front yard

when we began talking about moving to a quieter neighborhood with less traffic, we decided that a location with close proximity to a bike trail would be a great added feature. we had been looking at houses for months and never found one that was worth all the hassle of moving - we figured that we might as well just stay where we were. on a thursday night in june, perry found a listing on the internet for a house in an area that we previously had checked out and liked; we knew it would be close to a park with bike trails; the pics posted in the listing looked interesting. since he had an appointment with our realtor the next morning, he added this house to the review list.

when i left for work that friday morning, i told him that if he liked the house and thought that it was the "one" then just go on ahead and sign the paperwork . . .

about 10:30am i received a phone call from him saying "you just gotta see this house!!!" i told him again that if he thought that it was the one then just go on ahead and sign a contract because i trust your judgement but he said "no. kayla (our realtor) says that you REALLY need to see this house."

so i met up with perry and kayla around noon and we drove out to the house and the whole way they were telling me all about the place: a custom floorplan, 10 foot ceilings, amazing rock fireplace, huge kitchen, a glass atrium that divides all of the living areas . . .

as soon as we pulled up front i agreed: yup, this is the one. kayla said, "how do you know? you haven't even seen the inside yet." but perry and i could see the potential . . .

what was . . . Now IS . . .





































here's how . . .


did you notice the blue circles painted on each side of the hillside? i sliced out each circle to create a level spot where the multi-trunked red oaks would be planted.




































then perry learned of a company that creates sidewalks, driveways and patios using patterned concrete. they did a great job installing a front patio and new steps down the hillside to the street . . .


































http://scotte-deuw.blogspot.com/2008/09/12-on-brink.html


this home is a one of a kind find - there's not another house like it. plus it's located across the street from a 340 acre park with a lake, miles of paved bike trails and a huge section of old dense woods with dirt trails - makes for a really beautiful front yard that the city park dept takes care of. it's like driving home every day to vacation property. we can't imagine a reason that we would ever want to move again . . .

http://scotte-deuw.blogspot.com/2008/10/14-reality-check.html