A Kansas City Real Estate Blog by Realtor, Sarah Snodgrass

Oh snap, I found MY HOUSE. I love it and I want it. It is so over the top decorated – seriously, it is like a museum in there. But even with (and strangely enough, maybe because of) all this stuff, the house really speaks to me. I didn’t realize how much I liked the traditional center hall plan, but this one is really well-built, it has that vintage charm I love, and it is sunny and bright inside. Plus, it is across the street from the Brookside shops and the trolley track trail. Check out some pics:

Entry with cool black trim details

Front of house

Guest room - all white and overflowing with lush green plants

Ever read the Before and After section of Design Sponge? It is so fun, and I am especially fond of viewing the exterior renovations. This particular story was submitted to me by a reader living in Johnson County. She noticed that this ranch for sale just off Johnson Drive has a striking similarity to an exterior renovation featured on Design Sponge. Good eye, Ashlee! The house is very affordable and would be a great candidate for a design sponge style makeover. I am not sure I would go as modern as they did in the renovation, but it is exciting to see the changes and what is possible. If you are looking for a quality home to renovate and add value to, call me! I love this kind of stuff, and I know about a slew of great makeover candidates for sale in KC right now. Also, if you want your stylish before and after renovations featured on my blog, send me your (low res) images.

above: The house for sale in KC right now

above: Design Sponge BEFORE (check out the similarity to the local house!)

above: Design Sponge AFTER (what a transformation!)

Yesterday I held an open house at 1008 W. 70th Street in Kansas City. The home is located in the popular subdivision of Romanelli Gardens, which extends from 67th on the north to Gregory on the south, and Wornall on the east to Ward Parkway on the west. I created a map in Google Maps so you can visualize. There are about 615 homes in the subdivision, all of which were built from about 1925-1940. Though the subdivision is now about 80 years old, these homes are all well-kept, updated, and each have their own unique beauty. Occasionally while walking my boxer along the Trolley Track Trail, we’ll wonder over to Romanelli Gardens for a change of scenery – its quiet streets are a great place to view the diverse scenery of the homes, the landscaping and the mature trees. Most homes in the area are Tudor-style homes, but you can also find other styles (or a mish-mash of styles) such as colonial revival; many of which have original brick and stone detailing. Below is a photo I took at my open house. I fell head over heels in love with the iron detailing on the front door. This type of door and detailing is common among tudors in the area.

p.s. This was my busiest open house ever. Probably due to the tax credit, the buyers are out in droves and they all said they wish there were more homes for sale. Unfortunately, inventory is down, but I think we will see a spike in listings pretty soon.

I happened upon an edition of Better Homes and Gardens magazine from 1954, and inside was a story about a (modern) steel framed ranch home. The excitement was that, with the use of the steel supports, the interior could flow into the outside with large expanses of glass and continuous materials as you will see in the photos below.

In a related note – my pick of the week is a home just listed in Prairie Village. It is a mid-century modern style ranch home near Mission and 79th Street. This house was built around the same time – in 1956; and while I do see some similarities, I also note many differences. For example, the home in the magazine layout has glass walls leading outside and stone, while the pick of the week seems to be a more traditional wood-frame ranch with modern lines, stacked stone fireplace and vaulted ceilings.

My Pick of the Week is a home in Fonticello Gardens, a subdivision located off 69th Street, just west of Roe Ave in Prairie Village. What an incredible little jewel in Prairie Village and greater Kansas City. While colonial style homes abound, there is nothing quite like this authentic cluster of brick colonials. It appears the development began in 1956 and the architect may have been a woman by the name of Garland T. Bowers, though I cannot find any record of her. My pick of the week is a spacious, traditional, well-built home, and, though it is not brand new, I think its size and features would please many new-home buyers as well as those looking for the quality and charm of years past. This one will be gone before we know it.

New mid-century ranch listing in Prairie Village with a cool contemporary look. Check out the photos and listing page. Nice kitchen renovation with an updated look, while remaining harmonious with its architectural style.

(This property is listed in the local Heartland Multiple Listing Service; Listing Company: Reece and Nichols Country Club Plaza; Listing Agent: Sandy Murphy)

We had some lively discussion on the fate, design, and appreciation of the Meyer West Condominiums in my recent blog entry. Coincidentally, as I was checking the new listings in our local MLS system this week I saw that the retail space on the street level of the Meyer West Condominium building is for sale. I believe it is a 2397 square foot space (per MLS) set up to be a salon and coffee shop/restaurant, currently listed at $280,000. VIEW PROPERTY LISTING (listed by David A. Cox with Century 21 All Pro)

Below is an image from the Missouri Valley Special Collections of the Kansas City Missouri Public Library’s online catalog. This was taken in 1960 at the corner of Brookside Boulevard and Meyer looking southeast toward the Meyer West Condo building. Check out the fins on those old Chevys!

Image Credit: Missouri Valley Special Collections, Kansas City Public Library, Kansas City Missouri.

While most condos and lofts are concentrated around the plaza and downtown areas, Brookside has two condominium developments, the Meyer West Condominiums and the Crestwood Condominiums. Today I viewed a condo in the Meyer West building in the heart of Brookside at the intersection of Meyer and Brookside Blvd. They are fairly nondescript inside, however the outside is anything but. The large, blue 1950’s modern high-rise building is positioned amongst the picturesque backdrop of tudors, brick and earth-toned homes – none rising more than 2 stories in height. Despite the incongruous mixture of architectural styles, I like Meyer West Condos and I have chosen to feature it as my pick of the week. Below are some photos I took there today.

KC Skyscraper

Sunny interiors

Entrance on Meyer Blvd

My retro barstools arrived, and they look perfect in my newly pink kitchen with polished chrome hardware. Check them out below. Photos of the finished kitchen will be coming soon. We are still putting on some finishing touches such as curtains and artwork, but the pink cabinets are finished, all the trim and walls have been painted (thanks, Sherwin Williams for your vintage modern color palettes), and the hardwoods have been refinished. It is looking so cute and retro!

Check this place out… This has got to be one of the coolest tree houses in the world. The photos have been floating around the internet today, but without any sort of description of what it was. With a little digging, I learned that this is actually a two-bedroom suite at a hotel in a coastal rainforest area of Costa Rica. This is officially on my wish list.

It’s hard to pick reasonably priced homes for my pick of the week for obvious reasons. Here we have a story and a half home in Sunset Hills which is a gorgeous, upscale, established neighborhood in the hills just south of the plaza. I would buy this home in a heartbeat because of the first floor layout, the sunken living room, location, backyard and pool. It has a large first floor with two bedrooms plus two more bedrooms upstairs. It feels like a big ranch just like I want, but if you had kids or guests you have more space upstairs.

LINK TO THE PICK OF THE WEEK

(listed by Gail Cluen with Reece and Nichols)

View photos of a lovely home I will be listing very soon in Brookside. It is a classic shirtwaist with beautiful stone trim on the exterior, and the interior features some of the prettiest arts and crafts woodwork I have seen in a long time.

Contact me for more details.