During this vacation, I have been thinking about home. And probably more about the concept of home than the actual place. If you will indulge me, I would like to share a few thoughts and ideas in a series of posts. None of this will be earthshaking or new, it's just what I have been contemplating, and maybe it will stir a few thoughts of your own... I thought I would start by sharing some pictures of some of the places I have lived since leaving my parents house. Not included on this list are: a basement suite, 3 apartments, and the house we currently live in, the latter because, while it is perfectly functional, does not quite represent the style that these favorites have. I would say that these here most closely represent the style that speaks to me, that feeds my sense of "home."
I shared this house with some roommates while we were in university, one of whom, while she is also my second cousin, has become a dear friend. You know, the ones that every time you are together, you just pick up where you left off, even if there has been minimal communication in between (and every time I resolve to change that :/ )? Oh, there are stories from this house...
It's a fairly typical Craftsman bungalow, with a great family room addition on the back. Most of the original moldings were intact when we lived there. There was even a claw foot tub and doors with frosted glass windows and hardwood floors - lovely!
This next house was the first house that the Professor and I bought (and the blue-and-white color scheme was totally coincidental!). We loved this house! It was a little (730 sq. ft on the main floor!) cottage built in 1914 and located across from a lovely green park. The backyard was filled with gorgeous perennial borders put in by the previous owner (thankfully, because I do not have the greenest of thumbs). Unfortunately, it's looking a little worse for wear now, but there are so many memories in this house...
And this last house is the house we left behind when we moved to Texas. And that was a little tough. We came upon it by going to an open house on a whim. We looked at the house, and carried on with our day. But, we kept thinking and talking and realized that it had a lot of what we were looking for in our next house (we realized that 730 sq ft would probably get too small at some point ;) ). And the price was right. So, we had another look, put our house on the market and when it sold in 6 days, we were the proud owners of this beauty!
This house is located a few blocks from downtown, on a lovely tree-lined street filled with similar homes in various stages of renovation. There is a coffee shop and small grocery store around the corner and a park a few blocks away. The river is just another block further.
Built in 1912, the house has 2 1/2 storeys and 1930 sq ft, with 4 bedrooms and a large kitchen addition on the back. It had been a rooming house at one point in it's life, so it had some quirks (including a walk-through closet and sinks in two of the bedrooms). But the hardwood floors were wonderful and it had most of it's original moldings. The Professor quickly claimed one of the third floor bedrooms for his office (it really felt like a tree house!) and I got a pass-through room on the main floor for mine (we both worked from home at that time). We loved to entertain in that house - the large kitchen and open/connected spaces on the main floor meant lots of room for everyone. And we loved that front porch! And I could go on and on...
As you can probably tell, we are drawn to older homes with tons of character. They do require work and being able to live with quirks, but the sense of history is difficult to duplicate in a newer home (imho). Someday we hope to find another old beauty, but for now, we will be thankful for these and continue to work on the one we have.
Are you drawn to a particular style of house?
Sherri
P.S. If you know the location of these homes, please do not reveal the address in your comments - thanks :)
