Weekends

Now that my House Hunters period is in hiatus (waiting for the repairs and other stuff to happen before closing), I can do other things with my spare time.

Yesterday, I hung out with Kate. Her wife and kids are visiting out of town, so we could goof off all day without worrying about their son's sports schedule, or potty breaks or anything else.

We spent time knitting at the yarn shop in Glyndon, had a late lunch, and then I took Kate for a drive-by of Hampden Place. We ended our tour at the Rita's frozen custard shop down the street, sitting outside and enjoying the early evening calm.

Today, I'm going to meet one of the RIDs for an Orioles game at Camden Yard. My goal is to catch the light rail, which I have never done before. Hahahaha! Can I pile on the stress or what? :)

Hampden Place

It's the kitchen that attracts me. Silestone countertops, a nice gas range, that little leaded glass window at the end that denotes where the original exterior wall ended.... While Kelethin House had a better kitchen layout, every appliance in it was from the early 80s and would have had to be replaced soon. Hampden Place's appliances may not be top-of-the-line, but they are at least from this century. :)

And that's what happens when you hit publish by mistake :D Moving right along...

The living room is a nice, big rectangle right off the kitchen. The floors were refinished last year and look wonderful. And despite the fact that Hampden Place has dropped ceilings, it's still got about an 8-foot ceiling.

There's a front parlor, the living room, the kitchen and then a little sun room on the first floor. I plan to put all the cats' stuff into that sun room. It's what used to be the landing for stairs that led to the patio. I like the space. Maybe the cats won't get it after all!

Upstairs, there are three bedrooms; one at either end of the structure, with a smaller room in the middle next to the most disappointing little bathroom ever. :D

At least it has a skylight...apparently, skylights were de rigueur in the 1920s, when the building was built. For some reason, the current owner decided to redo the bath and installed dark wood cabinets and painted the walls an ugly olive green. It makes the space so visually small. I want to rip out the dark cabinets and replace them, but we shall see.

I debate the merits of losing the third bedroom and converting part of it into a closet and master bath, then adding the extra square footage to the existing bath. The cool thing is that it is already connected to the front bedroom; the little closets between the two rooms are separated by sheetrock that would be easy to remove. It's certainly worth considering.

There's also a basement that runs the full length of the house and can be finished. In the basement is the "maid's toilet" (a toilet without enclosure), washer and dryer, and the door to the patio. There's also a ginormous built-in workshop bench thing. I'm not sure how to describe it, but it's the sort of thing upon which one could pot plants or use power tools. :D

I really like the place. Downside is that dismal bathroom and street parking, but it's walkable to some really cool area shops, two different grocery stores, a movie theater, and restaurants. I wanted a walkable 'hood, and Hampden Place is certainly that!