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Last night, we made the trek to East Beach for Homearama 2010...and I still can't believe I managed that commute for over a year after I moved to Suffolk without going totally nuts.  But, my time there was definitely worth it!  And seeing the neighborhood in its current state brought back lots of great memories and made me continue to appreciate the team out there and my work with them over the almost 4 years after graduating from college.  It's such a beautiful, peaceful, aesthetically pleasing place, and they've managed to continue quality design and intricate details even in this rough economy when not as many new homes are being built, especially quality homes.  Now, hopefully in the future the rest of Oceanview will continue improving, getting safer, and drawing in a population that wants to better the area!   


We met Billy's running coach and his wife out there for a tour, so that was fun to hang out with them.  They're doing some fairly large-scale home improvements right now, so they enjoyed getting some ideas and seeing how different features play out in certain spaces.  We also got to visit for a few minutes with a couple of my old co-workers (who graciously comped our tickets into the show), so that was fun to catch up a bit! 


I didn't take any pictures, but the Homearama website has good virtual tours of many of the homes that show some of the neat features and details.  In this economic climate, the builders have adapted by providing more affordable homes (at least compared to the prices they were trying to get a few years ago...not necessarily affordable to us :)  haha), and for the most part, they haven't sacrificed design and details in doing so.  One thing we did notice was that the kitchens were not as awe-inspiring as some of the homes in previous years, but I think that's just a sign of the times, and also these homes are on narrower lots that can limit the size of certain living areas.  Some of the design details that stuck out to us were the outdoor living spaces at "The Charity House" and "The Little Pink Cottage" (both had firepits/fireplaces, outdoor kitchens, and the former even had a dipping pool), unique ceiling designs (exposed beams, not-so-typical coffered ceilings, steep vaulted ceilings, etc), the use of leatherized granite for several of the kitchen countertops, shutter-clad front porch in "Twin Oaks", big showers with lots of different showerheads, small porch off the master bedrooms in "The Charity House", unique finishes on fireplaces, bathroom tile in "The Oktoberfest Haus".  And, of course Billy loved seeing (and testing out) the no-slam drawers that were in most, if not all, of the houses :)


I think the favorite house of the group was "The Charity House" with its unique design that looks like it was pulled right out of Alys Beach, open floorplan, clean stucco finish, the contrast of the exposed beams in the ceiling to the white everywhere else, the spacious kitchen with huge island, awesome outdoor living area, carriage house apartment, vaulted ceilings, and beautiful flooring.  It's such a different design for East Beach, but it's kind of fun to change things up a bit in a neighborhood where a very traditional house with a one-gabled roof and front porch(es) is the norm.  Here are a couple of pictures from our local MLS...

So, it was a fun evening, and I'm excited to go back out there for a tour again before too long!