2009 Salem Tour of Homes photos — million dollar house & condos

Yesterday Laurel and I took a look at three of the 24 properties featured in the 2009 Salem Tour of Homes — the two most expensive homes, and The Meridian condos.

First stop was the $1,065,000 house built by Kaufman Homes at Sahelee Court, SE. (3,849 sq. ft.). Now, a million dollar home is no big deal in southern California. At least, it wasn't before the housing boom went bust down there.

But up here in sleepy Salem, a million bucks should buy you some pretty damn impressive lodging. And from what we saw, it does.

The kitchen was impressive. We weren't wild about the overly ornate woodwork, though. Mostly the house had a clean Oriental look. But the kitchen cabinets and island were much busier.

This is a covered patio, off the kitchen and dining area. Pretty sweet. A whole lot fancier than our basic grill and patio furniture.

Laurel is pointing out large hanging heaters that keep you warm on cold Oregon nights (and days). Nice outdoor fireplace.

Our house is so limited in storage, being of early 1970s vintage, Laurel drooled over the giant walk-in pantries and closets in the million dollar home.

Any resemblance to our laundry room is purely coincidental.

The master bedroom was nice, but not spectacularly impressive. I liked the connection to the outside, though. A water feature is just beyond the bedroom's patio.

Master bedroom bathroom, simple Japanese'y look. Understated, compared to other bathrooms in expensive homes we've seen at other Tour of Homes events.

Next stop was a $650,000 R² Properties house on Muirfield Avenue (5,387 sq. ft., wow!). 

This out-of-focus iPhone photo is included to show one of our Tour of Homes question marks: what's up with putting a television over the fireplace? Both expensive homes had this. Seems like you'd get a neck ache from craning your head to look up.

The defining feature of this house was its way steep lot. Which made for a three level design. Laurel is looking over the edge of the top level deck.

Which leads a long way down. Good idea, to have a curved top railing. You don't want your cat to jump on it and make a misstep.

Great location for a soaking tub. No prying eyes this high up, with a forest outside.

We get walk-in shower envy every time we visit the Tour of Homes.

The second level featured an impressive rec room: wet bar, pool table, strong colors (albeit rather bar-like).

These days every fairly expensive new home has a media room, it seems. Our TV is in an utterly un-dark area. I could get into cocooning in this room on a soft couch with a big screen to keep me entertained.

The eventual owners of this house are going to need a baseball bat to fight off all the neighborhood kids who will want to hang out in the lower level. Given how steep the lot is, the builder was able to include a basketball hoop and climbing wall (there's a lot more air room above the top of this photo).

Our last stop was the The Meridian Luxury Residence Condominiums. This is the first major condo development close to downtown Salem, which hasn't been a condo town.

We were curious to see what the units looked like, since we know some people who are moving into the Meridian and missed out on the development's open house a few months ago.

This is the back of the building, facing the Willamette River, where residents park and enter.

First impression: it feels like a fancy hotel. Way different than the country life we're used to. I immediately thought, "We're not condo people."

  Inside the doors, the Meridian looked even more like a hotel. We were greeted by a staffer who pointed us to the elevator. The Tour of Homes units were on the third floor.

  First condo we saw didn't impress us at all. Too brown, too small, too few windows.

There sure is a different pricing structure with condos. $232,000 for 926 square feet. Plus $170 a month dues. If someone doesn't want the trouble of taking care of a house, why not buy a small home for $232,000 and then use the $170 to help pay for a gardener and cleaning person?

The next furnished condo looked a lot more appealing. Wood floors made a big difference.

But here's the view from the dining area. I just couldn't get excited about the idea of looking at a gas station and convenience store.

And what's the point of a balcony less than a foot wide? Makes window washing easier I suppose. Otherwise, useless.

Typical condo bedroom. Small. No windows. Claustrophobic, compared to what we're used to.

The views on the river side were pleasant. However, I'd expected that the windows would be larger, to take even more advantage of the view.

Our overall impression of The Meridian: some of the units were attractive and will appeal to a certain clientele. Just not us.