tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14729386.post7930690304479251926..comments2023-12-24T09:06:01.026-05:00Comments on Life in the Prairie Box: Musings on an old homeDihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18104702949280004678noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14729386.post-14166848422126617362008-04-14T12:25:00.000-04:002008-04-14T12:25:00.000-04:00I stumbled upon your blog because my husband and I...I stumbled upon your blog because my husband and I just bought a Colonial foursquare in MD and were browsing for information. We have lived here two weeks and it certainly feels like home. Well put. Keep up the good work!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14729386.post-66860990528842545482008-04-12T23:05:00.000-04:002008-04-12T23:05:00.000-04:00which came first: the old home or the slower lifes...which came first: the old home or the slower lifestyle? or more importantly, can we keep both? and when clerks at the big box stores look at me like i'm nuts, i usually am :DBen Biddlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12752365858429564588noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14729386.post-6849290936859946482008-04-11T13:43:00.000-04:002008-04-11T13:43:00.000-04:00GAH, I am a comment monster, I'm so sorry. Those l...GAH, I am a comment monster, I'm so sorry. Those link didn't work, obviously. <BR/><BR/><A HREF="http://katek.wordpress.com/2007/04/26/why-we-buy-old/" REL="nofollow">"Why we buy old" blog post</A><BR/><BR/><A HREF="http://www.flickr.com/photos/katef/sets/72157600890878260/" REL="nofollow">The apartment.</A>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14729386.post-67629472499365272542008-04-11T13:16:00.000-04:002008-04-11T13:16:00.000-04:00Huh, I was looking for something else in my blog a...Huh, I was looking for something else in my blog archives and I found this from a year ago:<BR/>http://katek.wordpress.com/2007/04/26/why-we-buy-old/<BR/><BR/>Here are some pictures of the apartment before and afters...<BR/>http://www.flickr.com/photos/katef/sets/72157600890878260/Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14729386.post-90843877964372827402008-04-11T10:37:00.000-04:002008-04-11T10:37:00.000-04:00I feel the same way. In fact, my husband just said...I feel the same way. In fact, my husband just said (again) last weekend, "What would I have done if you didn't like old houses?" because I don't think he COULD live in a new house. I could, but it would have to be a really specific kind, and I guess when I say "new" what I mean is a really awesome modern house from the 50s, not a new mcmansion.<BR/><BR/>I live in Cambridge, MA, and when we were looking for apartments last year we had a lot of trouble, despite Boston's age, avoiding all the new high-rise buildings. We drove our real estate agent nuts because we refused to look at anything built after 1950. Eventually we found a treasure--a large 2-bedroom (plus the old maid's room behind the kitchen, which is my office) in a 1901 building that was *built as apartments*, instead of being an awkward division of what was a one-family home. As a result, the whole thing is so well designed. We have an actual dining room; between the dining room and the kitchen is the still-intact butler's pantry (and behind that but accessible only from the kitchen is the food pantry)... When we moved in there wasn't a single cupboard or counter in the kitchen, just a sink, stove and fridge, but we were able to put away every single thing we owned, including wedding china, slow cooker, all the different glassware, etc. because those two pantries are so well-designed.<BR/><BR/>We love the moldings, we love the way the moldings, hardware and flooring shift to simple, cheap styles starting in the pantries (servant's quarters), we love the embossed cast-iron back of the fireplace... We may not be able to hang things directly from our tenuously-intact horsehair plaster walls, and there may be some weird bumpy places, but we have picture molding in most of the rooms and we'd never trade the character of our place for the convenience of sheet rock.<BR/><BR/>There is life in old houses, and we are inspired by it. There is whimsy and humor and craftsmanship and attention to detail that cannot be found in any but the most high-end custom homes built these days. I do think old houses change you, but I also think you either get them or you don't.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14729386.post-21205633819755826162008-04-11T00:52:00.000-04:002008-04-11T00:52:00.000-04:00Well said. Living with imperfections, accepting e...Well said. Living with imperfections, accepting external limitations, repairing instead of replacing-- these are certainly counter-cultural values, but they are powerful ideals, too. <I>Does living in an old home just change you?</I> I think it can.Joshhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10935699679787133454noreply@blogger.com