September 18, 2006 - 9:26 a.m.
Lovely Homes in the Ville
So I've been inspired to revisit this column by my friend Shaun, who's blog is FAR more interesting than this one as he is trapsing about Europe...meeting fascinating people from all over the world and doing amazing things. I thought maybe this little blog would be a stark contrast to his...a polar opposite if you will...of my mundane day-to-day in Louisville, KY.
The Park Grande
For the last year or so, they've been building a lovely but gargantuan 6-unit condoat the end of our street. It faces the park, and rumor has it that the penthouse went for $2.2 million. It honestly looks like something you'd see on Park Avenue in New York. So OBVIOUSLY when they invited neighborhood residents for a private, $7 wine and cheese party showing*, I jumped at the chance.
*It should be noted that this "private party" was manufactured to appease the neighborhood, as many of our residents have been in a tizzy about the monstrosity that Jefferson Development Corp has wielded in our otherwise bucolic little street. They came to our neighborhood meeting two years ago with their development plan, claiming 6 stories would not obstruct our views. Little did they mention that it was 6 stories of 40 foot ceilings. Plus a parking garage, a lap pool, and an ornate lobby. But I digress.
This place, well, it's f-ing fabulous. They let us see two of the finished condos, decorated in collaboration with Lousiville's finest interior designers. The result? A menagerie of rich tapestries and artwork and ridiculously expensive furniture and views to die for. The ornate marble bathrooms were twice the size of my bedroom and featured espresso machines from starbucks in a nook in the corner. Yes, in the bathroom. Just in case you can't make it through your morning shower without a triple espresso. The kitchens had multiple dishwashers and refrigerators hidden behind cabinetry. Each unit had at least 3 balconies, all festooned with lovely table settings to make us think a fabulous dinner party would be thrown the minute the ugly masses left the building. The bedrooms looked like something from a disney princess movie, take your pick...Huge king size beds with canopies and gobs of silk pillows.
So I got home and did a quick survey of my own house. Conclusion? We need an exterior paint job, several interior paint jobs, all new furniture, a professional landscaper, better and more expensive window treatments, a new kitchen, new bathrooms, and a deck in the back. Oh, and a regular housekeeper, a boarding school for my children, and another place to live for my loveable but really messy husband. Only then can I have the Martha Stewart-ready house I've always dreamed of. Can someone help me make that happen? Please?
In the meantime, I informed the children when I got home that mommy needed a glass of wine and made them accompany me to the liquor store in their jammies. Sue me, I'm a terrible mom. But damn, this is a good glass of pinot.
Also I should mention here that my wonderful friend Dave has an equally well appointed and beautiful home that HGTV has chosen to feature in February. I'm so excited to see it, it's like my own little 15 minutes of fame, but not really mine. "I eat dinner there!" That's what I'll tell my mom when I tell her to tune in. Dave's house kicks ass, even over the gargantuan condos at the end of our street.
Dave, I love you! And want to be you. (A psychosis we shall dive into at a later date.)
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