Here, House Crazy Sarah will share with you where she lives. Although she is only in her forties, she has owned many houses in her lifetime. She LOVES houses and makes a habit out of living in as many of them as possible. She particularly loves old houses with character or crazy, unique homes.
After relocating from Colorado to Canada in June of 2021, House Crazy Sarah purchased a 1919 cottage bungalow in her hometown in northern Ontario.
The well-loved home is a confounding mish-mash of styles: craftsman, Victorian, cottage – eclectic. The important thing is that it has oodles of character, and House Crazy Sarah fell in love with it the moment she saw it.
Here is what it looks like in the midst of a Canadian winter:
She is forever in the “tweaking stages” of homeownership, so things may change daily, but have a look inside at a few rooms so you can get an idea of the home’s spirit…
You enter into the finished front porch which also functions as a cozy office.
House Crazy Sarah is not crazy about the eggplant-colored ceiling in this room… someday it may get repainted.
From the front porch, you enter into the living room…
There is a beautiful original fireplace mantel with a gas insert.
No, House Crazy Sarah did not paint the brick white, but she did repaint the walls. When she purchased the place, this wall was a dark grey – and House Crazy Sarah HATES grey paint in houses!
The other walls in the living room were painted a bright turquoise color which was cute, but House Crazy Sarah wanted to lighten and brighten this room up as much as possible because it only gets a couple of hours of eastern sun, and then the room is rather dark the rest of the day.
The color she chose is Benjamin Moore’s Italian Ice Green.
Beyond the living room is the kitchen.
House Crazy Sarah has never really liked the color orange, but this color in the kitchen has been growing on her. It is unique!
Off one side of the kitchen is a bedroom and a bathroom –Â a red and black bathroom!
When House Crazy Sarah’s mother walked in here, she called it “the bordello”. House Crazy Sarah kind of likes that idea.
Off the back of the kitchen is the sweet “sun room”…
This is a wonderful spot to eat breakfast and House Crazy Sarah sometimes works back here as well.
The house has 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. The basement is completely finished with a wonderful private bedroom/library and spa-like bathroom with a soaking tub that House Crazy Sarah immediately claimed as her space. But no peeking into the private bedroom spaces – sorry friends!
Check out the back deck – a nice little oasis.
In the backyard, there is a shed and lots of shady spots to sit and read.
House Crazy Sarah finds her children out here often reading.
House Crazy Sarah likes to name all her houses and she named this one “Maple” because it has many small maple trees in the yard; the kitchen cabinets are maple wood; and, it is her first house in Canada!
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Her last house, “Little Green”, was a charming country cottage in rural Colorado.
Little Green was built in 1930. House Crazy Sarah acquired Little Green in the fall of 2017. Sadly, she sold Little Green in June of 2021. Saying goodbye to this special cottage was tremendously difficult for House Crazy Sarah.
Little Green was an exceptionally cozy, light-filled, and charming home – though she had her old house quirks!
Here are some interior pictures:
Fun fact about Little Green: she was actually built in the center of town and picked up and moved to her current location in the country several decades ago. Which is surprising because she looks like she has been on that property all her life!
Little Green’s move to the country explains why all her walls, ceilings, and floors are wavier than the North Atlantic in November. Nevertheless, she was loved.Â
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A previous home owned by House Crazy Sarah was featured prominently on her former blog so there are many images of it still floating around on the internet. She called it “Anna Maria Money Pit”.
Although it was a beautiful home, Anna Maria Money Pit was one of the oldest inhabited houses in southern Colorado (built sometime in the 1870’s) and as such, sucked up an exorbitant amount of money just to stay on life support. House Crazy Sarah grew tired of the constant upkeep, so she eventually sold it to some people of means who have been giving it new life.
House Crazy Sarah has left a piece of her soul in every house she has ever lived in, and in some cases, she even left buried or hidden treasures that some person will unearth 100 years from now and wonder who this crazy house lady was.
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