Shopping List: Mattamy Eastland

It was a battle between Mattamy's Eastland and Fernwater widelot townhomes. I flip flopped between these two models a lot. This blog entry will talk my likes and dislikes about the Eastland model.

The Eastland fit in nicely to the criteria I was looking for in a house:

• not too big and not too small at 1411 sq ft;
• master bedroom had its own ensuite;
• walk-in closet in master bedroom;
  
• garage;
• unfinished basement; and
• price (starting at $225k)

This was a great start. I figure even after upgrades, I should be well under the $250k max budget I had given myself. I really like the layout of the second floor. All three bedrooms are quite spacious. In fact, the master bedroom is actually bigger in the Eastland than the Fernwater. I liked how bedroom 3 (the one that would have been for my daughter) had a little window seat.

The main floor is quite open. Overall, the layout wasn't bad at all. The "eat-in" kitchen is a bit on the small side at 8'10" x 12'6". I was trying to figure out where to put a kitchen table. The patio door is located in the kitchen so that sort of limits table placement. In the end, I figured I'd either get a really small breakfast table or just skip the table all together and eat in the dining room at all times. No biggie. Alternatively, Mattamy offers a "Chef's Kitchen" which adds a breakfast bar.

Some other things that I didn't like about the Eastland:

• location of stairs from first floor to second floor. Basically, the stairway is right at the front door entrance. I was thinking how annoying that would be in the winter months if the front entrance is all wet from snow being tracked into the house and having to walk through that just to get upstairs or come downstairs.
  
• no closet at the front foyer. The only closet on the main floor is by the side door. Not very convenient in my opinion. But I would have gotten around it by either installing a wall coat rack or just buying a mini closet from Ikea or something
• garage is on the narrow side. At 9'6" wide, it's about half a foot narrower that most other garages.
  

Despite all of my dislikes, the Eastland was always in the top three on my list (the Claridge Queensby being the third). None of my dislikes was a dealbreaker for me and I could have lived with them. No house is perfect, right? The biggest thing going for the Eastland was its price. At $9k cheaper starting price than the Fernwater, it made it very attractive. In the end, I decided to pony up for the Fernwater. But that story is for another time...