Thursday, September 3, 2015

Tour the New Home in Maine

 Warning now - this is going to be a photo heavy post!

Mark and I were in Maine a couple weeks ago to look at houses.
We did a lot of research before we went, and had a list of properties we wanted to see. 
Right away when we got there, our plans fell through when the realtor we had scheduled to see houses with - said he didn't have time to see us.
After we flew from Florida to keep a 10 AM appointment.
I was not happy.
At all.
We told him we would seek out another realtor, and we did.

As the day proceeded, we were waiting for the new realtor to be available and his secretary handed us a key and an address and told us to go look at this house.
You can not see the house from the highway. 
You turn in at the driveway . . .
. . . and when you clear the trees, this is what you see.
From the side. It is two stories - basically a downstairs and a loft.
I started taking pictures before we even got the door unlocked because I already knew - this was THE house.
Isn't this a nice front porch?
I'm thinking two rockers from Cracker Barrel down near the front door.
This is what is straight ahead when you walk in the door.
 To the immediate right is the kitchen - 24' x 13'.
That might actually be worthy of me learning how to cook more than spaghetti and chili. Hahaha!
Actually my first thought was that my pastry chef daughter and my gormet chef son would kill for this kitchen.
 Most of the houses we were considering were limited in storage space - especially in the kitchen.
Not so this kitchen. Good heavens! We may never fill these cabinets up!
And yes, those are actually all cabinets with continuous space. And those tiles on the floor are 12" each.
 All black appliances. I've never had anything except white. 
AND a dishwasher!!! I've never had one of those ever! Yay!!!!
The first thing to accomplish in the kitchen?
Get rid of those ugly curtains over the sink!
I like this shot of the kitchen. Taken from the landing on the stairs, going up to the loft.
 To the left of the kitchen is the downstairs bath.
Huge! 18' x 9'.
There are two sinks and a long countertop,
and all of it has storage underneath.
Those open doors on the right is the laundry room and more storage.
The opposite direction. There is a full tub and shower to the left.
Down from the kitchen is the sunken living room.
Maple flooring, fireplace, built in entertainment center.
There are plenty of windows, even a couple doors that you can't see here which lead outside onto a deck overlooking the backyard.
This is the deck/balcony just outside the living room area.
 This shot was from upstairs.
The living room has a 23' cathedral ceiling.
 There's a closer look at that entertainment center.
This house was built in 2008. There are little things here and there that need to be completed, or need to be worked on. I have no idea what that hanging cord/ cable is for or what it goes to.
The house is heated by radiant heat under those floorboards. Then we have this wood pellet burning fireplace.
There are two 16.5' x 11' bedrooms downstairs.
They are exactly the same, just flipped.
This one is going to be my art studio. There is another window to the right of this one, and a large closet to the right of where I was standing. That will house my store.
Right outside the studio is this staircase. You can also see the steps that lead down into the living room in the left lower corner of the photo. We are going to extend a handrail there, going down the steps. We have already had one close accident when Mark stepped right off the top there and totally missed those steps going down.
I think this staircase is my favorite part of the house.
When you get to the top of the stairs, you have this little balcony overlooking the downstairs area.
I think come Christmas there is going to be one awesome tree standing in that area.
 Turning your back to the balcony, you see this.
The master bedroom. Up and across to the right. 
32' x 17.5' That's a big bedroom.
To the left end of the bedroom there are two large closets. They need to be finished inside. They are deep and have plenty of room for storage . . .
. . . and between them is this alcove. 
We will either put the Frankles' bed here or my chaise lounge. It would make a serious great reading area!
If you go back up to the photo of the front of the house, this window is the one you see sitting out away from the house on the top floor.
 To the right you see the top of the stairs.
Then around the corner you see the master bath.
Weird that it doesn't have a door.
A bit of a dark photo, it has all the essentials
PLUS a jet tub.
I hope we can find the piece of wood that goes over the front of this!
To the right of the bath, is a door that leads out onto this balcony from the master bedroom area.
Kali laughed at our little mountain - 
that mountain in the background almost hidden by the trees is called Drew's Mountain.
 View from the front porch.


The side yard. These goldenrods grow all the way around the yard - on three sides. And a good ways back into the 17 acre lot we sit on.
I'm fairly certain I'm going to be big time allergic to them.
 Here is the back. The little balcony at the top right is the one outside the master bedroom.
The one across the middle is the one outside the living room.
Those posts underneath that balcony need some help before I go back onto there. Under that is a full size, completely ready to use basement. So we basically have two full levels and the loft. Altogether a little over 3,000 square feet. Unbelievable.
The back yard. Mark found deer tracks and a place where they had been bedding. Hopefully a moose or two will wander up here and pose for some photos!
 Twelve miles from the Canadian border, I was glad to see we had rocks!
Several of you have asked how big our 'town' is. 
Google shows the population at 984. 
Oh my word!!! It's even smaller than I realized.
We have a diner and a Sunoco. The little sign in the photo above is hanging next to the doorway of the diner.
 And this is Grammy's Diner!
Not a whole lot bigger than this picture either.
That pastry counter was pretty amazing!
And they bake it all - including all their breads - right there on the property.
 You can get anything from a grilled cheese sandwich and a gazillion sweet potato fries . . .
 . . . to fresh Maine lobster (this was a lobster roll with bacon - amazing!) . . .
 . . . to whoopie pies the size of small hubcaps . . . 
 . . . to more french fries than you could possibly eat!
And it was all delicious!
People have also asked about the traffic.
This is their 5:00 afternoon traffic rush hour.
Hahahahaha! We saw this at one of the stores in a neighboring town. Interpreted two hours away. In August.
 It was a quick two days spent there. 
We were able to make an offer on the house,
come to an agreement with the seller, and get pre-approved at the bank.
Then before we knew it - it was time to fly back home.
Sad times.
 And even though I was sitting over the wing, and even though you really can't see this that well, I want to have the photo where I can find it. This is the sunset above the top of the clouds. That horizon you see - is the top of the clouds.
I've never seen the sunset above the clouds and it was spectacular!
This was after the sun has sunk below the clouds. It looked like the sky was on fire.
Closing on the house will be around October 8th and we will close by email.
Very different from the last closing we did 31 years ago.

I hope you enjoyed the tour of our new home.
For now it will be a secondary home,
but down the road it will be a permanent move.
The Creator's Leaf

27 comments:

  1. Wow! Amazing house.... So much different the way we live in the Netherlands. Our country is small and very full and over crowded. I wish you tons of luck in your future new home and lots of success making it your place. ❤❤❤ Ellen

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ellen, a lot of areas in our country are like you described - full and overcrowded. we both want to get away, go to an isolated area and have some space around us. mark is an outdoorsman, so i expect he will be in those woods more than the house. and i need to get away from the heat. we are going as far north in the United States as we could find a suitable place.

      Delete
  2. I loved this post so much! I love looking at houses, and yours in Maine is amazing. So much space, and such breathtaking beauty all around. You're going to love it, and, being from Canada, it will feel like coming home! How near the coast are you? Thanks for sharing, Alice darling! Love!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. the main house we were interested in was just under 1200 square feet, we couldn't believe the size of this place. and we just fell in love - me with the house, mark with the 17 aces. hahaha! i plan on sitting on those balconies and drawing that little bitty mountain and those trees. and hopefully taking pictures of some moose and deer. i can not wait!

      Delete
  3. Alice, that is one wonderful house! I am insanely jealous...as I love the snow, being 12 miles from the Canadian border wouldn't be a problem - we are making the opposite move, Connecticut to Florida - honestly not sure about it - hate the heat! Not that CT has been close to cool this summer (my husband is in Port St. Lucie, don't ask why he's there and I'm here, it's a long story!) and Jim's daily highs are often close to ours here in CT - horrible! Wonderful opportunity for you and your husband. Loved the photos! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. thanks, jakki, at least port st. lucie is a beautiful area. maybe that will help. ugh. i hate the heat. that was the main reason we started looking - to get me away from the heat. hopefully your move will be more wonderful than you can imagine!

      Delete
  4. Alice, thanks for the tour! It looks like heaven, and being the Southerner that I am, I can hardly believe I said that about a Yankee state! ;) Love the house and land! Looks like the diner is THE place to be to meet new people. How far away are you from the airport? LOL, not asking for a visit, just wondering how remote you are.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. haha! we are 2 hours from an international airport. about 15 minutes from a tiny, fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants kind of airport. and of course you can come visit! we are setting up a guest room just for that purpose :)

      Delete
  5. Sooooooooo excited for you..... it's fantastic. ... you deserve it...... Cassidy and I are already talking " Road Trip: !!!!!!!! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. you better believe it, cindy!!! passports will be the only holdup

      Delete
  6. I loved seeing your new house. Thanks for the guided tour. This is the kind of home that my partner and I dream of. The kind of home we see only in films and books set in America. But it's lovely to know that someone real will get to live in it! Wishing you much happiness within.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Alice, as a devotee of yours, I am so happy for you and your husband. I am a firm believer that things always happen for a reason. This house was yours before you landed! It is a dream of a home and town! Wishing you much happiness and creativity in your home and that it will enable you to have some relief from your Thyroid problem. So excited for you and, will look forward to seeing your new studio.Thanks for the wonderful tour!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. thanks, patsy! i think we are going to love living there - when we are able to reach that point. the biggest decision will be - front porch or the back deck. hahaha!

      Delete
  8. Thanks for the amazing tour Alice - I can sense your excitement & am thrilled for you. Sometimes you look at the order in which events happen & you just have to stop & wonder in awe.............. It's good when you come to know what kind of 'person' you are in terms of outdoors, urban, wide open spaces, hot/cold climate. It feels so good to settle & be comfortable in your own skin. I'm glad you've not got too long before it's yours - very different from the long-winded & convoluted house buying process here in the UK. Take care of yourself in the meantime.
    Paula (PEP)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. paula, i just loved it in maine. neither of us wanted to come back home. and it's so close to canada, the best of both worlds!

      Delete
  9. Wow, wow, wow. This house and property is amazing. I know that you and your husband will definitely enjoy the serenity and beauty of the area. Thanks for showing us, and I wish you all the best.......Linda E.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Totally enjoyed your tour - and there were not too many photos :-). It is just beautiful and I am sure you will be thrilled when you make the move (not that I hope it happens soon).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. thanks! not as long as my mom is still with us, but we can go on vacations :) hopefully once a month or every other month. it helps being retired :)

      Delete
  11. So exciting, Alice! I love, love looking at houses. I'm the opposite of you - I would rather be in a slightly warmer area, though our Winters are probably laughable to those in most parts of the US, I hate the cold weather and would not live anywhere where it snowed!

    Looks like you made a wonderful choice. How far is it for you to go visit until you move permanently? helen

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. 24 hours by car, about 12 by air because of the layovers. one day flying, 3 days driving, so we will be flying. i grew up in canada, so i'm good with the snow. i cannot wait! thanks for slugging through all these pictures :)

      Delete
    2. Wow - that's a long way for a visit. Still it will be wonderful when you finally move in :)

      Delete
  12. The house looks great. That will be some studio/store space. I would love an area like that, not so much my wife but she would love the house. Will have to post pictures of the critters that show up. Also pictures when the snow comes. Good luck with the move when ever it happens. Did not get a chance to try the alcohol inks when you had it posted in the FB group. Recently did some for a class. Was fun. Will probably do on a larger size than the square and Zendala tiles.

    ReplyDelete
  13. OMG.......the house is fabulous! The food just about killed me. Lobster roll with bacon? YUM and look at those French fries. We live in Florida and always will. I do not do well with the heat or the bugs here but, oh well. You are so lucky. I would never dare to come there because I would never leave......ever!! You would have to feed me to the moose. I am going to save this post and look at it at least once a week and sigh.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hahaha! You and me, both! Sigh - can't wait!

      Delete

I have been waiting to hear from you :).