Starter Stories with Compass

When I think back to Will and I's first "starter" home, I can't help but smile. It was a 2 bed/2 bath condo located right across the street from the Mint Museum on Randolph Road. Charlotte is known for it's mini-neighborhoods, and The Villages of Eastover Glen, where we lived, was right in the heart of Elizabeth. For us, the location was perfect. We were within walking distance to two different hospitals, as well as a number of shops and restaurants (Pure Barre, Starbucks and Panera Bread being a few).

Our unit was situated on the third floor and featured a nice and open floor plan. One of my favorite touches were the large windows and plantation shutters. Oh how I loved all the of natural light that would beam into our humble abode throughout the day. Miller, our furbaby enjoyed the sunshine probably more then us and would lay by the window that let in the most sunlight and would fall asleep in the warmth each and every day. 

At night, we would try to take advantage of the track lighting that had been installed in the living room. Will and I especially loved the track lighting when we would have date nights at home. It made the mood all the more cozy and was perfect when watching movies.

To the left of our kitchen there was a sliding door that led to a covered balcony...big enough for a few chairs and even a table. This balcony was the biggest one that either of us have ever had (besides were our parent's live) and I can't tell you how many afternoons and nights that I would go out to this space to curl up with a book or relax listening to the rain fall heavily on those summer nights. We were right up close and personal to a pretty big tree that provided just the right amount of shade that I miss terribly!

And let me tell you about our kitchen. It was a love/hate relationship from the start.And the smallest kitchen I ever did see! Okay...that's an exaggeration BUT it was so tiny that Will and I could hardly ever maneuver inside of it at the same time...which made cooking meals together a little tricky. If you can't tell from the pictures, you could extend both of your arms out and touch a side of both counter tops at the same time. That's how enclosed this space was. But it worked and we used it a lot. But thank goodness we have a much larger kitchen now that has double the room and storage!!  

To the right of the kitchen was the hall bathroom where the washer and dryer were also found. Next door to that bathroom was our guest bedroom, that we also used as Will's home office.

The master bedroom was right past the kitchen and had a large walk-in closet that I used, a bathroom and a second sliding glass door that went out to the balcony.

Can I step back for a second to say that with every home, there are a handful of quirks and fixer-uppers? If you've never lived in a space with either of these consider yourself lucky. Now don't get me wrong, we were so thankfully to call this space "ours". It's also very near and dear to my heart since it's also the first place that Will and I lived together. And it had a lot of things that we loved like the hardwood floors and a fireplace in the Living Room, stainless steel appliances, a storage closet on the balcony, a dishwasher and garbage disposal (yes...Will's apartment in Chapel Hill did not have these!), crown molding, vaulted ceilings and a washer and dryer that were included. 

But there were quirks that we learned to love deal with like the crazy artwork that the previous owners had painted on the kitchen cabinet doors that we hid behind kitchen towels. The sliding door to the balcony that always came off the track or would get stuck, making you have to squeeze through the opening to get in and out. The washer that would shake uncontrollably when in it's last spin cycle. The horrid sliding blinds in the master bedroom that I had to always move out of the way when vacuuming the room. I hated those things. And the bathroom in the master bedroom that was pretty much out in the open. There was nothing like watching Will brush his teeth from bed haha.

But despite all of the quirks, The Villages of Eastover Glen is where we called home for a good year and a half. Our time there was sweet indeed. That place was OUR home. It provided us safety and community. We made friends with our neighbors and took advantage of the pool and small gym weekly. It allowed us to dream of future homes and helped me imagine all the possibilities for interior decorating. Now that Will and I have moved on and have found a new place to call home in Dilworth, we have many times thought back on our little ole' condo and have a lot to be thankful for. Those memories will be with us forever.

I wanted to give a special thank you to Compass who asked me to participate in this project they are running called Start Stories! Compass is a new real estate service in NYC that helps people find the perfect neighborhood to call home. Their focus is identifying the best matches based on your interest and personality, using their own personally platform that you can check out here!