MLS House Tour Part 1

Thursday our house goes on the market and I am shitting bullets. Or bricks. Or sweating. Or all of the above. I'm not sure how we're supposed to survive a parade of strangers traipsing through our supposedly spotless home at all hours when we own a toddler who naps and makes messes, period. If you have any experience with this, please help me. On to the tour -- today I'm featuring the public spaces. Now, you will be inclined to redecorate and nitpick but rest assured that I have already considered 1000x over every criticism you may levy against my "staging." Having the entire house clean at once and then photographing it all before the kidlet destroyed it was no easy task. Trying to appeal to buyers who do not share my taste in odd furnishings stumped me more than once. So with that in mind, let's do this.

 And that concludes our first portion of the tour. Come back Thursday to see what I forgot to remove from the master bedroom before I photographed it...

If I don't laugh at myself, I might just cry.

Let's Talk About Floors

Hardwood floors always give me... hard wood. I can't think of anything sexier than light gleaming off a set of bronzed, well oiled, shapely planks. Mmm hmmm. Obviously I have my heart set on wood floors for the new house -- the real stuff, please. None of that ersatz laminate or engineered and oddly beveled woodish product will do for me. But guess what? Wood is expensive. And there are waaaay too many choices. But look how pretty it is:

Yes. This is the house I want. But maybe with less expensive flooring.

Or maybe darker?

Wait -- maybe lighter...

Except the grooves kinda freak me out. Dirt traps?

We will probably do strip oak like this, but is this finish too light and modern for a Tudor?

Ok, here is your homework for today:

Please tell me whether you think we should go light, dark or somewhere in between.

Prefinished or site finished?

And finally, does anyone have experience with oiled finishes -- like tung oil or Waterlox? I love the idea of a matte, European style finish.

Stay tuned for an MLS tour of Old House this week... I have been a busy girl.

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As the weather starts to dip into the low 90s here in austin, I can feel myself starting to crave a hot tea and cardigan sweater.  Ahhh yes, weather below 100 degrees:  You feel like fall.  Fall:  I want to spend you here:

Yep, that will do.

Also, happy birthday to my sweety!  He is one million and twelve today.  Good thing I love him.

PS, this is Luis Barragan architecture via