This Old House

Ever since I was a little kid, I’ve loved old houses. We traveled a lot by car and many times Dad would take the back roads. Mom would always point out the old houses. My favorites were the Victorians. Queen Anne Victorians and Painted Lady Victorians. I promised myself that someday in my lifetime I would own a house like that.

Fast forward to 1991. We closed on an 1888 Queen Anne Victorian with a two story carriage house. Now that I look back, the charm of it kind of overshadowed the massive amount of work this house would need. Ever see the Money Pit? Now you know.

Our house was divided at some point in 1941-1942. The renovations included removing multiple fireplaces, a grand staircase, a back staircase, wrap around front porch and detailed woodwork. I spent several years researching the history of our house and came up with some really interesting tidbits. Could not find any original house plans, so I read up on Victorian design and managed to piece it together. Yeah. Someone made a mess of this once beautiful grand Victorian.

We rent out the top two floors which isn’t terrible. I don’t really need 14 rooms. We’ve done a lot of work in both apartments. Which leaves the shoemaker’s children.

Every room in our part of house needs renovation. From floor to ceiling. Paint, woodwork, you name it. I have electrical outlets that don’t work. I have a closet door that has warped so badly I can’t open it all the way. Wallpaper in my bedroom from the 1940’s. It sounds charming I know. It’s not. Trust me.

People who first enter my home comment how delightful it is. Wow, they exclaim. Look at all the windows and you have a tower (home of the baby grand). I want to tell them don’t look too hard. Don’t look at the peeling wallpaper, the window shades from the last century, the paint chipping on the ceiling. For the past 20 years I’ve called it a “house in progress” knowing full well things may stay the way they are for the next 20 years or so.

I have to say, the outside of the house is pretty cool. Well, half cool at least. I really wanted a painted lady kind of look. I had the painters do it up in pale yellow, sea foam green and light violet. I was also going for a dark violet for the intricate details on the tower but the painters flipped out on me. Ok, ok. I’m good with three colors. So coming down the street you see a house that looks like a fairy tale. At least half a house. We ran out of funds.

Sometimes I think about moving into a newly built condo. Fresh paint. No cracks in the walls. Then I think again. I’ve always loved Victorian homes. Guess we’ll keep this old house for a while longer.

Who knows? Maybe we’ll get around to painting the other half.