Don’t you just hate when television programs warn you that they may contain “adult situations” then they don’t show a single person going to work, paying bills or renovating a bathroom with only a claw hammer and sheer will?
As GirlWonder continues house hunting let me assure you there is no more “adult situation” than that. It is wild out there.
Last weekend we traipsed around to a few open houses just to make sure we weren’t missing anything. We saw some truly lovely spaces. All were newly renovated and not at all the style she is seeking. For the record “new” to us is anything built from around 1950 to present. Honestly, we really consider “new houses” to be anything from about 1890 on up but we are trying to be REASONABLE.
I think the average home buyer prefers new to old, open concept is king and everything should be up-to-date. So of course, being raised by us Girlwonder wants nothing to do with THAT. I realize this is all our fault. You just can’t raise a child with wrap-around-porches, servant stairs and 10-foot ceiling heights and expect them to feel at home in a new construction home. Where is the plaster dust? The creaking floor boards? We have no hate for any other housing styles. I can find something lovely in every style and type. Nonetheless, we need a show called “healthy boundaries” This is where HGTV shows people who refuse to renovate historic properties into open layouts. People need to learn to love walls. I myself love a labyrinth. I enjoy a house where guests can get slightly lost on my way to the bathroom.
Fun fact: no member of our immediate family has ever purchased a home with central air, a master suite or an attached garage. We have no clue what we are missing I am certain. I have a walk-up attic, a servant’s stairway (but alas no servants) and really high ceilings. I feel like it all evens out.
I know we, as a family, are the bane of any sane real estate agent’s existence. We are the weirdos of home buying. We have specific tastes: old, statement homes with acreage. We want the original woodwork, awkward angles and ancient fixtures. We want to deep dive the history of the place and find out all about the original owners, and subsequent residents. If you do this with an 1890s through 1950s timeline, it is historical research. If you do this with a 2015 build, it’s stalking.
We also hail from people who live in the same properties for decades so settling for something that isn’t suitable doesn’t really appeal to any of us. I told you, we are real estate weirdos.
We are settlers in that we settle in and make a life where we live. We are not “settle for now and we will move in a few years” types. We are stayers. I think more people are coming around to this. People who purchased a few years ago at super low interest rates now feel “stuck” in starter homes. First world problems for certain, but I do feel for them. Home should be a haven, not a hassle. Unless that hassle is renovating a bathroom three times over a 20-year period, then I am apparently all in.
We just know what works for us — and what does not. We don’t want to change houses every 5-7 years. Frankly that sounds exhausting. I don’t want to pack that often. Pick out new paint. Learn my way around in the dark? No thank you. I can vividly recall getting this house, my “dream come true” and crying on the stairs our first night in our new-to-us home. It was so different. “I can’t find my way in the dark!” I sobbed. Now I can. With my eyes closed. It feels like home.
BoyWonder purchased a similar style home — hours away — a few years ago. I think when you started “supervising” renovations at 18 months old it was simply in your blood. He sends photos of a bathroom gutted to bare studs and completely missing a floor and I know we raised him well.
GirlWonder said with a sigh “I’m just chasing that old house high.” I get it darling, I really do. Mr. Wonderful and I have realized that we basically have never wanted anything so badly as we want our children to have their dreams come true. So the hunt continues and we will not give up. Basically, if a house doesn’t look slightly haunted by the ghosts of late 1800s oil barons, we aren’t interested.
