He’ll huff, and he’ll puff and…

Posted by Aaron Myers On April - 10 - 2011 0 Comment

…he won’t blow this house down! Recently I was showing properties to a young couple in the university area and we came across what I can only describe as a brick palace. I could see this home was not to my clients’ taste, but I was supremely intrigued. It’s not often that I blog about another agent’s listing; I see so many properties, and have listed some pretty unique homes myself so it takes a lot to WOW me.

Ugly Brick

The first thing I thought when we arrived at this home is that one of the previous owners must have been a craftsman. The front fence was only a few feet high but featured brick pillars, iron railings, and large yellow lights on top as well as plug ins for decorative lights at the back. The side fence was also made of brick and concrete but with completely different brick, the railings were actually sculpted poured concrete. While I’m no stone mason I know for a fact that these unique beauties must not have been easy to make, nor were the stone flourettes. The other side fence was altogether different with a mix of concrete block, stone and brick. However the owner must not have like this neighbour as this fence is about 6′ high. Three different stone and concrete fences on the outside, what could the inside be like?

It was not till we got into the basement that I was really wowed! It was like taking a trip to Italy. At the bottom of the stairs is an ode to Italy with red brick arches, art niches, and pillars. In the family room there is Wood burning stove built on a solid brown brick platform. The entire back third of that rumpus room is in brown brick. The feature of the room isn’t the natural looking stone fountain that takes up the other half of the rumpus room, or the meticulously laid ceramic tiles with curving lines, impressive cuts and immaculate grouting.  The feature is a cylindrical pole made out of meticulously cut brick with a lamp on top.  To top it off there is another family room done all in white brick. At last count there was over 6 types of brick and I couldn’t help but think that whoever lived here took the story of the three little pigs to heart.

While the craftsmanship was beautiful, the overall impression was not. This is definitely the kind of decorative chaos that turns buyers away. But is this home a sheep in wolves clothing or an opportunity? A little handiwork and someone could have themselves a great home in a popular neighbourhood.  

Updated Brick
fireplace remodel - http://fireplacedecorating.blogspot.com/2007/06/romantic-fireplace.html

If your home has too much brick, here are some solutions to make it more attractive to today’s buyer:

  • Paint it, black or white preferably
  • Put a mantle on it (covering part of the brick with a wooden mantle  and a large mirror opens the room and reduces the amount of visible brick)
  • Stain it – you can completely update brick surfaces without loosing the brick look (http://www.dyebrick.com/gallery2/main.php)
  • Cover it – if there is just too much brick in your home, put drywall or paneling over top of the brick and hide it altogether

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