Years ago I had the opportunity to produce some videos for a lovely lady with big ideas. English was not her first language and she had surprising and fun ways of expressing herself. After we completed the first project, she emailed me with grandiose ideas for the next one. She concluded the email with something of an apology/explanation for her ramlbings, saying: “sometimes my imagination do go wild.”  Despite the grammar, it has been one of my favorite sayings ever since, although usually just inside my head.

Which houses make your imagination go wild? You know the ones, where you just can’t stop visualizing what it could be?  Sometimes it’s not even realistic, the dreams you dream, but you let them roll around in your head anyway.

A project is a project and not everyone is down for that.  I always love the idea of it though. because it usually means you’re getting  a better price than a place that’s move-in perfect, and it means the final product is something that you’ve chosen, something that you dreamed up (perhaps with the help of a professional), and something that works for your life, not the last owner’s. I am forever moving walls in my mind and every time I see a tile kitchen I get out my mental safety goggles and sledgehammer.

It’s not every house that makes my imagination go wild; they have to have the potential to be fantastic when I’m finished with them. One of my current favorites is 2100 Baycrest Road in Newport Beach. Oh, the potential! Part of the appeal is that the current owners weren’t afraid to take chances and there is already a great deal of quality finishes and exciting features in the house. Dark floors and walls, high white-beamed ceilings, interesting light fixtures, great artwork, and a gorgeous huge pool in the backyard. Tops on the list of “to do” at this house is increasing the size of the kitchen. It’s a 2,158 square ft house, but the kitchen is proportionally quite small, perhaps 12′ x 12′. Personally, I would annex the formal dining room and be able to double the size of the kitchen!  The “informal” dining room has a spectacular beamed ceiling and is big enough for even a Thanksgiving dinner, so in my world, a formal dining room, which is around the corner from the kitchen and kind of a long trek to make with dishes of food, is just not necessary.  Next on my list of “to do” involves what I thought were some arched windows on the front of the house, giving a somewhat dated appearance.  It turns out the windows are actually square, and the arches are part of a sort of portico in front of the house. I see great potential for doing something awesome here, but I’m not sure what. (This is where the professional comes in…)  There is a cool 70’s-looking arched fireplace that sits on an angle  between the formal living room and the (soon-to-be only) dining room and is shared by both rooms. It could use some updating, but is a nice feature of interest.  There is apparently a cool office/studio in the attic, but the day I visited the house I was wearing a skirt and chose not to climb the ladder to see it! I am intrigued by the online pictures, however, as it certainly appears to be a full-height room.  The house is on the corner of Irvine Avenue and Baycrest Road. Unlike every house I’ve looked at that fronts to Irvine Ave., you barely knew that road was there. There is a large hedge between the driveway and that street, and the garage is the only part of the house that is close to Irvine Avenue. With the front door open, as it is in an Open House, you could hear the road, but with it closed, and even in the backyard, I wasn’t aware of traffic noise at all.  The great thing about 2100 Baycrest Road is that it is totally ready-to-go, and it’s possible to move right in and make those changes as the inspiration strikes.

Currently, I would give the house 7 hearts, but potential and neighborhood bring it up to 8 hearts out of 10 ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

the front of the house, as viewed from Baycrest Rd.

fireplace from the dining room side.

the lovely-but-small kitchen

beautiful huge pool and still room for barbecue and al fresco dining.

the formal dining room that I would sacrifice for a bigger kitchen. you can see here that the windows are square and the arches are several feet away.

that ceiling, though! and a great light fixture over the informal dining room table.

Another house that makes my imagination go wild is 16802 Channel Lane in the aquatic paradise of Huntington Harbor. This one is far more of a project but has so much potential!  A true mid-century modern, this house has glass right up to the ceiling (aaaahhhhh!) on a corner lot on Admiralty Island. There is a channel (hence the name: Channel Lane) in front of the house that could be viewed from an easily-added roof deck.  There’s also water behind the house, but the lot does not actually touch the water because of it’s corner location.  It could probably also be viewed from a 2nd story or roof deck.  There was easy access out to Pacific Coast Highway, but no noise from the highway.  The house is older, and currently being rented out, so there are tile floors throughout. I have my mental sledgehammer out already!  The kitchen appears original as well, with old cabinets and tile countertops. It’s a great size already, but could be enlarged if you wanted a really huge kitchen.  The house feels bigger than its’ 2423 square feet. My favorite part is the courtyard/backyard with the pool, which the living room, dining room, and master bedroom all have access to.  This would be a serious remodel, but could be spectacular when completed! Visions of white walls, wood floors, and turquoise or orange mid-century accents all swirled in my head for days on end after viewing it. I mentally built a spiral staircase up to a roof deck with a modern glass railing all around it.  In the long-term, I would love to have a sumptuous master suite up there with views of water in two different directions. I also went so far as to let my imagination smooth out the stucco exterior to have smooth plaster.  I imagine great indoor/outdoor parties and keeping the doors open for breezes without worrying about the cat getting away because of the high wall around the whole “compound”.

If i give out hearts purely for potential, it would probably be 8.5-9, but because it would take quite a bit of effort to get there (effort = dollars), i’ll keep the hearts to 8 ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

pool with nice pavers all around

super original and mostly cool master shower. love the terrazzo, wouldn’t mind replacing the glass and the shower head.

master bedroom with a view of the pool

living room with the entry beyond

Stay tuned because next week’s entry is more of what makes my imagination go wild… this time for a different reason – they are complete FANTASY houses!  Listen to your imagination this week and ask yourself: What makes your imagination go wild?

Ophelia