The Top 3 reasons we chose this house!
Once we accepted that the ranch house we were living in wasn't going to work much longer, it took me a year or two to find a house that was just perfect for our family. It was closer to the grade school we had chosen for our boys, there was an awesome safari mural in the boys' room, and there were tons of great features for Katherine.
1. There are no steps from the garage into the house. Certainly we could've ramped in from most garages, but one less ramp to worry about is a good thing - they're awkward for able bodied people, if there's not an edge or handrail Katherine could drive off the edge, and they take up a lot of space.
2. There is already an elevator! It goes to all three levels which gives Katherine access to the whole house (except the Rec Room which is three steps higher than the rest of the third floor - this really isn't a problem because the floor of the Rec Room is always covered with Lego's and plastic Lightsabers so it is also inaccessible for that reason.) Besides the fact that there is a working elevator already in place, there is a big landing outside it on each floor. Katherine needs lots of room to maneuver her power wheelchair...
3. There is a fully functioning - and beautiful - mother-in-law suite on the ground level. The floor of the living area is a sophisticated (wood looking) tile, the kitchen is small, but pretty, there were lots of windows, and the biggest deal was that there is a nice big bedroom and bathroom. Besides all that, behind the bathroom there was unfinished storage space, meaning we could make the bathroom as large as we needed!
We looked at many houses that had mother-in-law suites, but much of the time they were dark and musty - especially when they were on the basement level. I knew when I saw the storage space behind the current bathroom (and I was already in love with so much of the rest of the house), that I had found our home.
It took a little while to convince Barry - It was definitely a the top of our price range, but I knew I couldn't find a better fit for our family. We found a way to make it work, and I'm so thankful.
