Here's the pending sale zillow listing

After we sold our house, it's apparently been sold twice and the previous owners have done MAJOR renovations and changes to it. First, I'm shocked at the price. Second, I'm curious what you think. It's very weird to see what other people do to "your" house, so I'm wondering.

Basically, they removed a bunch of wall space by the fireplaces. When we lived there, there were two distinct rooms, and the openings on either side of the fireplace were solid walls with bookcases and shelving on the side next to the kitchen, plain wall on the other side.

Second, the kitchen. That was also a separate room, and it was always my fantasy to remove that wall entirely and end up with a space similar to what they've done, with a large room with the kitchen/family room as a great room. But $$$$. But now that I've seen it, while I still like the idea of removing the walls, it seems like it doesn't really work well.

I'm trying to figure out if it's the structure, the staging, or ...? For what it's worth, the bathroom in photo 31-32 must've been where they ran out of money, because that's my old design.

I love the new sliding glass doors they added to the backyard. When we were there it was all windows, still pretty but the glass doors are a big improvement. Ditto for the laundry room, which was really just the back hallway into the garage before (though we did have the washer/dryer in there). And trust me, the garage never, EVER looked that clean when we lived there!

Finally, what kind of sadist installs dark wooden floors on a house in the Arizona desert? And double-finally, they removed pretty much all the desert vegetation, and trimmed everything else into little balls. Not a fan. They removed a drop-dead gorgeous ocotillo from the front yard that was at least 12 feet tall with maybe 20 branches/arms. When it bloomed, it was spectacular. I hate to think of all the birds that have had to relocate from the native trees that used to be there.

What do you all think?

So am I just freaking out at seeing the changes? Or are some things kind of odd?

I actually like it. I love the openness. But wow, the price!!

That house is stunning! Absolutely stunning! I don’t know that area of Phoenix very well but I’d say the seller left every nickel of $400K on the table. Watch for it to be listed again -
at $1.6.

Whoever staged it is good. Very good. The layout is absolutely what buyers in that price range want. And the view! Yikes!

The furniture works. I had to go back and look at the floor - AC makes light colored ceramic obsolete. It’s not what I would choose but it grounds the furniture.

Is it as functional as the old layout? Probably not. Doesn’t matter. Builders have focus grouped this stuff and it’s what today’s buyers want. They may not have taste but they have money.

If we didn’t have to split between two states I’d buy it in a heartbeat.

Beautiful. That *a lot* of house for $1MM.

What a great view out back, and that pool ... FTW.

Agree with Jon.

quote:

Here's the pending sale zillow listing

Stunning...I like the dark floors constrasted with the light walls (though they show all the dirt).

On the other hand my former home is quite the opposite..peeling paint, over grown.

I like it a lot. It is light, bright and spacious.
Also surprised the price is not higher.

As a farm boy, I cannot abide the barren surrounding landscape. I like places where green things thrive.

I agree with everyone's comments regarding the "bones" of that house. It was great, and I loved living there for all the reasons you all have highlighted.

I had two real fantasies if I had an unlimited budget. The first was to remove the wall between the kitchen and the family room, which they did. I don't like their finishes, but I get that it's trendy and probably on point for what buyers want.

The second was to join/expand the outdoor patio across the full length of the back of the house. I don't understand why they didn't do that (though there may be some structural problems preventing it), but I think having a big outdoor space, with that view, would have been fantastic. I imagined making a real outdoor living space, with comfy chairs, a working kitchen, ceiling fans, etc. (Speaking of ceiling fans, when we owned it every room had a ceiling fan, and they really helped make the house comfy in the summer.)

Re: dark wooden floors, just no. I get that it looks nice, but it will literally show footprints every time you walk in from outdoors. The soil (I use the term loosely) in that area is light colored tiny particles. Imagine tan talcum powder and you're not too far off the mark.

For me, it was like they had a different designer look for every part of the house. "My" bathroom was the original look. The kitchen looks like a semi-French country kitchen. The wine tasting room (?), which was the old dining room, looks like a medieval cave. The wallpaper in the master wc looks like something from Victorian England. The mirrors in the master bath look like a beach cottage, but the dark counters don't have the same vibe.

I dunno, I'm not feeling it. But yes, the bones of the house are great, and I'm so glad they took out that wall! And the view is spectacular--that was why we bought the house, 100%... which was a real stretch for us at the time.

If the current house is nicer, give us a tour!

You mean the house we're in now? Our old house, significantly remodeled, is linked in the first post.

I love our current house as well. Once again, we bought it for the view. I guess we have a type.

I was thinking about the Ocotillo. Do you think that's what was causing the roots to clog the sewer?

I love the old house (linked above). I also love those dark floors. Don't wear outdoor shoes inside, problem solved!

No, the ocotillo was in the front side yard, and the sewer pipe ran more or less under the sidewalk leading to the front door. We removed an acacia tree that was close by while we lived there.

It's so hard to look back at how subsequent owners have changed "your" home, don't you find, Nina?

I am FB friends with the woman who has owned my childhood home since the 1980s. I'm also fb friends with her son, who grew up in that house 20 years after I did. He regularly sends me pics of improvements they've made to the house. His mom has made all the changes my mom dreamed of making when we rented the place in the 50s and 60s, and she has the same exquisite taste in antiques. They have invited me to come visit and stay in my old room--their current guest room. I'm afraid I would cry too much. I never wanted to ever leave that house.

The house i lived in in high school was put up for sale very briefly and so there are lots of photos on zillow. My parents did a very high end remodel a few years before selling--added an attached greenhouse, created a top-floor master suite and a kitchen out of architectural digest, a commercial quality darkroom. The new owners remodeled it up yet another notch, turning what was originally a modest split level ranch into a mcmansion.

Now my house I sold in Missoula I'm afraid to drive by. A neighbor told me they tore out my gardens, a 25-year labor of love.

I get much too attached to houses.