With a view…

I’ve been visiting these gorgeous water-front homes lately for a client. I previewed one for him this weekend with this amazing view from the master balcony:

It was breathtaking to stand out on the balcony and look out at the water and the windy palm trees. The backyard also had (beyond the large pool you can see the edge of in the picture) a 12-person spa and a lagoon with a waterfall down to the lake. And it had a large enough patio to sit a good sized dinner party. It was an unparalleled backyard.

The downfall to that house for me, is that the inside is not ideally decorated. It’s very nicely done, but not really my taste (and I’m fearing not really my client’s). The floors are not what I would choose to do, and the expensive kitchen cabinets and subzero fridge would bother me to no end. Now I have no problem with home renovations (obviously), but the problem I would have with a house like this is that because everything that was done to the inside is fairly new and definitely pricey, it would be hard to justify ripping it out and redoing to my own taste. You would kind of just be stuck with things the way they were for at least a few years, I think. And it would be a bummer to spend a lot of money on a house and hate the way it’s decorated.

So if I had that kind of money and was looking for that type of house, I think this house would require quite a bit of mulling. Yes, the backyard is beyond stunning, and will definitely allow the house to retain it’s value long-term… but does that make it worth living with floors, counter tops and cabinets I hate? I guess it all comes down to: what is a view worth to you?