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Love in the Foyer

We sped along Queen Street East, the July sun warming my arms, the air-conditioning fluttering my hair. Our real estate agent, John, had found us a gem and was driving us over to take a look.

John has been great. Very patient and quick to understand my sense of humor. The odd writing style of MLS listings is to never use commas, which results in some rather funny combinations. "It says in the listing here that all the bedrooms have broadloom closets. What's that all about John?"

We pull up to the house he has told us about. My wife and I have dragged John all over the east end of the city in our search for the perfect (or damn close to it) house. He has seen it all, and now knows what we want. John has a surprise for us.

We walk up the steps to the front door. The door is a dark wood, old, but well kept. I immediately get the feeling that this house is a grand old dame, who's been well looked after. The door opens, and we are greeted by a gray slate tiled foyer, dark wood stairs climb majestically to my left. New hardwood floors shine the way to the kitchen ahead. French doors to my right open into the living room with its original leaded glass and fireplace.

But its the foyer I'm still looking at. The dark floor and wood accents of the stairs and doorway. Old and new coming together to beckon you inside. As I turn my head to look up the stairs, I can smell a combination of coffee and wood. This entrance, this smell. It tells me that I'm home.

The rest of the house is a marvel and John was right, it is a gem. The previous owners have done a mountain of renovation work. John asks in a sly tone, "bringing you here without asking first, did I do a bad thing?"

In the end, John took us to our new home. The whole house is damn close to perfect for us. Parts still need some attention, but that's the charm of an older house. I know that first impressions shouldn't mean so much, but sometimes they do. I fell in love in the foyer.

Andrew Duff and the grand old dame in the "Beach" will be coming together once the lawyer says its okay.