Tasteful Friends: The Hill Street Blues

The interior is great compared to many houses we see on here. I personally do not mind wallpaper especially in an older home. I would rip the carpet off the stairs, immediately, though.

What is it with people from the South and wallpaper?! I don't see any wallpaper in that house that wasn't objectionable, so that would go as well as the carpeting on the stairs as R1 said. Vacuuming stairs is hard work and really not worth it.

The first firebox(?) is interesting...the tile around it looks multi-colored. I'd have to get a closer pic to be sure. There is another heater in or near the kitchen which is surrounding by real (not fake) brick. That would be replaced with something less objectionable.

I'll never understand the fascination with the stark white cabinets and black granite/granite look countertops combo. It's too...well...black and white for my taste. Definitely add a kitchen island in there, and it looks like there's room for dining in there, or is that another room?

Otherwise, not at all bad. Transplant it somewhere else in the country though.

^^replace the heating in/near the kitchen....not the brick surround.

R2 I can guarantee you there would be a large kitchen table there normally. That is what these houses usually had, plus a formal dining room. They basically used them like islands are used today.

Which church do you attend?

Who are you asking that r5? If it's me (r2) - I don't attend any churches (although I'm not opposed to it and have gone to Universal Unitarian before).

I'm not a Jew. Not sure what bearing that has on the subject of this thread.

r5, that question can also mean "are you a Catholic?"

Neither. Not a lapsed Catholic either. Our family was non-denominational, which is not to say we didn't believe in a higher power.

I don't know the town of Warsaw specifically

but it is located in the part of the state known as "Down East"

a euphemism for what has traditionally been the poor, rural, and agricultural part of NC (i.e. don't expect a big LGBT community)

But it looks like a gracious, well-maintained older home that could use a little updating

I can imagine Clairee or Ouizer's big Cadillac parked under that spacious car port

in between trips to Truvy's beauty salon and the Piggly Wiggly

It's not my taste but there's nothing horrible. I love the wrap-around porch and the property, and kind of like the yellow and white in the kitchen.

There'd be plenty of room for you to host Brother Boy in one of the upstairs guest rooms on his trips home from the "hospital"

Warsaw is in Duplin County-Home of Terrible NC Wine!

Close to the beach, filled with drunks. Not as bad as other Southern towns, but really quite boring.

Under all that white paint is a whole bunch of beautiful woodwork. My guess is somebody didn’t want to bother refinishing it so they painted it all out. It looks like a Craftsman in some of the public areas.

R2, that looks like original tile around the fireplace, early 1900s or maybe late 1800’s. Imagine this: that room was all dark or oak woodwork with natural dark wood and green paint or wallpaper in the room. Very woodsy looking.

[quote]Not as bad as other Southern towns, but really quite boring.

Boring only on the surface...

"Let me tell you all a story about the Duplin County P.T.A..."

Well, Mr. Harper couldn't be here

'Cause he stayed too long at Kelly's Bar again

And if you smell Shirley Thompson's breath

You'll find she's had a little nip of gin

And then you have the nerve to tell me

You think that as the mother I'm not fit

Well, this is just a little Peyton Place

Yeah, it's definitely too white and it's a shame they covered up all that beautiful woodwork.

A rather poor town. The houses for sale are funny mix of properties--large foreclosures, oversized manufactured homes, places worth next to nothing.

Why did the people staging the rooms keep stowing junk under beds without bed skirts where you can see all the junk when there is ample storage in the rooms. Is that a southern thing?

r18 i had the same question! you could clearly see cabinets and closets - why visible under the bed?

^ It's an old person thing...the heirs and the realtors didn't do a thorough clearing and staging.

And small town realtors are often not as sophisticated about "staging" as they might be.

Clean & well maintained..

From the outside, it looks like a funeral home.

As I've mentioned in other threads, when most Southern people ask what church you go to it is more about them trying to determine your class more than anything. And, it is perfectly acceptable to answer with the name of the nearest synagogue.

[quote]From the outside, it looks like a funeral home.

"Honey, what you decide to do in it is your bidness"

Ah r23, I had no idea, not having much exposure with Southern culture. Thanks for the enlightenment!

R25 You're welcome, now if the person asking you looks like a fat Tammy Faye Baker with a big ole cross necklace, she is asking because she wants to save your soul. But, most other people are just trying to figure out what sort of person you are, it is why they want to know which church not denomination. If you were just to say Baptist or Methodist, there is a big difference between the sort of person that goes to First Baptist or First Methodist and the ones going to Mt. Zion Baptist out in the middle of a peach field or Wesley Chapel UMC down a dirt road three miles out of town.

R26 - but what if you answered, truthfully, I don’t go to church, I’m an atheist. What would the reaction be? If they’re just interested in your class / education level do they understand that atheists tend to be well educated and middle class or above?

R27 No. It will usually shut down the conversation for a few minutes because it is just unusual to them. Then they will ask other questions like do you belong to a club, etc... Though they just might not trust you. That is the biggest thing with atheists being accepted around here many people feel like they just can't trust them.

I like that house (it looks like a Craftsman but all the woodwork has been painted over, unfortunately). I think the wallpaper choices are hideous and the paint colors "not great". Unclear what the weird brick heater thing in the kitchen was, and what was with that odd cabinet right under the windows at the end of the upstairs hallway?

The price seems awfully low for that size house, so I'm guessing it's in some small town or in a bad neighborhood or something.

R27 But, it is perfectly acceptable to say, "I don't attend anywhere right now..." If you say it mysteriously they will drop it. Also, if you just appear uncomfortable most will move on. Remember, manners is what we pride ourselves on, so we don't enjoy making people uncomfortable in social situations.

[quote]but what if you answered, truthfully, I don’t go to church, I’m an atheist. What would the reaction be? If they’re just interested in your class / education level do they understand that atheists tend to be well educated and middle class or above?

To your face, they'll say, "Well good for you, honey."

Behind your back, they'll say, "Yankee trash!"

The only safe answer in the South is:

"Well, I was raised Baptist, and my family is all Baptist. But we're still visiting churches, because we want to find the right one."

R32 But, if you say that, they will invite you to their churches. Honestly, the safest answer is to say Episcopalian. There is one in every town, but almost no one goes outside of Christmas and Easter so they don't know if you do or not.

"We'll we'd love to visit your church, but we're looking for one that has snakes."

Warsaw is just off of I-40 about an hour east of Wilmington. It is not Down East, as said above. Down East is a very rural area of the coast out past Beaufort, several hours north of this area.

I would bet that the woodwork was all pine, not oak, as this area of the state is pine forests.

This would have been one of the nicest houses in town and though named otherwise, isn’t anywhere near a hill as this part of NC is as flat as a pancake.

R34 Don't be surprised if they find you one. But, if you answer with that they will immediately consider you an ignorant hillbilly.

[quote]Honestly, the safest answer is to say Episcopalian.

No go, you may as well announce you're a Unitarian as to say your Episcopalian.

And in my small hometown, we called them the "Whiskeypalians".

Everyone in town will assume you're a drunk.

R37 No, Unitarians are looked down on more than Atheists. Everyone is like we know you don't really believe in anything, just have the balls to say it rather than play around in your little hippy church.

And, everyone drinks now.

I attended a Baptist craft beer night. Which quite frankly just felt wrong, like all my Baptists forbearers, even the moonshiners, were like this ain't right.

Also, I guess it would depend on the location in the South. Since South Carolina was a colony and the Church was established perhaps we maintain more of an affection for the Episcopalians than in Mississippi or somewhere. I've also known many Episcopalians and as a people they tend to be my favorite Christians.

Years ago after I moved into my house, two of the neighbor's children showed up selling Christmas cards for "their school" on two different occasions.

I bought them to be kind and to try to fit in.

But an elderly neighbor soon warned me that these children were actually "home schooled".

I must've looked shocked, because she said to me kindly, "Oh just tell 'em you're Jewish - that's what I do."

R33 is that the one where they eat human feet?

This is a beautiful home and a bargain. It's just paint and wallpaper. Beautiful.

How many people were murdered here that the price is so low?

I like it. They need a lawn jockey next to The Hitching Post sign.

There are twice as many Blacks living there as there are whites.

Unitarians are rare outside of bigger cities and they might not know who they are. Quakers are in a few places. Presbyterian can mean evangelicals terrors like the ones in Northern Ireland.

If you don't want to say Jewish, Catholic is enough outside the pale to annoy them. Devil worshiper probably works if you really don't like them at all.

Reminds me of when a Catholic family moved in across the street from my grandparents. My grandmother nearly fainted, though she did bring them a peach cobbler on moving day because "that's what you do." I don't think she spoke to them after that, though she continued to eye the suspiciously.

Somebody has to pay for what they've done.

I like the fact that they have the cabinets to the ceiling instead of stopping them most of the way up to leave a dust collecting surface.