This weekend we went to Colorado for a packed weekend of house-hunting and fun! We have a short period of time to make a lot of decisions, so this 3-day weekend was helpful!!
House-Hunting
While many people were relaxing on the lake this weekend, we were house-hunting in the suburbs of Denver:
Just a couple of shots from several different houses that we saw this weekend. I don’t think any of them are “the one” yet. We made great progress in getting familiar with the area and learning what we are looking for though – which was great! Have you ever made a checklist of what you want in a house? Ours is getting quite long:
- Awesome kitchen with solid surface countertops, gas stove, pantry, lots of cabinets & light
- Open floor plan
- 2-story open entryway & family room
- Fireplace (even though we won’t be able to have real wood fires in the indoor fireplace)
- Good-sized Master Suite
- Laundry Room (not a closet, which we currently have)
- Basement (finished or unfinished)
- Large master bath with shower & bathtub with granite countertops
- Solid wood fence (another harder than you’d think – lots of split rail fence covenants in Denver)
- “Large” lot (large is a very relative term in the Denver area)
I could probably go on, but that is probably enough. :) We have a lot to accomplish in a very short period of time, but I’m trying to focus on the small steps that we’re making in the right direction. We think we want to live the Highlands Ranch area, but we’ll see!
Fun
We spent a good chunk of each day in house-hunting mode, but we still had plenty of time for fun! Our real estate agent recommended a stopover at Red Rocks Amphitheater on our way to our cabin in Evergreen. Man, oh, man – I’m so glad we went here!! Anywhere you literally drive through a mountain is AWESOME in my book!
This place is incredible and I can’t wait to see a show here at some point! Just to give you a frame of reference to the scale of these rocks, here’s Kirk standing pretty far in front of one side:
And then you can barely see me in front of this massive rock!
And this post is already starting to get pretty long – so I should probably stop before we get to the awesome cabin we stayed at in Evergreen and our delicious dinner.
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Questions for you:
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What are the top 5 things you want in your next house?
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The last time you moved – what was one thing you wish you did differently?
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What was the best part of the last weekend for you?
{ 24 comments… read them below or add one }
those houses are gorgeous!! school districts are important to me since i want to have kids soon… but being very open on the inside is nice too! good luck girl!!
Linz @ Itz Linz recently posted..Dreamsicle Smoothie & A Giveaway
That’s at least one thing we don’t have to add to our list, but that is SO important for parents from what I hear. :)
i think i might be more excited than you, unreal coolness!
lindsay recently posted..Island Hopping Training Weekend: Sherpa Scenes
You might be, because my excitement is tempered a bit by stress & uncertainty – but I’m still pretty excited!! Have you started planning your visit yet?! ;)
Hey girl! Looks like you had a fun weekend. That top middle house pic looks a lot like my house :) Must be a Taylor Morrison model in a neighborhood down south. I love that craftsman-y style. Anywho – for our next house, we want more land. Which is hard to do near Denver. So we might not be moving for awhile! I enjoyed a fabulous weekend with extended family – made a lot of delicious meals, exercised/moved a lot, and just relaxed. Can we do it again THIS weekend?!?!?
Kelly @ No Sugar Sweet Life recently posted..100th Post + {Prosciutto & Fig Goat Cheese Pizza}
Really?! I love that outside photo – I just need to find that with the layout I want inside! We’re huge craftsmen-y style fans. :)
More land – HAH! – I can’t believe how small the lots are in Denver. We’ve adjusted our expectations. :)
that’s a perfect checklist! i did that when i bought my place and it really helped me stay focused on priorities and not just get caught up in the excitement of seeing something new.
Red Rocks is on my bucket list! can we go see a concert there when i crash your place? :)
Laura @ Sprint 2 the Table recently posted..Tempeh Spinach Curry and Sugar-Free Berry Crumble
We’re such type-A smart ladies — checklist rock! :) And i think we HAVE to see a concert at Red Rocks when you come!!
I definitely hope to be in the “house hunting in Colorado” chapter of my life soon! But I think we’d probably have to rent when we move, since we already own two houses in MD that probably won’t sell.
We bought our house (that we live in) a year and a half ago. There were a few things that it had to have: high ceilings + an open floor plan, a massive kitchen (preferably with an island in the middle and a big pantry), a PATIO (not a deck), around .5 acre yard, a garage (that I could park in) and at least 4 bedrooms. We hit all of those items with our house now, and absolutely love it. I would live in my house forever if I could pick it up and move it!
Lauren @ Oatmeal after Spinning recently posted..Memorial Day + Granola Winner
I hope you are too! We’re renting our house in ATL, so I understand if you have two of those that buying would be hard. I’ll warn you that renting is more expensive than buying though!
You’ll have to live far outside the city to find a .5 acre lot – believe me, we’ve looked! =)
Wow! Looks like some gorgeous houses! I hope to someday own a house but first I have to figure out WHERE i want to live! That my top priority! ;)
Katie @ Talk Less, Say More recently posted..Cheers
Now if I could just put all those pieces together in one house! Picking WHERE is kind of important. :)
Looks like you guys had so much fun! Omg, that kitchen…*dies* We also have a pretty long list of what we want in a house that keeps getting longer, haha. So I hear you. First step for us is figuring out where we want to set up a permanent home, though. So excited for you! Hope you find the right one :)
Char @ http://www.charskitchen.ca recently posted..Creamy Avocado Sushi Rolls & Chocolate Peanut Butter Pudding Cake
I know – that kitchen is my favorite we’ve seen. I wish I loved the outside of that house and we would be done house-hunting. :)
Highlands Ranch is BEAUTIFUL! Great homes and views down there. And if you’ll be working in DTC (like me!), the drive isn’t too bad at all. Yay!!
Glad you got to Red Rocks too – we’ll have to go for a workout there on the weekends – the place is PACKED and you can create your own killer workout. :)
lynne @lgsmash recently posted..Food: It’s Better Homemade
The views are freakin amazing and the town feels very similar to East Cobb (where we live now). I hope it works out.
It was SUPER windy on Saturday, so we saw cyclists climbing the mountain, but no one running. I’ll have to keep that in mind for the future.
Um, I want that house.
Question — how is the property value in Denver? Granted, you’re coming from Atlanta … but I’m curious. What was the median price of the houses you were looking at (because I’d be looking for similar … someday … if I’m in a situation in which the beef gets a job there)?
Calee (@chimes) recently posted..New(ish) Quilt Progress
I wish that was just one house. :) The prices in Denver are a little bit more than my area in Atlanta, but less land for that price. The ones in the photos are in the 300s.
Oh my goodness Heather! Beautiful landscape pictures! Rocks are breathtaking.
For my home, I will need a gorgeous and HUGE kitchen :) It’s a must :)
Meg recently posted..Inspired to Read
Professional landscaping seems to be a big thing in Denver – no complaints here! I hope to have an AMAZING kitchen. :)
Love the Red Rocks photos – its about 5 minutes from our apt! Can’t believe you didn’t see anyone working out in the amphitheater, I swear in the dead of winter or scorching heat of summer there are always people running the stairs or climbing the flower/tree pots! Colorado people are crazy!
My house wants are different from my apartment wants and we’ll be in an apartment for awhile, but here is my list…
- Laundry room w/ storage + decent, remote location for kitty litter
- At least 1.5 bathrooms, 2 is better, or 2.5…
- A large living space, preferably without a formal dining room
- A decent sized kitchen w/ baking, cooking and eating space {the photo you posted of the kitchen looks awesome!}
and most importantly…
- A setting that would allow me to raise a goat outside if I decided I wanted to.
Not a herd of cows or single chicken, but a goat or three. This is the country girl in me coming out – I refuse to live in a house where I can see directly into my neighbors house without binoculars or at least squinting through massive trees. Yeah, it may be a while before we buy a house!
{…quite the novel, oops!}
Heidi Nicole recently posted..Hey Fatty!
I think there were houses like that in Evergreen (where we stayed for the weekend), but I haven’t really seen anything like that in the areas we’ve looked in the Denver area. Goats – you are a country girl – love it!. :)
We are no where near buying a house but we have talked about Evergreen or Genesee just because of their mountain-eske locations but still have a reasonably do-able drive to the Denver area. And by reasonable I mean my head will feel like exploding but it won’t actually explode, hopefully! ;)
PS – good luck with the house hunt!
Heidi Nicole recently posted..Hey Fatty!
These images are truly stunning! This blog is brilliant :)!!
Solid Surface Kitchens recently posted..How To Choose The Perfect Solid Surface Kitchen