We live in an older community of tract homes…not the old of Atlanta (built in 1928) but the older of Irvine (built in 1968).  Some of the  homes in my particular enclave have been renovated and some, sadly, have not.

In any event, there are a few show stoppers, or in my case car stoppers and I thought I’d share them with you.  I walk my little dog, Madison, in the area but usually take her out on the main street that circles our community, or up on the hill that cuts over the top ridge of our community.  During the holiday, when I thought about doing this, I thought I’d take my camera and see what’s going on in the neighborhood.

Just down the street this home is a total redesign.  The contractor, a friend of mine, has done several homes in our community, including my friend’s (Carol and Barry) home.

I like the stone on this house but wish the entry was just a little wider and more roomy.

This is Carol and Barry’s home, decked out for Christmas.  Their landscape is still to come but the home has a craftsman/Cape Cod charm that makes it a “car-stopper” in my book!

This charming home (below) is across the street from the major remodel going on.  Cathy keeps her home looking good year round.  She has done all of the landscape herself, including laying her own sod!  I’m in awe.

(Too bad I don’t know how to photoshop these 2 halves of my friend’s house to make one picture, but you get the jest of it, right?)

This is the hill we walk the dogs during the warmer, less muddy, months.  We can take them off lead and let them romp and run…very good for dogs and great exercise for people. 🙂  The surrounding view shows our homes, and up on the hill, homes that are way out of our price range.

This is my friend Debbie’s house.  She and her husband recently remodeled and while the outside of her home is lovely, the inside is a show stopper.  Maybe she’ll let me blog about it sometime.

This is one of my favorite remodeled homes.  My photography doesn’t do it justice but it is very pretty.

The owners of this home put up a giant, inflatable pumpkin during October and inside the giant clear plastic pumpkin is a ghost that circles inside—it’s lighted and at night is so festive for all who drive by.

The home below is one that a talented architect designed, I don’t remember his name but he  has since moved to Oregon so it doesn’t matter since I won’t be calling him if we ever do any major remodeling of our own home.  Anyway, he designed several homes in my community and what I loved about his design was that the homes appear to fit the lot (none of the McMansion on postage sized lots business) and the overall architecture appeals to my traditional sensibilities.  He was known for putting front porches on the homes, I could imagine sitting on this front porch and resting with an iced tea.

This house turned out to be quite large for the lot…still, it has some nice features.

So this is just a little peek at some of the homes that are gracing our neighborhood.  I hope you’ve enjoyed your tour!

What’s going on in your neck of the woods?