Cullen & Katie : Happy Sparkling New Year Part #8

[Sarai]

I think most home markets in the US are doing well right now and this includes Birmingham if you look it up.

Their house is really is a typical two story home you see with a similar layout that includes a half bath on the first floor and a kitchen, dining room, office and family room.

Second floor three bedrooms, a master bath and main bath...and a laundry room which is a plus.

Basement one or two bedrooms or a family area, and bath.

The things that are not good is the garage entry stairs leading to the first floor. It isn't a walkout. The location near a busy road in the back. The outdated decorating.

Two stories are actually nice for big families with kids upstairs when they are little, move downstairs when they are older and they really like the basement since it offers privacy.

I have lived in both ramblers and two stories and both have their advantages and disadvantages.

That's great on paper, but the living room is tiny in my opinion. And just the way the general layout of the house is, it wasn't built to be spacious. It feels cramped, and I don't think it would work for many families.

[tratra58]

I think most home markets in the US are doing well right now and this includes Birmingham if you look it up.

Their house is really is a typical two story home you see with a similar layout that includes a half bath on the first floor and a kitchen, dining room, office and family room.

Second floor three bedrooms, a master bath and main bath...and a laundry room which is a plus.

Basement one or two bedrooms or a family area, and bath.

The things that are not good is the garage entry stairs leading to the first floor. It isn't a walkout. The location near a busy road in the back. The outdated decorating.

Two stories are actually nice for big families with kids upstairs when they are little, move downstairs when they are older and they really like the basement since it offers privacy.

I have lived in both ramblers and two stories and both have their advantages and disadvantages.

That's great on paper, but the living room is tiny in my opinion. And just the way the general layout of the house is, it wasn't built to be spacious. It feels cramped, and I don't think it would work for many families.

I am sure CK are hoping you are wrong. In my opinion, it has a lot of potential, but it is difficult to see with clutter, old tile and dark paint. Newer houses are not including living rooms these days since they are not used. I would rip the kitchen out and do a different layout that would go into the family room. This is a twenty plus year old house in need up updating. I think JK house is in the same condition with needing updates.

Yet, there are the negatives I mentioned. Time will tell how fast they sale.


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[mblant99]

I think if their house had 1 more bedroom upstairs, it would be perfect for them. Then Cullen could have his office. and the red room is a perfect play room because it's right near everything. But I really don't think their house the way it is is the right layout for them with the kids being so little. The whole basement area is wasted space for them. That area would be perfect for a teenager. And Brooks' room seems small

I've actually been looking at realtor.com and trying to find "what I think would be" the perfect house for them. LOL I wonder if the house the made an offer on is one of the houses I saw on realtor.com.

It will be interesting to see what happens.

Ive been scanning Zillow too, I just can't decide what their price dance would be!


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[HashtagBlessed]

I think most home markets in the US are doing well right now and this includes Birmingham if you look it up.

Their house is really is a typical two story home you see with a similar layout that includes a half bath on the first floor and a kitchen, dining room, office and family room.

Second floor three bedrooms, a master bath and main bath...and a laundry room which is a plus.

Basement one or two bedrooms or a family area, and bath.

The things that are not good is the garage entry stairs leading to the first floor. It isn't a walkout. The location near a busy road in the back. The outdated decorating.

Two stories are actually nice for big families with kids upstairs when they are little, move downstairs when they are older and they really like the basement since it offers privacy.

I have lived in both ramblers and two stories and both have their advantages and disadvantages.

That's great on paper, but the living room is tiny in my opinion. And just the way the general layout of the house is, it wasn't built to be spacious. It feels cramped, and I don't think it would work for many families.

I am sure CK are hoping you are wrong. In my opinion, it has a lot of potential, but it is difficult to see with clutter, old tile and dark paint. Newer houses are not including living rooms these days since they are not used. I would rip the kitchen out and do a different layout that would go into the family room. This is a twenty plus year old house in need up updating. I think JK house is in the same condition with needing updates.

Yet, there are the negatives I mentioned. Time will tell how fast they sale.

They'
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I think the space on the main floor that they're using as an office/playroom was originally designed to be a formal living room. Traditionally, the spaces in the front of a home are the "public" areas like formal living and dining for visitors to see. I agree that this doesn't necessarily work for a lot of families today. I think they would be wise to move a lot of their bigger pieces of furniture into storage and let a home stager redesign the spaces to appeal to buyers. Cleaning out the office/playroom and staging it as a formal living room might make it look bigger.

I personally am not a fan of the "McMansion" because I think they are generally poorly designed and not well built. They're made to imitate more expensive, grand homes, but they're made with inferior materials and ignore the rules of good design with a hodgepodge of architectural styles. I'd much rather live in an authentic modest rambler or bungalow that isn't trying to be something it's not. It will be interesting to see if they get another McMansion, or go in a completely different direction.

[tratra58]

I think the space on the main floor that they're using as an office/playroom was originally designed to be a formal living room. Traditionally, the spaces in the front of a home are the "public" areas like formal living and dining for visitors to see. I agree that this doesn't necessarily work for a lot of families today. I think they would be wise to move a lot of their bigger pieces of furniture into storage and let a home stager redesign the spaces to appeal to buyers. Cleaning out the office/playroom and staging it as a formal living room might make it look bigger.

I personally am not a fan of the "McMansion" because I think they are generally poorly designed and not well built. They're made to imitate more expensive, grand homes, but they're made with inferior materials and ignore the rules of good design with a hodgepodge of architectural styles. I'd much rather live in an authentic modest rambler or bungalow that isn't trying to be something it's not. It will be interesting to see if they get another McMansion, or go in a completely different direction.

I agree that the front room in the 90's would be a living room, but today you might see the same type of layout and it could be used as an office. However, their office is not set up nicely or two small desk facing the wall in a darkly painted room. I do see the arch walls between rooms which is nice, but it cuts up the flow too. Formal dining rooms are going away too and I wonder if you could make this an office also, but they have big dining room furniture in there now which I personally don't like. A happy day for me was when I got rid of my hutch:) You look at E+J and they really have what you see in homes today which is an office and big open kitchen/a semiformal family room (being a rambler you see bedroom/bath space too) and really no formal dining room/living room.

With the thought of CK not buying new living room furniture, I would take out one desk, set it up with minimal furniture or keep it as an office. Paint would be something else I would do. All toys would go on the first floor as well as a changing table and cat tower. The brown sectional might look better without any other furniture in there too and I don't like the paint color like others. I also wonder if the fireplace works and what the basement looks like too which will be something buyers will look at.

I see JK's house as an McManson and while having nice features, it will be a pain to renovate just because there is so much to do. It looks like this house has the original everything from twenty-five years ago and I see they did replace appliances.

I think you also have to realize you are buying a used home. Buyers want everything perfect today which is unreasonable. I believe it is a sellers market so I think not perfect will be ok for them.

[lmmomSD]

Well, those of you who have been around for a while know I love looking at real estate sites and dreaming. I was looking at Birmingham stuff, and found _my_ house. Built in 1935 but updated, and looks like the Tom Cruise house in "The Firm". Squeee! C&K are on their own. There's lots of houses on Zillow, but I know they're going to want a big yard, and those are hard to come by.

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[tratra58]

The house is looking great and Katie is doing a terrific job. The master bedroom looks wonderful. If Katie wants to stay decluttered she should talk to Bonnie who is a master at having a clean home...and her house is smaller with a one car garage.

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[HashtagBlessed]

Their home looks SO much better now that they're de-cluttering and staging it. Katie's plea for advice on how to be tidier was funny. I'm a compulsively neat person, and my biggest piece of advice is don't buy so much stuff. Don't buy stuff that you don't need and don't have a place for. Donate stuff you're not using on a regular basis. Get a mail holder in the office for things you need to keep for a period of time and clean it out regularly. I think you're either the type of person who sees the clutter and is bothered by it in your own home, or you're the type of person who's able to look past it and isn't bothered by it. I don't think they're ever going to keep a house looking like that, lol.

There are some beautiful and affordable historic homes in their area, but I have a feeling they're going to buy something in a very similar development that they are currently in, just newer build. I sure wish you could get charming homes like that in the DC area at that price!

[beautynoob]

It's sad that the only way their house looks this nice is when they want to sell. All the clutter and mess would drive me bananas!


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[lmmomSD]

Their home looks SO much better now that they're de-cluttering and staging it. Katie's plea for advice on how to be tidier was funny. I'm a compulsively neat person, and my biggest piece of advice is don't buy so much stuff. Don't buy stuff that you don't need and don't have a place for. Donate stuff you're not using on a regular basis. Get a mail holder in the office for things you need to keep for a period of time and clean it out regularly. I think you're either the type of person who sees the clutter and is bothered by it in your own home, or you're the type of person who's able to look past it and isn't bothered by it. I don't think they're ever going to keep a house looking like that, lol.

There are some beautiful and affordable historic homes in their area, but I have a feeling they're going to buy something in a very similar development that they are currently in, just newer build. I sure wish you could get charming homes like that in the DC area at that price!

Did you see that freaky Pepto Bismol pink house on Zillow? *shudder*

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[lmmomSD]

I know this is really OT, but I just have to share this. What possessed these people?
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1705 ... 4135_zpid/

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[tratra58]

I know this is really OT, but I just have to share this. What possessed these people?
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1705 ... 4135_zpid/

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That is a tear down in my opinion....yikes


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[wishes]

Haven't watched today's vlog, but I smirk when people say JKs house is a McMansion. I think it's the right size for their family. Those homes are similar size outside of the D.C. area (Fairfax and Loudoun) which are so outrageously expensive in the upper $700k-$1M range but they are considered single family homes. I guess it all depends on where you're from to consider what is a mansion or not. -shrug-

[lmmomSD]

Haven't watched today's vlog, but I smirk when people say JKs house is a McMansion. I think it's the right size for their family. Those homes are similar size outside of the D.C. area (Fairfax and Loudoun) which are so outrageously expensive in the upper $700k-$1M range but they are considered single family homes. I guess it all depends on where you're from to consider what is a mansion or not. -shrug-

I read an article in the Washington Post about families in Loudoun County (my family lives in Leesburg-- has for about 80 years) that are upside down in their mortgages. These are families of four living in 6-7,000 SF houses. To me, that's a McMansion. I don't know exactly how big JK's house is, but it looks good sized. It may be "average" these days, but I think it's ridiculous. No family of four _needs_ that much square footage. Personally, I would rather have a smaller house and a bigger yard. And not be able to see in my neighbor's windows.

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[HashtagBlessed]

Haven't watched today's vlog, but I smirk when people say JKs house is a McMansion. I think it's the right size for their family. Those homes are similar size outside of the D.C. area (Fairfax and Loudoun) which are so outrageously expensive in the upper $700k-$1M range but they are considered single family homes. I guess it all depends on where you're from to consider what is a mansion or not. -shrug-

The McMansion designation isn't just about square feet, although they usually are too large for their lot size and thus very close to their neighbors. I think Katie's sister Kelly's home actually looks like it's on quite a large lot. I can't really speak to their house because I don't watch their channel. But Katie and Cullen's current home is definitely in a McMansion subdivision. Most McMansion were built in the 1990s and 2000s as a status symbol meant to imitate more expensive homes, but they're actually quite generic and mass produced on the inside and don't follow architecture design principals. While most are 3,000 sq ft or larger, not all large homes are considered McMansions. Size is definitely one element to a McMansion, but it's also characterized by inferior materials (brick facades but siding on the rest of the house, for example) and no clear architectural style.

[tratra58]

Haven't watched today's vlog, but I smirk when people say JKs house is a McMansion. I think it's the right size for their family. Those homes are similar size outside of the D.C. area (Fairfax and Loudoun) which are so outrageously expensive in the upper $700k-$1M range but they are considered single family homes. I guess it all depends on where you're from to consider what is a mansion or not. -shrug-

The McMansion designation isn't just about square feet, although they usually are too large for their lot size and thus very close to their neighbors. I think Katie's sister Kelly's home actually looks like it's on quite a large lot. I can't really speak to their house because I don't watch their channel. But Katie and Cullen's current home is definitely in a McMansion subdivision. Most McMansion were built in the 1990s and 2000s as a status symbol meant to imitate more expensive homes, but they're actually quite generic and mass produced on the inside and don't follow architecture design principals. While most are 3,000 sq ft or larger, not all large homes are considered McMansions. Size is definitely one element to a McMansion, but it's also characterized by inferior materials (brick facades but siding on the rest of the house, for example) and no clear architectural style.

You have it right HastagBlessed with with a very good description of what a McMansion is and I would classify JK home as one. A mansion and McMansion are different. Average home price in JK area is 350,000 and Fairfax is 500,000. JK house is on the higher end (someone mentioned this home sold for over 600,000) and in a nice community which includes many amenities. It is also a larger home with many beds/baths, large open kitchen etc... People today are moving away from the larger homes and going back to the mid 2000 sq ft range. In the end, it really is hard to compare different regions of the countries housing. What is the right size home for a family can depend on where you live, what you can afford or purely subjective.

[beautynoob]

There's a couple of houses for sale near the area where k&js house is that would fit what they're looking for. I'm guessing they bid on one of those! Not new houses but a nice area/school system. I'm enjoying the vlogs and thinking I never want to move again lol


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[chipmunks]

Haven't watched today's vlog, but I smirk when people say JKs house is a McMansion. I think it's the right size for their family. Those homes are similar size outside of the D.C. area (Fairfax and Loudoun) which are so outrageously expensive in the upper $700k-$1M range but they are considered single family homes. I guess it all depends on where you're from to consider what is a mansion or not. -shrug-

I read an article in the Washington Post about families in Loudoun County (my family lives in Leesburg-- has for about 80 years) that are upside down in their mortgages. These are families of four living in 6-7,000 SF houses. To me, that's a McMansion. I don't know exactly how big JK's house is, but it looks good sized. It may be "average" these days, but I think it's ridiculous. No family of four _needs_ that much square footage. Personally, I would rather have a smaller house and a bigger yard. And not be able to see in my neighbor's windows.

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s/o to LoCo - used to live west of leesburg. Even smaller, older houses there are ridiculously expensive now as the sprawl continues from D.C. I hate to see when a sign props up on what used to be old farmland for a new development. That the silver line reaches Dulles is only going to make prices continue to rise even further out.

But back to c+k... really can't wait to watch their process. Tho I have to agree i hate their paint choices. Did not like brooks room at all... didn't flow and too dark. I feel bad because I'm also not a great decorator, but katie could use some editing from granddolly in that department.


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[ferriswheel]

I know this is really OT, but I just have to share this. What possessed these people?
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1705 ... 4135_zpid/

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I feel like one of those "human barbies" should live there.

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[westwuff]

I could work with that pink house. Lol the paint is sooo bad. It actually reminds me of the 100 year old craftman we're currently renting. There's some ugly paint in here too..but not that bad.