Forest Road

We went to the house today to share with Matt's Mom and Dad and my girlfriend, Sarah, just what we're getting ourselves into! I took a handful of more detailed images.

We learned so much more about the house, too. Two of the four boys that were raised there were at the house and shared lots of great stories. They also gave me a few photos from 1960 to scan and have to help preserve the history of the house.


You can see in the black and white image on the left (you can click on the images for larger views), the original 1925 house before the addition and removal of the front porch.
The image to left, also taken in 1960, shows the family as posed for a Christmas card.

We walked up and down the 4 acres and explored all over the house. It was fun looking at the house knowing that it really will be our home in just a few months....though hard to see passed the 50 years of photographs and art,
books and heirlooms.

On the right you'll see the kitchen from one angle, notice the stainless steel work space and the 60's built in oven.


On the left is the "informal living room" and the "formal living room" on the right.

The fireplace in the informal living room is a corner fire place with two windows to access it and a fan that is thermostat controlled. While we sat and visited the room became very warm! It was cozy on this cold, early winter day.

The master bedroom is so wonderful with a fireplace and really great light. You can see on the left the dormer window and the fireplace with the mantle. I can just imagine having some fresh balsam fir clippings and holly berries on the mantle with a crackling fire at Christmas time next year.

As mentioned before, outside there is plenty of garden space and here you can see the six raised beds and a proper larger garden space around it. There is a 27 tree apple orchard and two large mature concord grape vines. We'll have more than enough to keep us busy indoors and out!
The image below and on the right shows the driveway and the detached garage. It used to be the original barn that went with the farmhouse, but has been since remodeled and is in great shape. It is built into a hill, so there is car space on the upper ground level and a huge amount of space (could fit cars) on the lower level. It could easily house a wood working shop for Matt AND a pottery studio for me, should I ever return to that. The driveway looks longer in the photo than it really is, but it gives a sense of where the garage sits in relation to the house.

I am not sure that I have made it clear in previous posts, but this house and land is in Lansing city limits. It is 2 miles from the university and from all the wonderful things this city has to offer. There is a bus stop right in front of the house that has a direct line to the library! To the left is a Google Earth satellite image that illustrates where the house and land are in relation to things close by. To the North and West of the property (outlined in red) is the Fenner Nature Center. It is owned by the city and has miles of hiking trails. We'll have access through the fence in the backyard!

Having been to the house 3 times in the last month, I am increasingly aware of how lucky we are to have found this perfect homestead. The pressure of finding a place is off, now the waiting to move in begins. We have our inspection on Wednesday!