House Hunting on the Eastside: A Photoessay

A couple of weeks ago D and I spent a long hot pre-summer afternoon driving from open home to open home, pondering changing house.

We started by exploring Craftsmen and hundred year old trees in South Pasadena. This was one of the first of many we looked at.



We discovered in South Pas, that although we could definitely find one we could afford, there was something slightly off about all of them.



This one on Stratford was gorgeous from the front and on the inside, but if I recall correctly, the yard was almost all concrete.



We were tempted by the one above. It is an extremely unique structure. Built over a hundered years ago around a central patio, some smartaleck decided to put a roof over the patio and make it the center of the house. It makes for an odd shaped house with a huge courtyard in the middle. It would be good for someone who wanted a yoga studio or a home work space...



On Bushnell, someone had done an amazing job with a remodel, trying to stay close to the right architectural period.



The spaces were very open, nice light, etc. However, the master bedroom had a lovely balcony with massive French doors that looked out onto a beautiful vista characterized by power lines and an apartment complex.



In Eagle Rock, we started with this lovely mansion. Mansion. Six bedrooms and lots and lots of space for a huge family with hundreds of thousands of dollars to remodel. The skeleton of the house shows so much possibility. We should call those polygamists from the Fundamentalist Church of Latter Day Saints. It seems like they would have a lot of kids to house and some extra hands hanging around to do the work of fixing up the joint.



The next house we went to in Eagle Rock frightened me. The owners hadn't bothered to stage the house, and in their lack of bother neither did they trouble themselves to remove years worth of cat hair and grime. And they appeared to be unabashed hoarders. All that extra entertainment in a house less than 900 sq ft. Good times.



Baby Bear found these two houses to be just right. Right around the corner from one another, the first house previously owned by Nelly Furtado boasted a wine cellar and beautiful outdoor spaces including balconies, patios and a lovely little grassy area.

Click the links to view this amazing house, at least until someone buys it!

http://www.realestateshows.com/flyer.php?id=266428


The next one is a fair bit smaller, but has views from here to eternity. Built in the 1950's, subsequent remodels did justice to its vintage yet added contemporary appeal. Take a look-see.








We got very excited about the prospect of giving our house a little cosmetic face lift, staging, seeing how much we could sell for then moving to a new neighborhood. Then almost immediately remembered that we love our house and even more our neighborhood and decided to stay put for another 5 years. Nothing like house hunting in 100 degree heat to give your entire life a little perspective.