Single Family Home in Portage, Wisconsin

Affordable country home!

We have greatly enjoyed this home for the past 3+ years, but are trying to relocate to St Louis for a new job.  We have many great memories!  If you don't mind some reading, we will give you a little tour.  More pictures available at
http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/W10508-Hwy-16-Portage-WI-53901/2140568060_zpid/

As you enter this cozy home, you are greeted by a sunny front porch, which is divided.  About one third of it is a tidy area with benches, under which are shelves for the family's footwear.  Tall cubbies are neatly built in to one corner, next to a pleasant window seat.  Opposite, there are several, individual coat hanging areas, with a room shelf topping them all off.  The remainder of the porch, separated by a newer 6 panel door, features many windows and may be used for extra living space, storage, den, etc.  (We use it as a "master bedroom" though it has no closet, and use an electric heater in the winter.)  The porch windows are all thermopane.

Passing the porch, through a French door original to the home, is the updated, eat-in kitchen.  The 9 foot ceiling features a lighted ceiling fan.  Shiny newer oak cabinets, with Amish-crafted doors, a built-in spice or curio shelf, and abundant open shelving for kitchen supplies or other decorations, all make this a welcoming greeting for guests.  The elevated, undermounted sink is designed to help minimize back-ache (we can vouch for it!), and the pull out faucet extends to reach the flat top range, to fill pots while they are on the stove top!  A built in microwave/fan compliments the extra large black refridgerator (freezer on the bottom!). 

As you enter the living room, which like the kitchen, features newer oak laminate flooring, the large picture window lets in abundant sunshine from the southern exposure.  Outside, the house is flanked by two huge pine trees, home to abundant birds year round (if you keep the feeders stocked!).  Inside, the window is flanked by built-in cabinets, counters and bookshelves.  Under the window is a deep, roomy window seat with lids for storage. 

There are two bedrooms on the main floor.  One faces the north, and has windows featuring views of the woods.  It has been recently painted, the closet has been organized to have two levels of rods, making use of the space under the attic stairs.  It has rose colored carpet and beige walls and a ceiling light fixture.

The other main floor bedroom features the 9 foot ceilings (as the kitchen), and two very recently installed LARGE thermopane windows.  This is the larger bedroom.  It has waiscotting around half of the walls, which also have plaster and lath walls.  These walls could be redone in sheetrock, and the whole room painted.  Also, the carpet has quite a few miles on it! 

Both bedrooms have the updated 6 panel oak finish doors...in fact, all the rooms have these lovely doors, or have original solid wood doors, which gives the home an old fashioned feel.

The two bathrooms (one full, one half) are on the main floor.   The full bathroom also has that high ceiling, two oak vanities, and some extra towel storage.  It is quite large, and actually has room for an extra shower if desired.

The half bathroom is currently being updated to have a LARGE walk in closet.  It does have room for a shower or possibly a tub with some reconfiguration.  Yes, 9 foot ceiling here too!

There is a "mud room" added on to the rear of the house, which we use for a main floor laundry.  It needs new windows and paneling.  It has a lovely view of the woods, and offers a convenient entry from the rear of the house.  We also have a freezer here.  It needs heat in the winter though, to protect the water connection.

The attic bedroom has some sloped ceilings, and a newly added thermopane window, with a birdfeeder outside.  It is one of our favorite places to sit still.  One of the walls is finished in "whiteboard" paneling, and we currently use it as a home office.  There are two closets, and access to the attic.

There is a basement under about half the house (not the new addition part), but it has a shorter ceiling.  We can walk and work down there, but its not full height.  We do use it for projects and some storage, but it can get wet with extreme rain or rapid snow melt.  We have a sump well and pump.  We also have a water softener (owned).  We use window air conditioners.  We have LP for our furnace.

This was our first "country home" and has many neat outside features to commend it:  a 80+ foot well was installed in 2006 and delicious COLD water is available all summer (and winter!)  This was a $5K value.  The front yard has established garden beds, but could easily be converted back to a lawn.  We have had good yields from our gardens.  We have a long driveway, which can accomodate a lot of friends for barbecues or campfires.  Our backlawn is great for volleyball.  There is a compost bin for the zillions of leaves that fall brings.  We have a number of old apple trees which produce every other year (they could use pruning -- very tall!).  Our property includes some lovely woods which we enjoy for campfires, get-togethers with friends, exploring, berry picking.  We have a pen and house for chickens or ducks on the edge of the woods.   We have a high capacity clothesline.  The two car garage has two doors for vehicles, but one half is finished with a raised floor and lighting as a wood shop.  It is partly insulated and has room for a woodstove.  The other side has room for a vehicle.

The neighborhood is very friendly.  Though we are on a state highway, the traffic times are predictable, and we enjoy many hours of tranquility each day.  We are always among the first roads plowed in snowstorms!  Also, there are wonderful country roads very nearby, which we enjoy every chance we get (Klappstein -- marsh and woods, and County O - woods and farms, and marsh).  You are permitted to hunt deer on your own land here.

This house is ready to move into, but does have aspects that need fixing or updating.  Most notably, the mudroom/laundry area.  Our plans were to redo the walls and wire in some heat and replace the windows.  We are in the process of updating the half-bath. 

We welcome your inquiries if this house seems like it may meet your needs!  Thanks for looking!  daveanddebklein@yahoo.com