08.13.2018

Finding Our First Home & The Architectural Styles We’re Considering

[outfit_details] Oh boy, it’s been a weekend. To recap, this past weekend Matt and I looked at over ten homes, wow; and while that may seem like A LOT or maybe it seems like NOT ENOUGH, we’ve definitely made progress […]

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finding our first home in New England The Coastal Confidence Aubrey Yandow[outfit_details]

Oh boy, it’s been a weekend. To recap, this past weekend Matt and I looked at over ten homes, wow; and while that may seem like A LOT or maybe it seems like NOT ENOUGH, we’ve definitely made progress in our house hunting predicament. Truth be told, we might even be close to wrapping it up, well at least the touring part. Now before I get too ahead of myself, let’s talk a little bit about the emotions that have gone into finding our first potential home, part one of many.  But before I get any further into this post, I wanted to share a new favorite shirt of mine, this flutter sleeve number from Dolan! I’ve been wearing it non-stop during my recent work trips and many of you have noticed over on my Instagram! So if you’re interested you can shop the shirt here, it’s wicked easy to style and the perfect top for any college campus or office. 

Overall, the experience has been…weird. And I really don’t think any other words could describe it better than that. In general, I’m a big picture thinker, so life transitions like buying a home, graduating, moving, which I feel like I do often; just doesn’t trigger any sort of anxiety for me. Which is great, right? I mean, I’ll get anxious over my inbox before I get anxious over purchasing a home; don’t know why that is, but looking at homes, and making this investment; which is what I see buying a home as is something I’ve loved doing. The possibilities are endless and the creative process and problem solving that comes, with this life transition is a space I thrive in. Now, I don’t want to speak on Matt’s behalf, but it’s pretty clear he has more of a hate relationship with the home purchasing process. And truth be told, we have bumped heads a lot during this process, but most of our head-butting has been over one thing, architectural styles. 

Cape Cod Architectural Styles In New England The Coastal Confidence Aubrey Yandow
finding our first home in New England The Coastal Confidence Aubrey Yandow
dolan clothing flutter sleeve blouse the coastal confidence aubrey yandow
dolan clothing flutter sleeve blouse the coastal confidence aubrey yandow

Through and through, it’s no surprise that I want a fixer-upper. Out of the gate, I wanted a foreclosed, antique colonial in need of a TON of elbow grease and maybe a bulldozer or two. I kid, I kid but Matt, on the other hand, wanted a modern turn-key home. He wanted no work to be hand, no elbow grease to be rubbed and most importantly a finished basement; that was basically his only criteria (not kidding). Soooo you could say there was a conflict of interest, but we really made moves this weekend when we settled on three architectural styles and limiting our search to homes built between 1850 and 1950’s.  

Why, You might ask did we do this? The answer is simple because it was a happy medium for both of us. Homes during this time period have great bones and foundations but are certainly due for an upgrade. Basically, it’s a toddler of flippers, it needs help that’s for sure, but it doesn’t need too much structural work besides cosmetics and floorplan work. No slanted floors, no 17th-century heating, and no more dirt-floored basement; you have to love those wicked old historic homes! Anyway once we made that compromise our search got easier and we started to gravitate towards three architectural styles immediately. 

Victorian Architectural Styles In New England The Coastal Confidence Aubrey Yandow
Victorian Architectural Styles In New England The Coastal Confidence Aubrey Yandow
Victorian Architectural Styles In New England The Coastal Confidence Aubrey Yandow
Colonial Architectural Styles In New England The Coastal Confidence Aubrey Yandow

The first style I gravitated towards was The Cape styled home, anyone surprised? I’m just obsessed with capes, they appear so cozy and have a minimalistic interior which is something I like in a starter house. Honestly, I also think capes are the cutest houses on the block when a White Christmas hits. The second style I gravitated towards was The Victorian, something about a bay window just lights up my creativity. While The Cape style appears cozy and simplistic, The Victorian style is grandiose and ornate, mostly due to their high-ceiling architecture. All 5′ 2″ of me loves a high ceiling, and with endless window space opportunity, Victorians are a bloggers interior dream. Finally, the style Matt gravitates towards most often is The Colonial. Colonials are aplenty in New England, yet each is unique and filled to the brim with character and often square footage.  

Again, to be transparent, I would leave all three architectural styles above in a jiffy if I could get my hands on The Federal home, but sadly none are on the market that fit our budget, location or Reno-needs. So, who knows where our home buying journey will take us this week but I do know you’ll more likely than not see us in one of the architectural styles listed above. Okay on that note, I’m headed to bed and getting ready for another week of house hunting with Mr. Matt. Would you guys want me to write about the experience some more? If so leave a comment down below and we’ll make sure to post regular updates over here and on our twitter

 

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  1. It’s not an easy process … when we bought our first house we had a strategy … going together then split during the visit and if both agreed then try to proceed to the next step … make an offer .. this is how it worked … at least for the first one … when we decided to move we already knew which house we wanted … buying process was much more complex 😉

    Good luck and I’m sure you’ll find the house of your dreams!

    https://4highheelsfans.wordpress.com/2018/08/05/milestones/

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