It's not entirely about square footage but about space utilization. I grew up in a 990 square foot house and didn't feel that cramped because it was well laid out. On the other hand my current place has probably >100 square feet of dead space because of an odd living room layout, so it's 1320 that lives more like 1200. But storage is a big part too--the 2nd walk-in closet is completely filled with boxes, plus the half of the garage that isn't used for parking serves as storage plus "shed" (lawnmower, gardening equipment, etc) space.

You'll do better with a smaller number of rooms in the space, too, of course. Ask yourself whether you'd rather have (for example) 3 small bedrooms or 2 bigger ones, especially if they're going to be used as something other than bedrooms.

[Edited on July 12, 2010 at 1:50 PM. Reason : r]

7/12/2010 1:49:18 PM

lemme finish uploading these pics and i'll show you guys this redneck abode

7/12/2010 8:27:47 PM

[Edited on July 12, 2010 at 8:32 PM. Reason : fd]

7/12/2010 8:32:31 PM

The aspect ratio on your TV needs to be fixed, FYI.

7/12/2010 8:32:52 PM

This is what my house use to look like before I bought it:





This is what it looks like now:




I'll take some more pictures of the inside of the house over the weekend and post them later. Will also post more of the backyard (which is what I've been working on the most for the past month). I moved in the last weekend of July and I'm pretty much completely done with everything I want done with the house. I'm only waiting on the plantation shutters to come in and I'm going to do some small electrical things (hide the wires with my home theater set-up and possibly add some ceiling fans to the outside porches).

Oh...and now an NC State flag has replaced the American flag. I had to do it...the guy across the street has his house painted Carolina blue with a big flag waving...he played lacrosse there.

8/24/2010 2:33:47 PM

^Damn, nice job!

8/24/2010 3:02:04 PM

wow, nice job on the house.


I need to post pics of my place. Maybe I will do that tonight

8/24/2010 3:11:34 PM

Well all the credit goes to the contractor who tore it down and re-built it. Wait to give "kudos" till you see what's been done to the inside. It's been a collaborative effort with me and my mom trying to spend the least amount possible but to make it look like there has been a lot of money put into it. Special thanks to my grandmother who passed away this past year so that I was able to use a lot of her furniture.

8/24/2010 3:27:02 PM

Man NeuseRiveRat must be poor as shit

8/24/2010 3:29:58 PM

^^ Whats with that gate on the side?

8/24/2010 4:05:22 PM

It was to prevent people from coming in and stealing shit that was left in the yard while the house was being rebuilt. They actually just came and removed it today (it has been moved to the side).

8/24/2010 4:24:36 PM

man all of that from a few 15% tips!

8/24/2010 4:31:07 PM

Truth be told...that house is all bartending money.

8/24/2010 4:34:11 PM

Just finished taking pictures of the house. A little background info...

The house was originally built into 1891. It was a top bottom duplex. The only way you could get to the top was on a fire escape on the side of the house. And there were no bathrooms, just out-houses. So when the contract re-built the house, he had to add stairs and bathrooms. So that took a little space out of the kitchen and 2nd bedroom, but I think it worked out well.

Nobody had lived in the house since 1950, so it was pretty dilapidated. The city bought it about 5 or 6 years ago along with many other run-down properties downtown and they were going to do some kind of housing project with all of them. However, the city ran out of money and eventually sold it to a contractor who specialized in re-building and re-modeling houses downtown. This was going to be his fifth such house just on this street. When I looked at the house it was completely bare, no cabinets or appliances in the kitchen, just beautiful hard wood floors (that he salvaged from the original) and the frame and porches.

I put a low offer, they countered with an offer in the middle, and we went under contract and I got to pick out cabinets, counter-tops, appliances, etc. I'm pretty much completely done with the house except that I'm waiting on plantation shutters and I need to furnish the upstairs porch. I also might put a small desk in my room because I'd like to door more work from home. Without further ado...we have, 37 Kennedy Street, Charleston, SC:



Old picture again, pre-construction.



Picture looking straight at the house from the street:



Side view of porches:



Driveway view:



Front porch view:



Front of house view with yard-work I've done since moving in:



Up-close view of front porch, with bistro table and chairs. This is the morning chill spot with the coffee and newspaper reading...also late afternoon wine and beer spot before I ride the bike out to eat and drink somewhere:



I LOVE my back yard. It's really hard to find a house with a decent back-yard downtown. This would be a very above-average sized backyard for downtown Charleston. I mow and weed-eat it every Sunday. Total, yard work takes about 30 minutes. I put a lot of work into the edges of the yard. The contractor put down these stupid wood-chips outside of the grass. Weeds were growing everywhere when I moved in. I pulled what I could, then I put down this anti-weed like tarp, and covered it all with straw. Works great. Borrowed an edger a few weeks ago and edged the yard. Now I just used the weed-eater. Again..I love my little backyard:



Backside view of the house:



Patio view. Patio is part of the original house from 1891...just old stone and brick. I love the palm tree that gives it shade during the day. New grill and aluminum patio furniture courtesy of Lowes...my new favorite store:



Shed me and a buddy built a couple weeks ago. Mainly to house yard equipment and my bikes (notice cup-holders in all bikes). I pretty much ride everywhere. One of downtown's luxuries:



Next post will be inside pictures of the house.

8/29/2010 1:39:13 PM

When you first walk in the house you see this:



You look the right, you see the kitchen:



You look to the left you see the den:



Better pictures of 1st floor, full bath:







More pics of kitchen:



http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs160.ash2/41341_832803947169_11812210_44779351_605410_n.jpg

Coffee, sugar, and sour patch kids, just the bare necessities:



I fucking love these fireplaces...there are two full ones, but one goes up from the kitchen to the 2nd bedroom, and the other goes up from the den into the master bedroom...here's the on in the kitchen:



More pics of the den. This is the hutch turned mini-bar. This is one of the pieces I got from my grandma's old house. She passed away this past January I've lucked up and got a ton of her furniture:



This is her old secretary that I've pretty much just made into a bookcase:



Den fireplace:



Bad-ass coffee table I found at a consignment shop for a great price:



The most ridiculously comfortable chairs you'll ever sit in...they go all the way back...oh, and they swivel:



My pride and joy, new Sony 46" LED flat screen...with accompanying Blue-Ray and Home Theater system:



Upstairs hallway, 2nd bedroom door...roommate was asleep, so no pictures of that room:



Left side of upstairs bathroom:



Right side of upstairs bathroom:



Hallway view of my bedroom:



I have two pretty small closets, but the cool part is that the closet doors were the old front doors of the original house:



Dresser with wall-mounted TV. One project left is to hide the wires on the upstairs and down-stairs tvs:



Better view of the master bedroom chimney:



Upstairs porch...work in progress. Thinking a hammock at the far end and just some rocking chairs on the near end:



NC State flag hanging...looks great compared to the puny UNC flag across the street with his shitty faded baby blue painted house:



One final look at the back-yard from the upstairs porch:






[Edited on August 29, 2010 at 2:01 PM. Reason : .]

8/29/2010 1:54:08 PM

nice, dude!

8/29/2010 1:57:26 PM

HOLY SHIT!

Did he just bulldoze it and start over? I can't imagine that even the frame was still usable after 50 years of rain leaking in.

8/29/2010 1:59:25 PM

yeah, thats a strong effort there

8/29/2010 2:03:30 PM

I honestly have no idea. All of the wood siding is new, but he had to keep a decent amount of the framing intact because all the window framing is original along with the front door frame. I do know that he tore the whole roof off and that's new.

One of the reasons I liked this house was because I wouldn't have to do anything major (knock on wood) in the foreseeable future. New roof, new siding, brand-new plumbing, brand-new appliances, brand-new heating and air, etc. Everything that needed to be done was cosmetic and up to me...and at low costs. The most expensive things I've had to do was get plantation shutters and just furnishing here and there.

8/29/2010 2:07:02 PM

outstanding job on the renovation. it really gives me hope for my place. did you hire an architect/interior designer?

my place was built in 1940 and while livable, there is so much that needs to be done i don't even know where to start. i ran out of motivation (and money) back in the spring and basically only live out of 2 rooms.

8/29/2010 2:09:05 PM

Quote :

"it really gives me hope for my place. did you hire an architect/interior designer? "

Nope...just me and my mom.

The contractor picked out the color of the house and all of that. He also did the basic bathroom stuff (where to put the commodes and sinks) And me and him worked on designing the kitchen (basically just figuring out where we were going to put the cabinets and the appliances).

But me and my mom did everything else. I'm lucky that she is good at the house stuff. She has friends back home that ask her to do interior decorating at their places. We got lucky with a bunch of stuff from my grandma's house, then she would just come down to Charleston for a few weekends and we would go out and pick stuff out. I think it turned out amazing, and although I take a decent amount of credit, it would not look the way it does without her. She's awesome.

8/29/2010 2:16:20 PM

Quote :

"Man NeuseRiveRat must be poor as shit"

you nailed it, slave

i'm so poor i have to raise my own chickens for eggs




and i had to build the pen myself



i even have to kill squirrels to eat for supper



and pick wild blackberries. can't afford them at the store



it's tough out here, man

[Edited on August 29, 2010 at 4:38 PM. Reason : asdf]

8/29/2010 4:30:34 PM

you own slaves? why does the acura get the carport?

8/29/2010 4:38:56 PM

I still need to get pics of my house posted...

8/29/2010 4:39:29 PM

the dakota has never been sheltered since i got it. it can handle it. it's tuff, son.

8/29/2010 4:40:18 PM

haha

must build garage with lift and tool box

you doing any moving around and haulin shit there

[Edited on August 29, 2010 at 4:46 PM. Reason : gaert]

8/29/2010 4:46:03 PM

House my wife and I are building. Hope to be moving in around October.

[Edited on August 29, 2010 at 4:49 PM. Reason : ...]

8/29/2010 4:48:29 PM

hell, i'd settle for another barn with a shelter. there's tons of shelters and stuff around here, but they're all full of junk. i don't even have anywhere to put the boat, so it's still in goldsboro.

not doing any hauling. most folks up here have trucks and trailers. no college/city people who need my services.

i am looking for a small utility trailer. 6x12 would be perfect. holler if you see a deal on one.

[Edited on August 29, 2010 at 4:51 PM. Reason : ^are y'all actually building it or are y'all paying someone to build it?]

8/29/2010 4:50:44 PM

So here's my place. I moved in a little over a month ago. Still got a lot of landscaping to do, and I need to widen the driveway. I'll get more pics along the way.

Some of you guys have really nice houses!

8/29/2010 4:52:39 PM

yeah man, you need to pull out all those overgrown bushes

8/29/2010 4:53:38 PM

All in good time...

8/29/2010 4:54:26 PM

got a real fireplace or gas logs?

8/29/2010 4:57:53 PM

It's got a real fireplace, but I'll probably install gas logs this Fall. I already had to completely replace the HVAC system. The system that was in the house was old, and the air handler was in a closet. The drain pipe had gotten clogged long ago and filled everything full of water, and had rotted the wood floor and sub-flooring underneath. The sellers only wanted to repair what was there, and I wouldn't have it. Ended up getting them to pay half of the replacement cost for a completely new system, that I'll get a nice tax credit and a rebate from progress energy. The replacement air handler went into the crawlspace and made room for this:

Every room is wired for internet now. 6 behind the TV, 5 in the computer room, and 2 in each of the three bedrooms.

8/29/2010 5:16:06 PM

^should i be impressed?

gas logs make me

8/29/2010 5:34:10 PM

Yes, you should

If I didn't live in Cary, and had enough property with trees to cut down, I'd use the fireplace the way it was intended to be used back in 1985 when the house was built.

8/29/2010 5:42:16 PM

I think you might live right up the street from me

8/29/2010 5:45:05 PM

Quote :

"^are y'all actually building it or are y'all paying someone to build it"

Sorry, we are paying a family friend to build it. I am doing some small things here and there to save money but nothing major.

8/29/2010 8:41:44 PM

^^^it's pretty easy to find cheap firewood on CL

and it's easy to find it for free if you have a chainsaw, a truck, and some work ethic

8/29/2010 8:43:28 PM

i guess ill have new pictures to post in here in a few weeks

8/29/2010 8:45:58 PM

unexpected squirrel guts ITT

although I did click the pic...but I was only expecting dead squirrel, not semi-disembowelled squirrel

8/29/2010 9:42:17 PM

jbrick your house is amazing!!! you and your mom did a wonderful job with the furnishings & decorating. it looks very classy and very masculine

never sell that thing, never!!

can it be considered a historical landmark or anything? it would be cool if you created some sort of book about the house & the history and even include previous owner info in there and you could include the old pics & the info about the patio. seems like a very special house.

8/29/2010 11:02:40 PM

Quote :

"it looks very classy and very masculine"

Ha, word for word, that's exactly what my mom kept repeating when we were decorating the place. I'll tell her someone else said the same thing, she'll love it.

I haven't checked the history of the place. I do know that the renovations is up for a Carolopolis Award, which is HUGE in Charleston...gets you one of those little stone plaques to put on the front of the house...and exponentially increases the re-sell value: http://www.preservationsociety.org/program_awardcategory.asp.

I don't know about never selling it though. It's not the biggest house. I definitely plan on staying in it for 5 years at the least and probably 10 years at the most. It's perfect for a young couple...and is fine for small family with one young kid. But after that, it will be time to move on to something bigger. It would be nice to be financially well off to where I could just afford to keep it, but I'll hopefully make some good money off of it in the future.

8/30/2010 8:28:39 AM

Quote :

"Every room is wired for internet now. 6 behind the TV, 5 in the computer room, and 2 in each of the three bedrooms. "

Why would you need 6 ethernet ports behind the TV?

8/30/2010 10:49:27 AM

to flex your nerd muscles on tww

8/30/2010 10:51:32 AM

just looking at pictures of charleston gives me an anxiety attack...

brickhouse knows why.

but nice place, dude.

8/30/2010 10:53:36 AM

wii, xbox, ps3, windows media center

i use 4

8/30/2010 10:54:29 AM

^^That girl would give anybody an anxiety attack. Charleston is much better without those...you need to come back down without the distractions.

8/30/2010 10:59:52 AM

Quote :

"Why would you need 6 ethernet ports behind the TV? "

TV, Blu-Ray Player, Xbox, Media Player, DirecTV, and a spare.

8/30/2010 12:45:16 PM

i'm on the opposite end of the spectrum with no hardwired internet service in my house

8/30/2010 12:48:45 PM

^^

seems like it woulda been a lot easier and cost effective to put a switch in your entertainment center instead of that many runs of cat5 to where your TV is. I have an 8 port switch with a gig uplink to my 'core' switch in my wiring closet.

8/30/2010 1:00:02 PM