You're looking for a new place to hang your hat, and the burning question is where to buy or not to buy.
Here's the conundrum: Two homes are selling for $649,900. One is in a fashionable new community, built in 2012; the other is in a mature community, built in 2009 on a 60-foot-wide lot that's surrounded by mature trees in a park-like setting.
RE/Max Executives Realty's Cliff King said you might want to choose the home in the more mature location.
"This home represents a rare opportunity," he said of 261 Wildwood Park, a 2,142-square-foot two-storey design. "A typical Wildwood-area slab home built in 1948 used to occupy this lot. It was torn down, and this home was built in 2009. It's a huge contrast from the old home. Living in this home is like living in a well-appointed four-season sunroom."
While there are occasions when realtors resort to hyperbole to highlight the attributes of a home, this isn't one of them. A collection of huge windows -- three on a kitchen wall (over a double sink, no less) and three more in the living room -- provide perfectly positioned portals through which the park-like setting out front can be enjoyed. Patio doors off the dining room also let in the view and plenty of natural daylight.
"All the windows plus the nine-foot ceiling make for an extremely bright interior," King said. "Today's a good example -- it's a dull day outside, but it's still bright inside. In the summer, the trees are gorgeous in full bloom, while the outgoing owner said it's like looking out on a winter wonderland when the snow falls in winter."
As beautiful as the exterior surroundings are, the home's interior matches and, in some cases, surpasses the park-like setting that surrounds the home. The main living area -- kitchen, dining room and living room -- is an open-concept great room that allows excellent flow while still retaining a semblance of segmentation.
A dining area for six to eight is positioned neatly between the living room and kitchen, off the patio doors that lead to the pristine front yard. To its right is a U-shaped peninsula kitchen that offers tons of room to move and seating for three at the peninsula. Cinnamon-tinted maple cabinets and black granite countertops (the backsplash is also the same material) and stainless steel appliances (which stay) combine with natural oak hardwoods to form a pleasing colour palette.
Then there's the living room, which houses the focal point of the great-room area.
"The living room centres around a fireplace with stainless steel trim and a gorgeous slate surround. There's also a wonderful main-floor den off the living room with patio doors that allow access to a European-style courtyard out back," King said. "The flow throughout the area is exceptional, making this a home ideal for entertaining, with the patios on both sides and all the room to visit inside."
Next to the den, which is surrounded by burnt-red walls, is a three-piece bathroom. Its soaker tub, faux leather (vinyl) floor and glass vessel sink that rests stylishly atop a cappuccino vanity with glass doors provides a preview of what's to come upstairs.
"Although the home was only a couple of years old when the outgoing owner (an interior designer) bought it, she decided she wanted to make some changes, so she changed the carpet and renovated the bathrooms upstairs. The results were spectacular. As good as the home was before, the changes she made made it even better."
True enough. After entering the master suite through double French doors and setting foot on some very plush (and like-new) chocolate-brown carpeting, you can't help but be drawn to the ensuite, which seems to be hewn stylishly out of grey marble.
"The flooring is imported Venetian marble, as is the marble that surrounds the soaker tub. Even the baseboards are marble," King said. "There's also a beautiful cappuccino vanity with Venetian marble countertop, and a big window to let in more light. The bedroom also has two large windows and has two huge closets that offer plenty of room to store wardrobes."
Meanwhile, the rest of the upper level -- accessed via a natural oak staircase -- contains three more bedrooms, plus a main bathroom with a tempered glass and marble shower that matches the opulence of the ensuite. All three bedrooms are oversized, making the home ideal for a family of four.
"Right now, one of the bedrooms (the one nearest the master suite) is being used as a media room, but could easily be converted back to a bedroom," King said. "All the bedrooms come not only with lots of closet space but big windows. When you combine them with the huge window that's on the wall by the stairs, you get a very bright upper level."
While 261 Wildwood Park is a slab structure, that doesn't mean it lacks amenities or storage. There's a huge main floor laundry/mechanical room off the back entrance (which features a heated tile floor), with double closets on either side and an under-the-stairs storage compartment that houses a full-house water filtration system. There's also a storage shed and 22-by-22-foot garage out back.
"This home is like new and is in a beautiful neighbourhood close to schools, downtown and all kinds of amenities in south Winnipeg. It's a modern, energy-efficient home in one of Winnipeg's most established communities," King said.
lewys@mts.net
DETAILS
Location: 261 Wildwood Park
Year built: 2009
Style: Two-storey
Size: 2,142 sq. ft.
Bedrooms: 4
Bathrooms: 3
Lot Size: 60' x 120'
Taxes: $4,281.02 (gross 2012) Price: $649,900
Contact: Cliff King or Scott King,
RE/Max Executives Realty 204- 987- 9808
