After tentatively sharing the good news last week, I can finally confirm that the townhouse is SOLD! It took longer than expected and we hit a few snags along the way, but we are finally able to move on – and move into the lakehouse. We abandoned dozens of projects mid-task there, and won’t even be able to unpack until we at least tackle a few, but right now all I can think about is how great it feels to no longer be in limbo (or have to clean for showings!).
The new owners take possession in January and I promise to share the whole story then, including what we learned and what we would do differently. For now I don’t want to jinx what still seems unreal. I will tell you that we ended up re-listing with a different agent, and it was a totally different experience. One commonality was that both hired professional photographers. Even though I was adamant about this, it was very unnerving to see the townhouse through the eyes of someone else. The real estate photos don’t feel like my home. Between the decluttering, bedroom re-arranging and the use of flash and overhead lighting (which I only turn on under duress because I’m all about mood lighting), the space feels . . . different. The wide angle lens certainly helps to better capture our teeny abode, so I thought I’d share all of the listing photos with you.
First up: never-before-seen photos of the outside of our home. Hubby asked me not to include photos of the exterior in the house tour until we sold, so it feels like a major milestone to be able to share these. Years ago a designer was hired by the condo board to design a colour scheme for our neighborhood. Luckily I liked the blue-grey with the brick and Hubby loved the orange door, but I’m really looking forward to painting the exterior of the lakehouse, just because I can.
I’m not much of a gardener, though I did plant the little bush and the Lily of the Valley flowers by our front door. Finding mulch that matched our orange door made me unreasonably happy. Sadly, when we re-listed in the fall things were less green, but a poinsettia cheered things up (I killed the other plant – I’m not lying when I say I’m not much of a gardener).
In our backyard we did so little that the condo finally sent us a letter demanding we tidy up. The shrubbery touched the fence. Le sigh. The second photo shows the changes, which look more naked to me, exacerbated by the lack of leaves.
The second photographer captured the lovely green space behind our house (no backyard neighbours!):
Here are the interior photos from our first listing:
Here are the interior photos from the second photographer:
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| Ignore the curtains. It traumatized me that the photographer pushed them messily out of the way. |
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| See?!? My curtain pushing job on the dining room window, his on the patio doors. Why does this bother me so? |
I’m a little sad to say good-bye to the townhouse. This was our first home and we spent a lot of our time working together on projects (you can see the before and afters, including a few befores I recently added, in the townhouse tour). I’ve grown tired of some of my design choices though, because they weren’t all made for us in the first place. So, although I’m a little blue, I’m mostly tickled pink to start fresh and to see a different young couple call this home their first!
those pictures really do feel so different then the ones you take- it's always weird to see your home through someone else's eyes. So glad it sold & excited to follow along in your new house 🙂
The house seems emptier because the wide angle makes the rooms look huge. It turned an oval frame into a round one, lol.
congrats. goodbye beautiful townhouse….hello even better lake house!
Awww, thanks!!
Congratulations on selling the townhouse! Fingers crossed that everything goes smoothly with the closing. I loved seeing the different views of your home from the photographers point of view. It looks gorgeous! Can't wait to see more of the lakehouse and maybe another fox or two. 🙂
Thank you! Yes, I hope nothing comes up between now and then. Good thoughts, good thoughts. I'm so looking forward to being in the new place and making it homey.
Congratulations on the great news! I can't wait to see all the new wonderful projects in the lake house
Thank you!!
Great news! I know that's a load off your mind. Now let the real fun begin in the lakehouse.
Thanks! It is!! We've grown weary of carrying the two mortgages. I'm tired of noodles.
I have to say that I much preferred the photos by the second photographer. The first set looked really bright, flat, and made the rooms look small. The second showed a little more depth and the character of the room more. (A little shadow won't hurt you RE agents!) I can see how the second set was probably more successful. Glad that it sold!
Interesting points! I'm going to look again at both and see how they portray the size. What I liked about the first set is the walls didn't look as yellow. The second set didn't capture the white as well. But I think I agree about the too-bright, too-flat look in the first set – esp. the living room, right? I'm just happy they weren't iphone snaps, like I see on MLS, lol.
Congrats, both for the sale and for the adventures to come at the lakehouse!
Thanks!! It's such a relief to move forward!
Congratulations, eager to see what happens next!
I sell all our things because it's easier than packing, lol. Szuka is a paper-eating pup so packing has proven . . . time consuming. 🙂
Amazing news!! Hope that the real estate gods will grace me with the same news!!Yay to your new life at the lake house!!
Best of luck with your sale!!! I hope your transaction goes super smoothly!
Hi Tanya,Me again, the first half of my message was cut off somehow. I was hoping you could look at this link of a post I put on Craigslist in NJ. http://newjersey.craigslist.org/fuo/4234718437.htmlfor a mid century modern chair that I need to sell. I think it is teak but don't know anything about the chair and I don't want to underprice it. Any help or direction you could give me would be so helpful. You are the only one I know that is knowledgable re: this period furniture.thanks so much and I love your blog. Can't wait to see how you transform the lake house. I love what you did in the living room with the fireplace wall etc.I didn't know if there was a way to email you directly but hope this works thru the comments.Carol Bayersdorfer Carol Bayersdorfer
Hi Carol,Sorry about the difficulty leaving a comment. Your chair is so unusual! I love it! If I sell something vintage, normally I check out other ads for something similar and price accordingly. Often I will also look at vintage shops in the area or check out Etsy or Ebay. It can take some time, but it's worked for me. I like your approach of asking for a price. In the end, it's up to how much you're willing to let it go for, or if you're in a hurry. Frankly, I'm not really knowledgeable about much – only what I have, lol – but I do know someone who is! Dana, from mid2mod writes about mid-century furniture, identifying designers and styles. Here is her blog: http://blog.mid2mod.com/ Maybe you'll find some info there :)Also, you could first put up a want ad looking for info on the chair. I've done that too on a piece I found and my inbox was filled with local collectors sharing what they knew. People into vintage often like to talk about it.What I will also recommend is adding "mid-century" or "vintage" or "retro" as buzzwords to your ad. It will draw interested people.Happy selling!!
Oh Tanya, thank you so much for that info, very helpful. I will contact Dana too.Where do you put up the want ad for infor? Those extra will be going into my ad as well. Be well,Carol
I'm happy to help! I have put want ads in the furniture section of kijiji (like craigslist) the same place I would list an item to sell it, with a photo and titled like "looking for info on this mid-century teak chair". If you have lots of time, you could even email some vintage dealers – you might even get lucky and find one looking for that exact chair! When I bought my teak kitchen table from kijiji, the man selling it had contacted a mid-century dealer first who said he couldn't offer him much and still make a profit. He advised him on a price, though, and also gave him info on the designer. Best of luck!Tanya