Suzy and I have sold our big house and are purchasing a that is smaller. It is the first step in a five years to retirement program. Suzy worked hard to find us something that we could pay off with the proceeds from the sale of the big house. She came very close.
Here are some of the requirements I had for the new house.
We prefer cul-de-sac streets so that there is no through traffic.
- House should back up to green belt or have view.
- We prefer a great room where the kitchen and the family room merges with no blocking walls.
- We prefer high ceiling, especially in the music room/living room and master bedroom.
- Must have FiOS internet service.
- I want a den, Suzy a bonus room to use as a craft room.
- I wanted at least two guest rooms.
- Three-car garage.
- Gas heating.
- Small yard as I don’t really like doing yard work.
- Near a park, mall, grocery store, etc.
- Back yard fenced in.
So I think Suzy did a really good job meeting all of this criteria.
The first room above is the den (no closet) and will have a wood floor put in before we move in. The second room is Suzy’s bonus room and I’m gonna try to get her to put wood instead of linoleum there too.
It will take a number of years to get as comfortable in this house as we were in the old one. This is our fourth house and it always takes a long time to get everything in place so that the house becomes a home. Fortunately, most of the furniture in the old house will work in the new house. Here’s hoping we have great neighbors in Bothell like we did in Redmond.
The Bis Key Chronicles 
People have religious wars over flooring. If Suzy has objections to wood for sewing (I certainly understand why you wouldn’t have carpeting), Pergo is a nice middle ground, no seams, no maintenance. I was not a believer until one of the medical places where I go put in Pergo because it is super easy to maintain and essentially bullet proof (and cheaper to install). I really thought it was new oak flooring but admittedly if you look carefully you wll see the difference. In the den, you gotta have wood.
I agree! Pergo is also less scratchable or dentable by pets, which is why we opt for it.
We redid our kitchen last fall and, after a long process, chose bamboo. It’s been great for a full year now, under typical kitchen use. (Plus, since we chose one of the lighter shades, it really lightened up the room.) I think it would work fine in other rooms as well.
You can get them in two basic “Janka” hardness ratings: about 1500 (similar to maple) and over 3000 (similar to teak). We chose the harder kind, in case someone drops a skillet on it.
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