Homearama Adventure

Michanne and I made it back safely on Monday afternoon and I've been recovering ever since. The trip was very rushed but that's to be expected for only one full day in Virginia and two days of travel. After we picked up our rental we headed straight to the Homearama. We parked at a local high school and rode an uber fancy charter bus to the Homearama with a bunch of strangers. The weather was perfect. By the time we got around to touring the last two houses it was a little warm but we had sunshine and no rain, rain would have really ruined the experience. John and Sherry just posted an awesome blog post about the other houses and they've given several updates on their own. It's a really great post with wonderful pictures so I'll add a few of my own (and some of theirs, the ones that I couldn't get centered) but they captured a lot of the great features in their post. I'll follow their house numbering because that's also the route we followed to tour the homes. Things got a little fuzzy around house #4 so this might get confusing.

House #1

I liked this house the least. All the interior was monotone and just really boring in my opinion. The floors were that grey pickled look that's so popular right now and all the furniture was grey or beige. I did like a few features though.

This ceiling stenciling in one of the kids room's was really precious.

I loved the bath insert tile which is the same tile John and Sherry used in the flooring for their kids' Jack and Jill bathroom.

I liked the back splash tile used in the basement kitchen. But you'll notice that all of my pictures are grey. The house needed a major dose of warmth and a little splash of color variation. 

House #2 

This was John and Sherry's house. They have posted many, many times about the details but I took pictures of some of my favorite things.

I loved the exterior style and colors used on their house. It had the best curb appeal of the seven houses. 

Here's that floor tile I loved so much. It works really well with the Kermit green vanity. 

I also loved the board detail in that bathroom in the toilet and shower area. 

I've been obsessed with this light fixture ever since they posted it many weeks ago. Gorgeous. I hate to say it but their house was not my favorite. The banquet table was entirely too large, the dining room and office were too small and their color choices in the kids bedrooms just weren't my taste. 

House #3

This was a strong contender for my favorite because of the dining room, the powder room, and the living room. I loved the layout of the first floor. 

This dining room was so impressive. It was just beautiful.

My picture is nearly identical to the one John and Sherry took but I could not get over that wallpaper. It's very reminiscent of one of my favorite bathroom designs by Sarah Richardson (seen below).

Isn't this a great idea? This was in the master bedroom and I thought it was really creative yet such a simple way to camouflage a less than design-tastic TV. 

This color combination is really great. Clean and fun. 

This was the open space above the front door entry. I loved the paneling, the chandelier, the wall color. Perfection!

Alright, the next few pictures are where it gets a little fuzzy on which house I was in. I'll try to get it right. 

I believe this garage door was for house #4. It's also the only thing I photographed in that house (I think). 

I'm pretty sure the next pictures are of House #6. The one with the pool. 

This one was my favorite dining room. Hands down. I loved the nature elements incorporated, the chairs, the light fixtures. Everything.

I believe the same house had one of my favorite living rooms. The masculine wing-back chairs, the coffee table, the stone fireplace, and the built-ins all looked great. The outdoor living space was the best of all the houses. Not just because of the pool (which looked particularly inviting as the temperature outside and in the houses started to rise) but because of the outdoor fire place, the large covered patio, the fire pit, and the large sliding glass doors. Everything was beautiful. This house was up there as one of my favorites. 

When we got to House #7 my camera batteries were really low so I had to switch to my iPhone. The pictures weren't as great but the last house had my favorite kitchen, butler's pantry, banquet, and cozy living room. 

I didn't love the wall finish in the living room or how the fireplace kind of jutted out from the rest of the wall but I liked the size and the built-ins and the furniture placement. John and Sherry have a great picture of the banquet on their post. 

So that's all the houses. It took us about 3 hours to get through everything and start with a "meh" meal before our tours. I loved all the pulley doors, the large windows, ceiling and wall paneling details, the flow of the main floors, the extra living spaces like gaming and media rooms. Now that I'll be getting a house of my own it's really helpful to see some design ideas in person.This was a great experience. I saw so many unique and beautifully showcased homes. I know there's probably something similar in Atlanta and I'll seriously look into attending in the future.