Yale House Tour: My First Open House

The completed Yale House.

Before we bought the house

Today I am thrilled to finally present the completed Yale House. I'm partial, not only because Jordan transformed it into a lovely home, but also because it was where that I hosted my very first open house, last May. 

Did you know the purpose of an open house is not to sell the home? It's actually a way for realtors and brokers to find new clients and for nosy neighbors to take a peak inside. We had discovered this the hard way back when we were new buyers, popping into homes without an agent, only to learn that the houses were often already under contract. Knowing this, when it came time to sell the Yale house, we decided not to host an open house. Instead, we planned to list the home on the MLS and wait for buyers to make showing appointments. 

But then I remembered all the open houses I'd been to over the years...beginning when I was about ten, on dates with my Dad in our neighborhood. And then in college with Jordan, viewing Palm Beach mansions, and later in Denver, dreaming about buying our very own bungalow. 

I'd just completed my broker's license, and the Yale House was the first I was selling as the agent rather than the owner. An open house might be kind of fun! Plus, I'd get to hear feedback on the changes we'd made to the home. So I borrowed open house signs from my company, and sifted through my closet searching for my best real estate broker outfit.

Our new plan was simple: put the house on the market Thursday night, host the open house on Saturday, offer private showings Sunday, receive offers on Monday, and accept one on Tuesday. (Yes, the Denver market is that crazy right now.) 

However, a small glitch threatened to ruin our plan. The night I was to list the home, the MLS system was under construction. Our home couldn't be listed, so no one would know it was for sale unless they happen to drive by. I frantically called my managing broker, who walked me through some ideas, but nothing worked. He suggested listing the home on Zillow and Craigslist, in hopes of drawing some attention. I also desperately posted the listing on Facebook. And we waited until Saturday morning, hoping someone--anyone--would come to our open house. 

Saturday dawned and I was so nervous! Even though I'd recently passed the broker's exam, and had already been a part of six buying and selling transactions as the owner, it was the first time I'd listed a home myself. What if someone asked me a question I couldn't answer? What if I couldn't remember all of the house stats? I drilled Jordan: "What material is the roof made of? Which appliances have warranties? What year was the house built?" I wrote 1946 on the palm of my hand.

My first visitors were easy. Aunt Kathy and Uncle Jim were full of compliments and asked no difficult questions. The next guests were neighbors, curious to see how the house had changed. They were full of compliments, too. And then some real live, prospective buyers came in. A twenty-something gal and her parents. She was full of compliments and her parents were full of questions. I fielded most of her Dad's competently, and was only thrown off when he asked about insulation in the garage-turned-kitchen. "Let me chat with the contractor about that and get back to you," I smiled, eyeing Jordan who was inconspicuously perusing the house, pretending to be a buyer, our baby strapped on his chest.

Some people had noticed the open house signs, others saw our postings online. Though it wasn't as crowded as I'd hoped, I was happy to have anyone at all viewing the home. I tried to give our visitors space, pretending to spruce up the fake plants in the rooms next to them, straining to hear their comments.

One couple had been touring for at least twenty minutes when I overheard them trying to decide where they would fit their dinning room table. 

I texted Jordan, "Good sign: A couple is imagining themselves in the house."

Shortly after, they started asking me questions about the home, the schools, the neighborhood. They seemed pleased with my responses.

Then the gal got down to business: "Well, we've never bought a house before. What do we do?" 

"Oh, how exciting!" I said. Oh no! I have no idea! I thought. 

"Let me explain the process a little bit." What's the process?? 

"So one of the first things you'll want to do is"...ummmmmm...."get pre-approved for a mortgage! Do you have a lender?" How did I know that? 

They did not have a lender, so I gave them some names. 

...

By the end of the weekend, we had two official offers on the home and accepted the (better) one from this sweet couple. As it turns out, sometimes an open house does sell a home.

So please, take yourself on the tour...

I posted a few small 'before' pictures below the 'after' pictures. 

Be sure to let me know if you have any questions about roof materials or appliance warranties. I may just need to check the palm of my hand first.

Above: The base of the chandelier broke while Jordan was trying to hang it. But we thought it looked better without the glass bottom. We replaced the regular bulbs with large, round ones.
Below: The window you see through the archway is the same window to the right of the clock above.

Adding a wet bar in the hallway was a great way to modernize and use wasted space while connecting the kitchen and dinning room. 

In this space, Jordan added canned lighting, refinished the floors, and painted the walls.

More before and after pictures of the garage-turned-kitchen here

More on the loveliest basement bedroom here

Much of the beautiful staging is thanks to my talented cousins, Casey and Jena, who helped me clean and decorate.

More bathroom pictures here

The two upstairs bedrooms received a coat of paint and refinished floors.

In the existing bathroom, Jordan replaced a row of alternating flowered tiles with these green glass ones, painted the walls, and switched out the mirror and light fixture.

The backyard received a garage, new grass, a fire pit, a patio, and a deck!

How to Magically Change the Location of Your House

Most people don't want to live on a busy street. This posed a problem for us in selling the Yale House, which often had cars and busses whizzing by.

Because the one thing you can't change about a home is the location. Unless you have a magic wand. Or a house on wheels.

Or unless you live on a corner.

Before we stepped in, the entire front yard was a rock driveway. Why bother with a front yard when you're on such a busy street?

Here is a view of the side of the house which is on a quiet, pleasant street.

 

Here you can see the original front door on the right. You can also see the side of the house that made a much better front than the real front.We simply added the front door where the entryway window was.

This also meant adding a porch, walkway, and pergola. The pergola was a big hit with the neighbors. One woman asked if she could hire Jordan to build one at her house.

A sleek, new mailbox and a modern porch light finished the look with the help of some greenery. 

The brick space between the windows felt bare, so we added a clematis and a trellis it could climb.

Can you see the original front door peaking out above the fence? Instead of removing it, we kept it as an entrance to the side yard. Jordan added a double-thick fence along the busy street to keep traffic noise to a minimum. Part of the old driveway still left plenty of room to park cars next to the new front yard. And the leftover rock driveway in the new side yard was the perfect size for a corn hole court.

The backyard needed some spiffing up, too.

Remember the garage door from the before picture?

It became those french doors leading to the kitchen, and off of it, Jordan build a deck. 

Around the corner he added a patio and fire pit. And grass. That always helps.

And since we turned the garage into the kitchen, we had another garage built.

You may not be able to magically change the location of your house...

...but you can change the location of the front door...

...and the result sometimes ends up being pretty magical.

Sources

Front door/mailbox/light fixture/trellis/wood: Home Depot

Front door paint color: Naval by Sherwin Williams

How to turn a Garage into a Kitchen in 1,000 Easy Steps

I didn't actually count the steps--or hours--it took Jordan to create the Yale House kitchen. But it had to be a lot because he began with an unheated, unwired, concrete floor garage and ended with the kitchen you see above.

If you'd like to move your kitchen into the garage, or build a second kitchen just for fun, simply follow these steps:

Step 1: Observe the disjointed, nonfunctional feel of your ugly kitchen.

Step 2: Notice that the kitchen is basically a hallway into the garage. 

(Door to garage is pictured below).

Step 3: Note the potential in your attached garage to become more living space.

Step 4: Lament that the closet and wall cut off the existing kitchen and garage from the living and dining space.

Step 5: Knock down said wall.

Steps 6-600: Add outlets, switches, canned lighting, heat, insulation, a ceiling, a floor, plumbing and drywall to the garage. 

Step 601: Remember that access to the basement is beneath the trap door on the garage floor.

Step 602: Begin building another set of stairs where the old kitchen was.

Step 603: Replace the garage door with French doors. 

Step 604: Connect the soon-to-be kitchen to the living space by expanding the doorway.

Step 605: Score cabinets at the Re-Store for a great deal and re-arrange your entire kitchen floor plan.

Step 606: Lay subway tile everywhere. If you are inspired by your daily commute on the highway like Jordan was, you can lay the tiles in the same pattern you see on the concrete, highway barrier wall.

Steps 607-998: Install cabinets, counters, sinks, appliances, and fixtures. Grout tile, add trim, and paint.

Step 999: Panic because your cabinets did not come with side panels.

Find side panels that match perfectly at IKEA.

Step 1000: Pat yourself on the back because everyone who sees the house will not believe the kitchen used to be a garage.

Before(ish)/After:

Before (the fun stuff)/After:

Before(ish)/After Wet Bar:

Before Halfway/After:

Source List

Cabinets/Wine cooler/Oven Hood: Habitat for Humanity Re-Store

Counters: Brekhus Marble and Granite

Kitchen Sink/Faucet: IKEA

Pendant/Subway Tile/Floor Tile: Home Depot

Oven/Refrigerator/Dishwasher/Wet Bar Sink and Countertop: Craigslist