Looking Like A Done Deal! Nether-Noser-Land Castle Details.

Now that we're back and waiting until our meeting with the moving company on Thursday, I have a few minutes to panic, clean, curse the "Ikea Index" and field questions about the trip. The most common so far is, "Wait- which house did y'all finally pick?" Without further adieu, here is THE House:

Ground Floor

This is the front of the house- it's a row-style 3-story home with a garden in front and in back.


Yep, that's right- #13. With everything else that has gone on, I figured it is good luck at this point!


The front window is large and open, a Dutch tradition. It is customary to keep this window uncovered (it's a Calvinist thing, I think- shows you're not misbehaving) so that your neighbors can peer in, which they would NEVER do, since it is also Dutch custom to protect others' privacy by not peering.


A horrid shot of the front garden. Roses, boxwood, and gobs of things that die from heat exhaustion here in Texas. Things you have only seen Martha Stewart grow on her luxurious estate in Martha's Vinyard or wherever on earth she is.



This is right off the entry room (which without a fisheye lens was impossible to photograph in any way to show more than the doorway), the stairs to the upstairs. Underneath the most shallow part of the stairs is a small storage area, then past is the guest toilet.


Here's the guest toilet- another characteristic of a traditional Dutch home. It is teeny, has a toilet, brush, small trash can, and a tiny sink. Notice the two-option flush; small button for small flush (#1), big button for big flush (I'm sure you can figure this out).


On the right is the living/dining room, a similar layout to our current house. This living room features a fireplace, and the back of the house opens out to the back garden.




The kitchen is very large by Dutch standards, and includes a nice sized fridge/freezer, a 5-burner gas stove, oven and microwave (hidden in the cabinets). Also there is a dishwasher, disguised with a face to match the rest of the cabinetry.




This is the back view of the house (the kitchen is the wood-sided part of the house on the right) and a view of the little gate that connects to the neighbor's yard- Megan is peeking through to say hello to the boys that live next door.




At the top of the stairs on the 2nd (or 1st, depending on your take of things) floor are the bedrooms and the bathroom. Here's the bath- it has both a tub and a shower, and is small, but laid-out very efficiently.


The very first room to the left of the bathroom will most likely be Megan's room- it has a cute fish motif on the walls. She seems pretty fond of it!




The next room to the left is the master bedroom, which is tiny, but has more closet space than our current house.




The last room to the left is SO tiny that I want to use it as a closet. I think it was a nursery for the previous owners.


Up to the top floor is another set of stairs- they have hardware attachments for gates, they are a bit steep and narrow by American standards, but are some of the least frightening stairs we saw in our house hunting.


The top floor is where the laundry machines are located, and there is a lot of room up there, maybe for some sorters or a hanging rack on wheels.






There is a nice-sized bedroom on the top floor, too, which we hope to fill many times during our stay- it has blackout curtains built right into the windows, folks- this is a 4-star accomodation!




That's it! We're in the process of signing the lease today, so we'll have a timeline on our move over in the next few days!