Berkeley: When Less is More
IKEA once ran an ad campaign in Britain called “Chuck out the Chintz”. Its message came to mind as I toured this four-bedroom, 1912 brown-shingle home on Parkside Drive in Berkeley with a $1,988,000 price tag.
In fact in many ways I felt I had stepped straight back across the Pond into a typical British suburban middle-class home: there was furniture in abundance, much of which looked like antiques, pictures on many of the walls and bits and bobs just about everywhere. The problem was seeing beyond it all to evaluate the house.
This home could have seriously benefited from a stager – or at the very least a “declutterer”.
Added to that was the fact that the presence of the family who live in the house was everywhere – from the large photographic portrait on the stairwell to the still damp bath mat – even dare I suggest it – down to certain smells. Possibly canine. (A dog was making him or herself heard somewhere off stage.) I believe buyers need to be able to picture themselves in a house, not be constantly reminded of its current owners.
That’s the griping over. There is lots to like about this house. It looks over the charming little park that gives the road its name and has a large (for Berkeley) and very pretty garden at the back. (In fact the back view of the house is nicer than the front.) French doors lead from a spacious kitchen that could probably do with some updating onto the lawn — that also took me back to English gardens.
A small art studio has been built onto the garage.
There are some appealing original features, including the staircase and a wood-paneled reading room on a mezzanine level.
In essence, I think this is a good, potentially lovely, house in a superb neighborhood — not in my opinion being presented in the best possible light.
T.Z. Guest said:
Very nasty comments. Hidden story, our mom was forced to sell this ‘over decorated smelly’ home because neighbors put cameras and microphones aimed at her and hung flashing lights across from her bedroom until she left. And that, after they tried to take part of her garden. Leave the poor victim alone, please. Funny, the house sold for so much because the buyer and others who fought to make offers loved the home just as it was. And if the neighbors write when they read this, please tell them to leave our family alone.
April 29, 2008 9:40 AM
tracey.taylor said:
T.Z Guest: I am very sorry to hear that your mother had a hard time when she lived on Parkside Drive. Obviously I didn’t know about the homeowner when I wrote my assessment of the house back in February last year.
As I concluded in my post I think the house is lovely and it’s in a wonderful location. I was describing my experience at the open house and just felt at the time that it wasn’t being shown in the best light. All homes benefit from decluttering and freshening up before an open house.
As you say, though, the house sold for comfortably over its asking price, because its appeal was apparent to buyers whatever I had to say about it. I hope your mother is happier now.
April 29, 2008 11:21 AM
marilynne earls said:
I just was told about your website and read your comments. Did you know that after the open house, my home needed professional cleaning because mud was tracked into every room and that someone left a cigar in an upstairs bathroom? Maybe that was some of the smell. I left behind goldfish that came when I called, a turtle we’d owned for years because I couldn’t take them with me. The interior design was not ‘middle class’ English, don’t you know the work of Sister Parish in the East Coast. Please stick to reviews of the merits of homes and leave the homeowners decorating alone. It makes you look petty and poorly informed. And yes, I was traumatized. You might like to know that the new owner ripped a hole in the diningroom wall to create a ‘modern open plan’ and planted a hottub on the imported granite terrace. Think that improved things?
April 29, 2008 12:27 PM