“Houses are really quite odd things. They have almost no universally defining qualities: they can be of practically any shape, incorporate virtually any material, be of almost any size. Yet wherever we go in the world we recognize domesticity the moment we see it.”
―
Bill Bryson, “At Home: A Short History of Private Life”
My husband and I recently decided (like so many others in this time of low but rising interest rates) to refinance our house. We decided to go ahead and take the equity back out in order to do a few projects. And, let’s face it, with the kids mostly out of the house now, we could use a few projects to fill that empty(ish) void in our lives.
Follow along with me in the deep dive that has become my life. Maybe we’ll do just a simple painting project or perhaps a full bathroom overhaul. Or maybe we should redo the kitchen too? Oh wait! Ok, hear me out: what if we just go ahead and buy a 100-year-old house and refurbish that?! The possibilities are endless!
Pliney the Elder (I’m sure you remember him) is credited with saying “Home is where the heart is.” Our hearts are spread far and wide these days. With one child here, another there and yet another somewhere else, we honestly don’t know where we want to be. We’re not ready to leave Columbia but pieces of our heart are so far away. We are willing (I think?) to become somewhat multi-home nomads. But to make that work, we would have to find a way to make multiple mortgage payments which lead us to this book – “Turn your Spare Space Into Serious Cash” by Mary Christensen.
We could make an old house shine again, right? Right?! Maybe we could — with the help of books like “Not So Big Remodeling: Tailoring Your Home for the Way You Really Live” by Sarah Susanka or “Restoring Your Historic House: A Comprehensive Guide for Homeowners” by Scott T. Hanson. I blame “Old Home Love” by Andy Meredith for sending me down THIS path. And look: here’s someone that has actually restored an old house and lived to tell the tale in “House Lessons: Renovating a Life” by Erica Bauermeister. I love this book but I can’t say whether it’s turned me off of the idea of renovating an old house or just encouraged me further.
Or, then again, we could just paint a few rooms and I can just spend my extra time reading more “home love” memoirs like “At Home: A Short History of the Private Life” by Bill Bryson or “The Bee Cottage Story: How I Made a Muddle of Things and Decorated My Way Back to Happiness” by Frances Schultz. Muddled certainly sounds like life right now.
Wherever we end up, it’s the journey that counts. Right? RIGHT?! Wish us luck?
“When one has finished building one’s house, one suddenly realizes that in the process once has learned something that one really needed to know in the worst way- before one began.”
― Frederich Nietzche
Image credit: Mabee Farm Historic Site, Schenectady County via Flickr (license)
