how would you redo this great room?

Agree about the mantel placement being oddly high. Something more substantial too. Something like this?
http://www.fireplacemantels.com/mant...antelshelf.cfm We ordered our mantels from here, great customer service and the prices are much lower than many other sites.

Ooh, I like that one! (But I also like the brown variations in the stone on that picture. sigh.)

Is that real brick, or one of those 1" coverings? If it is faux brick, maybe you can get rid of it more easily?

You know, I think it might be faux brick. Maybe that's why it looks so funny on one of the side views. I'd feel a lot less guilty about just ripping it off of there.

To be honest, we haven't even seen the house in person yet. It's the best one on the market, in terms of meeting our list of top priority items. We're scheduling a house-hunting trip in the next few months (if all goes well with DH's contract negotiations next week). I keep hoping something similar will show up, but with better structural lines for the great room (like vaulted ceilings). With this house, I'd really just want to redo everything except the wood floor - more interesting cabinets, definitely different range hood & island/bar front, maybe even different fireplace stones. That's a lot of things not to like about a room. But in a small community, there aren't many houses that have all the higher priority items on our wish list. This one really is a nice house in many ways, and I think if we would spend the money to make this room better, I wouldn't mind the lack of interesting lines so much. Now, I wonder how much that interior decorator charges... I think I'm starting to see how people are shocked with the expenses the first couple years of attendinghood!

[SuzySunshine]

Deb, have you looked in Eastborough? I don't know where your DH's job is going to be, etc. But I have a friend with a house in Eastborough and it has to be the cutest house I've ever seen in W.

Deb, have you looked in Eastborough? I don't know where your DH's job is going to be, etc. But I have a friend with a house in Eastborough and it has to be the cutest house I've ever seen in W.

I would love to live in Eastborough - gorgeous houses! (And it's so NICE to talk to someone about our town! ) But we have horses, and we need quite a bit of acreage. That narrows the choices a lot, unless we want to drive an hour into town.

DH & I had a lively (read: heated!) discussion about it last night. The bottom line is that we have time. We still haven't ruled out the idea of buying a smaller, temporary house on 5 acres while we build a house. Still, the house with the funky brick is an option, and maybe we'll like it better (or worse) after we've seen it.

[SuzySunshine]

Yes, I'm guessing they wouldn't allow horses in Eastborough!

My parents were both born and raised there as was my MIL. My mom's parents and brother still live there. My dad's parents used to live in the country on the east side of town, they had horses and a pool. It was a great place, I wish I remembered exactly where it was. Good luck with your search!

Ditto about my parents. They were next-door neighbors in the Riverside area. I love their story. I grew up an hour north, where my parents still live.
We've started looking on the east side (initially we looked west) for horse properties, many with pools. It would be funny if we ended up in your grandparents' old neighborhood.
I'm sure I'll update as we get closer to the transition!

[SuzySunshine]

Deb, my parents lived in the College Hill area and lived down the street from each other too.

This is my grandparents old place on the NW corner of Harry & SW Meadowlark Rd:

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&sour...06781&t=h&z=17

Too funny! I'll send you a pm, since we're in a public forum. It's a beautiful area, with so much open land - tree-lined creeks & ponds - and that's what DH is really looking for. The more I think about it, the more it seems like this house would be a really good choice for us, even without my coveted vaulted ceilings. Now it's just a matter of WAITING. Ugh! And then the big hurdle - seeing if a bank will give us a physician's loan based solely on a contract. If all the pieces fall together, I'll know it was meant to be. If not... hmm, let's hope that means there's something better waiting in the wings!

It looks like your grandparents' pool is still there. Can you tell if it's the same otherwise?

[SuzySunshine]

Deb, I think the barn is missing. That barn that is quite a ways off from the house doesn't seem right to me but I haven't been there since I was probably an early teenager. Other then that it looks the same, we played many a game of softball in that front yard and that is where I got my scar above my eye.

Ouch! Sounds like a memorable game of softball.
I get caught up in wondering whether certain houses would be suitable for hosting Christmas parties, but when it comes down to it, it's really more important to us to find a place where our family can make good memories. We just need to find a place that fits what we enjoy doing together.
I'll keep you posted...

I don't hate the brick, but I might try to tone it down. When we used to do renovation design jobs at my old design firm we were always trying to figure out what to do with brick. One of my favorite treatments of it is to white wash/grey wash. Basically pick a neutral color paint and mix it with water. You basically get some bricks to practice the percentages out, like 50% water 50% paint and go from there. It seems like it is just soaking into the brick at first but once it dries it does change the color of the brick. Any painter should know how to do this.

I designed a super contemporary bar for this hotel renovation and behind it was this bright red brick. We grey washed it due to budget reasons, and I think it really toned it down and added a neat texture.

[HouseofWool]

Wow Kelly - that looks great and it would tie in nicely with the stone fireplace...

Holy crap - that looks AWESOME! I LOVE that idea! Wow. Want to schedule an exotic vacation to KS and come redecorate for me?!
I'm going to save your picture, in case we get the house and I get to spend some $$ on redoing the brick anytime soon.
ETA - I like the more neutral yellow in your pic, too, instead of the brighter yellow that is in the house now.

I'm glad you like that idea....plus it should not cost more than painting. I am happy to help with design questions, I just forget to check this thread sometimes!