Tasteful Friends: Connecticut Cottage Edition

I'd tell him to strip the GHASTLY wallpaper out of the dining room and keep all of the artwork except the fish painting in the bathroom, and give him the option of keeping any furniture he liked... but it's a hell of a nice little cottage.

I'd love to own a place like that, if I could move it to somewhere I wanted to live.

Adorable little house. Nice with its own drive, set back from the road.

I'd get rid of all the horrible wallpaper and the gray paint. Don't like the bedroom off the kitchen.

But it's not a lot of money.

and have no idea what Newton CT is like.

Newtown looks a bit redneck to me.

There must be a good reason it’s so cheap.

The owner changed the road name to Freedom Defenders Way. Mmm hmm.

Read the property description, it's a hoot.

I like it except for the tub. Prefer not to wrap myself in a plastic sheet to take a shower.

It's the upper part of Fairfield County, R3. What would make you think redneck?

Why is it so cheap?

Two words: Sandy Hook.

Freedom Defenders sounds pretty ominious. I'm thinking AR-15s, tiki torches and Fred Perry polo shirts.

That's the gayest house description I've ever read. And Freedom Defenders Way doesn't mean they are right-wing necessarily.

It's def a gay man that lives there. The decor reads gay but the description seals it.

I like it except for the front door opening directly into the dining area.

Real estate prices didn't take a hit because of a school shooting, R7. It's a 2 bed 1 1/2 bath cottage. Not everything is a million or more in Connecticut.

It's cute but def staged. I don't care for the decor at all. Could I commute to NYC from there?

People do, R12 but it's a haul at around 70 miles. You could drive to the train at a few spots, Usually staging is much blander than this, so if it is staged they did a hell of a job,

The rooms are small.

What R2 said. Fabulous little cottage, but the inside is a bit 'mannered'.

It's super cute and it looks like it's in good shape. The kitchen looks v. modern. One or two people. The wallpaper is nice but a little much for a small place. Agree the front door into the dining room is a little odd. Call it charm. The upstairs has low clearance.

I think that's Litchfield County. It's very pretty.

Is this an effort to work Sandy Hook into conversation?

It has great bones but I hate the renovation and the decor is horrid. I’d rather see it completely empty.

Newtown is okay. It’s got some very cute old homes and bunch of crappy raised ranches from the 60s/70s.

Adorable exterior and love the interior finishes but I’d declutter about half the furnishings and accessories. Perfect for a single eldergay like me.

I'd really like to see a picture of Lola, heavily mentioned in the description.

[quote]Adorable exterior and love the interior finishes but I’d declutter about half the furnishings and accessories. Perfect for a single eldergay like me.

Looks very removed from the town. You'll need your car.

Pretty little house, but that entrance straight into the dining room would have to be changed for me.

I like. I would turn the bedroom next to the kitchen into an office.

There's an entrance into the kitchen at the back. You could shut the other one off.

[quote]I like. I would turn the bedroom next to the kitchen into an office.

Then you'd only have one bedroom.

The only full bath is downstairs, so I don't know that turning your guest room in to master is the best idea.

Lola smiled and took me by the hand

She said, "Little boy, gonna make you a man."

Darling cottage if you scrap the wallpaper and the kitchen stools. But too small for more than one person with a small dog.

[quote]The only full bath is downstairs, so I don't know that turning your guest room in to master is the best idea.

I don't think it would be too hard to extend upstairs so you'd have a bathroom and bigger bedroom

I'd sink a small pool in the yard.

One could switch out the "dining room" and "living room", even if that meant in order to serve dinner one would have to walk an extra ten feet through the living room. But that way, the door would open onto the "living room". It's just a question of shuffling furniture around.

But yes, it's a lovely home for a single person with taste or a couple, possibly a family with one child. If I had any desire to live in Connecticut, I'd have a look.

[quote]What would make you think redneck?

"Freedom Defenders Way."

I like the house, OP, but it can't be both "masculine" and "a gem."

Not a bad idea r31. And it means the fireplace would be in the living room.

Bought for $130K five years ago and wants almost $300K now? Yeah, ok. Not paying for your poorly thought-out renovation, toots.

Where are pictures of the basement?

[quote]What would make you think redneck?

The seemingly only diner in town.

Is there anything to do round there?

It's all very well...

This place is getting the ultimate Gay Seal of Approval, in that only redecoration and minor tweaks are being suggested!

Like on the second story, there's a sort of empty space next to the stairwell with a desk in it, with a narrow and presumably triangular "storage" space next to it where the roof meets the wall. I'd wall off that entire space, and use it for a storage space I could stand up in. Sigh. I wish I could find a nice little house like this in my area.

I'd tell him to tear down that BITCH of a bearing wall and put a window where a window'd oughta be!

R 13 The decor reminded me of Better Shelter style in LA, but more of an east coast version.

Is anyone else getting sick of all the grey?

I am.

Oh wow, R39. That'a pretty accurate. Looks like an account that I will be following. I'm a sucker for a good before/after reveal.

[quote]Is anyone else getting sick of all the grey?

God, yes. I can't stand it.

What r the property taxes?

Not bad, R43. Around $4,000 annually.

I think it's adorable, OP. I would snatch it up before anyone else has a chance. You can deal with the interior design gradually, after you've thought about how you want it to look.

Newtown is a nice place to live, though a difficult commute to Stamford, NYC, white Plains or Hartford. This house is in spitting distance of a main thoroughfare, I would pass on it as I hate noise and like my privacy.

[quote] I would pass on it as I hate noise and like my privacy.

The house is well set back from the road. But you would hear the noise.

Lola is a little white poodle, isn't she.

I feel like the gay status dog of the moment is a French Bulldog, R48.

I was just about to type "beige French bulldog," r49.

Maybe a gray one, R50. That way his hair won't be as noticed!

The outside is fine, but I HATE the wallpaper in the dining room. Also, I wouldn't call it very masculine, if the inside had more wood and stonework, it would look masculine. I, also, HATE gray in a house, unless it is stonework.

Would be a darling little summer weekend home , surrounded by soothing greenery. A pool would be very nice.

Of course much of the Home Depot interior decoration needs to go.

Cute house.

I don't see how anyone can call the decor Home Depot, R53. It seems pretty custom and lots of vintage.. Care to explain?

I like the shelving units. You can get those at Home Depot?

The stone exterior is too cold - I’d cover it up with a low-maintenance vinyl siding

Good trolling, R57.

Home Depot

I hate the wallpaper and drapes, but other than that I could live and die there quite happily. One man's cottage is another man's castle.

I do wonder about the low price. Solid home inspection required.

Honestly, R60. I live not too far away. That's what prices are out here, and actually, the homeowner is stretching based on per square foot pricing. It's so unique though, so I'm sure it will be snapped up quickly. Gorgeous little house.

Sit out here -smoke a joint and listen to the crickets on the summer nights.

R61 That's great that house prices are so affordable there.

I love that gold door.

It's all relative isn't it, R63? I think someone in rural Kansas would be horrified at this price and the taxes. But yes, even Fairfield County can be affordable.

I like it. I'm also not a fan of the dining table just inside the front door but they must have done that because it's right off the kitchen. The house has a lot of storage and is perfect for one or two people.

Floor plan is wrong. Flip the living/dining rooms. Flip kitchen/bedroom. Put the full bath upstairs. Powder room downstairs, off the bedroom. A toilet next to the kitchen is gross.

How do you position a piece of furniture in that new living room of yours, R86? Just doesn't make sense. Rip out everything and start again? Not too practical are you?

No garage?

I suppose you could build one. It's almost 3/4 of an acre. I'd want a garage too. And no pics of the back yard?

Love the way it looks from the outside. Floorplan is shitty. Bad planning.

I can’t walk into the dining room from the front door. That would have to be fixed. The outside is lovely.

The wallpaper is Farrow & Ball high end printed in the UK. It likely has a slightly raised texture due to the printing process. Likely all the paint downstairs is UK’s Farrow & Ball paint. Very richly pigmented paint that costs about $100/ gallon. This paint is specified by many pros and is highly coveted and used by homeowners and renters. The quality would be apparent upon viewing and it’s possible the “gray” paint might appeal when seen in person. Or, use the same color paint as used in the kitchen in the dining room. That and the living room are very nice.

[quote] Floor plan is wrong. Flip the living/dining rooms. Flip kitchen/bedroom. Put the full bath upstairs.

Not sure all that needs to be done. It'd require a lot of demo. Flipping the living and dining rooms would make entering the house somewhat better. Though it breaks the CW of dining room next to ktichen and could consign the dining room to oblivion. I don't know. A kitchen entrance appeals a little more than a bedroom entrance in this small a place.

The Farrow & Ball paint is just an extravagance that no one but a select few will appreciate. Waste of money that he’s trying to recoup in the sales price. This house is overpriced for the area. All that money for a poor layout and I’m guessing the basement is unfinished.

I do like that the stone cladding looks to be local.

That’s not unusual for any house, anywhere in the world

Actually it is unusual in North America.

R76 is right. Unless it's new build and/or the owner has/had a lot of money, most stone comes from a local/regional source.

I don't like anything about it. Normally I love gray (yeah, getting a little sick of it) but I hate how it's used here. Don't like anything about the decor which seems cold and lifeless. Hate the layout. The bedroom off the kitchen looks like it belongs to a kid who went off to college.

I like cottages but reading up on the tiny house movement, you can appreciate how well designed most of those spaces are. This is just awkward.

You have to remember the house was built in 1928 and the layout may have been in consideration of a specific purpose- and it’s not like you can have a Grand Foyer in a tiny cottage.

I'm going to guess that this is not the original footprint of the first floor. I doubt a house this small had a full dining room, particularly in that spot. The kitchen would also have been a lot smaller, probably with a nook for a table. Perhaps a hallway was removed and the entrances re-worked. I don't mind the paint scheme but agree that it was a waste of money to use Farrow & Ball unless you were getting it for a discount. The decor is nice to me but also agree that the house is priced to pay for that renovation, and it's not worth the asking price for that area. Would also like to see the basement. Cannot believe someone would spend a lot of money and not finish it, which they obviously didn't do since there are no pictures. Is this person a Brit? The paint and the pillow would suggest so but maybe just someone with a flair for the dramatic?

Perhaps moving the front door to the living room side of the porch would solve the dining room problem. Certainly a lot easier than a gut remodel.

Where did the bookshelves come from?

R74 the owner(s) decorated/painted for himself, I hope. I recognized the wallpaper and thought it was pertinent to mention it. Obviously, wallpaper is very personal but it isn’t just some cheap, old wallpaper - it is a newer pattern - and a realtor or prospective purchaser might recognize the newness of the finishes. It could add to the marketability of the home. I don’t know if the house is overpriced. A local commenter above thinks the price is in line.

Housing prices in the northeast are too high. For example the home at the Ops link - Close to $300K for 1,000 square feet. Meanwhile in the burbs around Atlanta you can get 3,000 square feet, with 2 car garage, a nice deck outside, shed, completely fenced in back yard for only $198,000. Which with homestead exemption makes he mortgage around $850 a month.

Yes, but then you get a newish build in a boring suburb that has no soul. I'd rather have something smaller with charm, even with having to deal with eccentricities.

I’m with R10. I don’t like it when the front door opens right into the center of a room. I need a separate entryway.

R9

Whatever Lola wants, Lola gets, I guess.

I'm just not sure my taste would be the same as Lola's is all...

And look at the taxes: the assessed value has gone way down - why if prices haven't taken a hit?

R85 and a two hour commute to downtown in some of the worst traffic in the country.

They're not "too high" if people keep buying them and so far, they have - you know: a fair price is what a willing buyer pays a willing seller.

There's a reason why places like that are cheaper: they're in places like Atlanta.

In the living room to the right of the window, is that a stove? That's a little odd.

Ppl on the DL talk a lot about tasteful friends, yet always present houses that are tasteless

Is it the lack of doilies that you're finding objectionable, R91?

No, it's the lack of style, R92. For reference, please see:

I love the house, if I had the money to custom-build a little bachelor's place of my own, I might steal the floor plans!

But yeah, the fact that the front door opens directly into the dining (or living room) is a problem, and one that can't be easily tweaked. You can't block off a section of that room to form a foyer, because the room isn't large enough. And you can't add a foyer outside, not without sacrificing that lovely fieldstone staircase. So yeah, when I win the lotto and build my little dream home, I'm going to add a foyer and have the fieldstone staircase be a little further out.

I'm surprised that you don't see some of the similarites, R91. Both have an eclectic, mid-century, hand crafted feel.

Love the house except for the tub, hate bathtubs. and yes you can commute to NYC from there

Would love a bedroom off the kitchen. Waking up to the smell of coffee and blueberry pancakes in the morning. Love the entry off the dining room. Come in out of the snow and sit right down to a cup of hot chocolate.

OP, if you love the house, buy it! No need for us to chime in here, the house is being pick, pick, picked apart. The only truly happy person will be you.

It will be your house, do what you want with it!

Why do you think it's the buyer and not the seller?

OP here, just posted the house because I love it. It's not quite the right area for me, and I'd have to sell my house first to afford it. I thought DL might like looking at it.

On 2nd look, there's a side door that opens into the kitchen which is probably most often used. So the front door > dining room is slightly less of an issue.