Nicole, I received your email yesterday about your plate prize being chipped. Sent you an email back yesterday. In case you did not get my email, please hold on to the shipping receipt, box and shipping material. I will call the store I ordered from tomorrow and see how they want to handle it for a replacement. If they are unable to do so, then I will send you something else. I will email you after I speak with them. Thanks for letting me know about the chip. Appreciate it! Happy Sunday...must run! Annie

The reality is that for most of the people in the buying pool for houses at that price range in Bethesda and other close-in DC suburbs, time is a more valuable commodity than money. At that price bracket, most potential buyers are 30-something professionals, many of whom are married with (or planning to have) kids. For many people in that demographic, it's worth it to spend more for a house that requires no work, because the tradeoff for a cheaper house with major projects is that you have to spend the time to plan a remodel, hire someone to execute it, then either live through it or move out (which takes even more time and planning). When I bought my house 10 years ago, I was single, 30 years old, and worked at a law firm. I had the flexibility to extend my rental until some work could be done to my house, so I bought a house that needed cosmetic updates, and got a good price in a hot neighborhood where houses were selling for above asking within a few days. The prior owners 'totally 80s' choices were not appealing to buyers, and also did nothing to highlight the portion of the house that was the original structure from the early 1900s. Once I moved in, I never had time for the DIY projects I envisioned (such as gel staining the kitchen cabinets!), and the house felt like a 'work in progress' for a while. Now I am married with a baby, and I still have a full time job. If I were house hunting now, a house that was 'move in ready' and required nothing more than paint and decorating, would be worth a lot of $$. Because the time and effort required for major renovations would be a tipping point in terms of stress and quality of life, which is hard to quantify in dollars. And I say this as someone who has a decent 'eye' for imagining the potential a house has. In fact, I just recently moved back into my house, after moving out for the summer for a major remodel and addition (totally worth it, but totally exhausting and stressful and time-consuming). Many of my friends who are not into decorating and house stuff also have trouble even imagining the 'after' that a house could be, and overestimate how much it would cost (even at the inflated prices in this area) to make changes. So I think for the average buyer here, 'move in ready' is worth $$$$$, and a 'needs remodeling' house may not even be considered unless it's a tear down to build a mcmansion.

Thanks for the update and a very merry Christmas to all as well. tj

Absolutely beautiful. I love it!!! (Now that you said she's wearing a white dress I blew it up and see it just fine. However on a quick first glance on a small screen it did indeed look like a severed head. I would not recommend changing a thing about it just because of that though. LOL. It's incredibly well done and in person would be a very different experience than on a tiny screen...) You have a great eye. Normally I'm not a fan of black baseboards, but seeing your eye and aesthetic I say go for it. It's not quick, but it's not particularly hard - just tedious. Thank you for sharing with us. If you do tackle the baseboards I'd love to see the after....