bar

lit-from-inside stone eating bar

custom carved garage door

custom carved garage door

upstairs bathroom. they chose a seafoam green for the shower wall that perfectly compliments the mosaic tile floor

upstairs bathroom. they chose a seafoam green for the shower wall that perfectly picks up the bits of green in the mosaic tile floor

the design of this backyard off of the family room effectively doubles the living space.

the design of this backyard off of the family room effectively doubles the living space.

downstairs bath has the most dramatic sink with an equally impressive faucet.

downstairs bath has the most dramatic sink with an equally impressive faucet.

the master bath had two separate opulent tile countertops with gold vessel sinks.

the master bath had two separate opulent tile countertops with gold vessel sinks.

What details have you seen that have caught your eye and stayed in your memory? Let me know in the comments below! And remember, as Charles Eames said: The details are not the details. They make the design.

Have a lovely week,

Ophelia