Traditional Charmer In The Berkshires

Today I’m headed back to realtor.com for more house hunting

in the Berkshires,

where I have deliberately turned away from my minimalist choices of days’ past

+ fallen for something a lot more traditional — this charmer:

It looks like an original log home with a tasteful addition.

Here’s a closer look-see at the log portion.

How do I love thee?  Let me count the ways!

Red window sashes + door, twiggy porch details,

full + lush (“busy”) front landscaping, stone pathway, etc. etc.

The stone pathway continues along the front of the addition at left,

where there are more twigs, in the form of this beautiful pergola!

My first thoughts are, “How can I persuade G.O. to build something twiggy for our yard?”,

but then I ask myself,  a. “Isn’t that unnecessarily difficult?”

+ b. “Wouldn’t twig structures be too rustic for a Dutch colonial house?”

Oh, well — let’s move on to yet more exterior snapshots.

My gosh, there’s even a screened-in room, my favorite thing, ever!

Of course, a pond:

And, in conclusion, the detached garage has an apartment upstairs,

the interior of which is fine but not so share-worthy:

Inside the house, the living room + stair case

look about as I’ve come to expect when I spy a log home online:

Sometimes log home interiors can skew a tad too WOODSY for my tastes ,

but I s’poze one could solve that issue by painting a few things

+ adding some contrasting wood tones.

I honestly don’t know what I ‘d do in here (yet!),

but I’d mull things over for a few months + decide, as is my way.

I would probably play off that beautiful stone fireplace

+ introduce some complementary blacks, grays + charcoal paint colors.

Since the fireplace backs up to the adjacent kitchen (love the red stove!) . . .

. . . + I think I’d paint the lower cabinets black or charcoal gray,

replace the butcher block counter tops (too much wood!)

+ figure out something more “now” to do with the uppers:

Upstairs in the addition, one can see evidence that it’s probably post + beam:

Isn’t this bathroom fantastic?

The homeowners added some gray tones with the marble,

the reclaimed wood back splash + vanity.

I love the shower in this room,

+ kudos to them for adding a darker wood tone medicine cabinet + vanity:

So that’s that!

Yes, I toyed with the idea of our traveling to the Berkshires for some fall leaf peeping,

but I fear we’ve waited too long this year.

We’re actually thinking of heading south, like maybe Tennessee,

so it’s time to see what’s for sale in Franklin!

Stay tuned!

I Love This Minimalist House!

I’m back, house hunting in the Berkshires on realtor.com.

This house is so plain Jane, but it couldn’t appeal to me more!

I do love a white house, yes,

but it’s the details of this one that drew me in,

especially this modern trellis hung over a wall of windows:

Love it!  Look at the wire cables!  How “NOW”!

And please.

A standing seam metal roof outside has to mean more awesomeness inside.

Let’s check it out to see if my theory is true

re: the exterior + interiors being equally groovy.

There’s that beautiful wall of windows we saw earlier:

My gosh.  What a beautiful space.

I would never leave!

While all-white’s not for me, it really works great in this house, don’t you think?

In the kitchen + dining area, they’ve exposed the original, rustic rafters + beams.

The texture they add, even after being painted white,

keeps things from being too sterile . . .

. . . as do the natural wood dining table + brown leather chairs . . .

. . . + all those books!

I love the black floors + black cabinet handles + light fixture hardware.

Okay.  Now we’re headed to sterile town (below), but still.

I’m a huge fan of the small exposed rafter, that day bed + the rolling table.

If it was my house, I’d add a colorful rug + artwork,

some pillows + window treatments.

I am digging more nautical-style wire cables on the exterior staircase,

+ the deck is well-designed + very beautiful.

But wait. Here’s a question.

Why am I drawn to such minimalist houses

when ours is anything but?

This might prompt me to ask myself “is less more?” once again.

 

House Hunting In The Berkshires

One of my favorite past times is house hunting on the bozoputer,

via realtor.com — FUN FOR ME!

Since I’ve been longing to go leaf-peeping in the Berkshire Mountains

of western Massachusetts, I’ve been searching for houses there.

So many good ones! — But which listings garner my click for a closer look-see?

Well, this house initially attracted me because it’s painted black,

which is a thing now.

That, plus those butterfly chairs on the front deck,

the stylish French doors + landscaping

all made me think that the interior would be stylish + updated.

Let’s go inside now + see if that’s so,

starting with everybody’s favorite — the kitchen —

which I am guessing is in the center front, where the box window is located.

Isn’t that window ledge as charming as all get-out?

The traditionalist in me loves that old brick red cupboard, too.

See how it plays nicely with the mid-century lamp + chest next to it?

I love the mix of old + new!

Just to the left is the rather modest kitchen work space:

I say modest, but look closely; it’s really quite stylish.

First of all, I’m a fan of that island!

It looks like it’s an old, re-purposed piece of furniture, which I love.

Those pendants bring in more mid-century style.

Our parents built a house in ’64-ish, + we had the same lights in our kitchen.

The floating shelves are chic, as is that awesome red range (want!)

Notice the lower, marble-top cabinet to the right.

It makes me think that a serious baker lives here,

who uses that surface for rolling out dough + kneading bread + such.

The living room is just beyond.

Notice how the white walls + light gray woodwork (my favorites!)

flow through from the kitchen to here:

The ledge which spans the entire wall of windows is a nice design feature,

+ notice how uncluttered it is (at least for the real estate photos, anyway.)

I think there are some serious minimalists who live here!

The beams, wide wood plank floor, wood stove, rug + couch are delightful,

as are the built-ins opposite.

Betcha there’s a TV hidden away, + look at all the books,

which brings us to a fun factoid about my realtor.com hobby.

When you’re me, it’s fun to guess what the homeowners are like.

I think these might be artists; check out the painting

in what looks like a basement bonus room:

If they’re not artists, they’re certainly Artsy,

which accurately describes the Berkshires — that’s why I want to move there.

Back to the house.

The bedrooms are very plain Jane + stylish:

Okay.  This is definitely the room of a kid with Artsy parents,

because where are all the plastic electronic toys!?

Check out the child’s name on that banner.

Maybe they’re European!

Now that I think about it, the simple + spare decor does look Scandinavian.

Here’s a view from the back.

The detached garage’s been painted the same monochromatic black as the house.

Look at their yummy mix of plants in their yard — I love the Japanese maples.

There are lots of Buddhas in Berkshires houses, I noticed.

Stay tuned; I’ll share another + guess what the homeowners are like — tomorrow.