Three or four years ago a house up the street went on the market. Because we’re nosy curious, we went to the open house. Oddly enough, it was the same layout as our house before Ben made any changes. Several months ago, the same house went up for sale. Naturally, we had to check it out again. In the three years between open houses, a lot of changes had been made. We thought it would be fun and interesting to compare and contrast similar angles between the open house and our house.
I think it’s safe to say the renovations in this house were made with the intention of flipping. Typically that means safer, more ‘beige’ decisions to appeal to the masses. Because we plan to live here a while, we’ve made decisions that we like, without much consideration for resale. We had always planned to open up the wall in our kitchen, but saw this before we had done anything.
The stairs have also been relocated along the north wall where our entertainment center sits.
We thought it was fun to see another version of the same layout. What are your thoughts on the different takes?
ourhumbleabodeblog.com 
isnt it weird to see a twin of your place but almost in reverse? i own a condo in boston and, when i had it on the market last year, i checked out other condos for sale in the area to gauge what was out there. so many units were almost identical to mine except there were minor differences that felt strange to see! (needless to say, there were tons of places on the market so we didn’t sell but, luckily, have good renters for now!)
oh, and i like the stair location in yours better! 🙂
It is so great to see 2 homes that started out as twins become their own! and ps- as a Realtor that has hosted many open houses, I love it when the neighbors stop by 🙂
I love, love open houses. Maybe that’s why I like reading blogs so much? It’s like house-hunting but with some anonymity. Plus I always feel like a fraud when the Realtor asks if we’re on the market- no… we just bought our house a year and a half ago and still love to trek through other people’s homes on Sundays! 😉
Post some more side-by-sides! I eat them up!
I am surprised that, as an older home, their are other cookie cutter houses out there. We looked at a TON of houses in our neighborhood (build in the same time frame as yours 1950s-1960s) and never found any the same. I just assumed this was because they houses are older….guess not.
Interesting. I wonder why someone thought the stairwell was better on the other side? Seems like very little benefit (if any) for the cost.
Our neighborhood was built up in the late 60s and every house is pretty much a variation of 6 floorplans – I love taking evening walks to peek in windows and see how people have decorated and renovated homes like ours.
I looked at the pictures again and moving that stairwell makes no sense. A house was recently flipped in our neighborhood and some of the changes they made seemed weird to me – but – it sold within a month of listing. I guess that’s why I’m not a flipper.
I want to see more! After those two angles, I figured there would be more..post more if you have them. It’s really interesting to see another take on your home.
Interesting! I wonder why they moved the staircase? If they bought it to flip it, I wonder why they would spend the money on that? i’d love to see more pictures!
I’d love to see more. The owners did a great renovation job. Probably will sell quickly too.
another vote to see more! p.s looove your living room 🙂
I love all the built-in modifications to your home, it makes it look so much more high end! A lot of the houses on our block are exactly the same as our 1937 LA bungalow, but I haven’t gotten a chance to peek in any yet…I’m so curious!
Uhhh I love this comparison post. It is always super nice to see how someone turns a space into their very own by being savvy :o)
Nicole Lisa
http://www.blushcode.com
I love the side by side pictures but I prefer your house. The open one is just bland and nothing special. I am glad that I am not the only one snooping on houses in my neighborhood tough. Especially loved the sheet rock picture (my husband and I are always looking at others people’s work as well). So your house is the winner 🙂
there is a clear winner here: your home. it rocks. {jealous!}
I’d love to see the rest of the pictures too! Any news on that layout plan… I still just can’t work it all out in my head!
Hi everyone! I’ll plan on more posts about the open house. Just so you all know, the house sold within two months of being on the market. I don’t know exactly why they moved the stairs, but I prefer our layout. We use our living room every day, so it’s nice to have it as large and functional as possible.
My Honest Answer, I still have to work on that. We’ve been a little busy with the kitchen stuff so I haven’t had a spare minute to work on a plan. I’ll post something as soon as I can though. 🙂
Thanks!
Amanda
Seeing all the differences between the same layout would be interesting. By the way, I like what you’ve done so much!
Can’t wait to see more posts on this open house compared to your house. I love this kind of stuff!!
And P.S. I like yours better! 🙂
I’d love to see the rest of the pictures!
I like your house so much better. It has more polish and more details.
The other one is nice tho, and will be a good starting off point for whoever buys it.
i have to ask (because I have been searching for one ever since this post) where did you get your awesome chevron throw?!?!!?
Hi Autumn, The throw was from TJ Maxx a few years ago. Sadly, after a quick internet search I couldn’t find anything for a reasonable price. Here’s one for 100 bucks: http://www.allmodern.com/In2Green-Eco-Chevron-Blanket-BL01CH-IXG1005.html Here’s something that might be okay because it’s cheap: http://www.hm.com/gb/product/80316?article=80316-A This one has a bold pattern even though it’s slightly different: http://www.amazon.com/Herringbone-Zigzag-Eco2Cotton-Afghan-Blanket/dp/B003VKRCB6 or they have it in green: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003VKVSUC/ref=asc_df_B003VKVSUC1414022?tag=thefind0253460-20&creative=395261&creativeASIN=B003VKVSUC&linkCode=asn Sorry to tease you, but maybe one of these could substitute?
Good luck!
Amanda
thank you so much for helping me in my search!!
I think I like your house better! I’m with everyone else on not really understanding why the flipper chose to move the stairs.