The same as with any other love, the one you have with your home goes through ups and downs. At first glance you love it all — it’s perfect. Then you move in, and all those little things you used to find adorable beginning to drive you crazy: the squeaky floors, the lack of closets, the funky door handles that don’t work quite perfect.
The fantastic thing is that a connection with a home often gets better with age, too. Exactly enjoy the spouses in that long-married couple who love to nitpick at each other’s quirks, you might have started to realize that a few of your home’s oddest features are what you love most.
We asked you what you’ve grown to love about your house. Below are a few of our er responses.
Older architectural features frequently spark the love-hate relationship.
1. “I love my 1928 home with its drafty wood windows, a few with wavy glass,” says er einportlandor. “Along with my glass and brass doorknobs that sometimes come apart in my hand. Along with my stucco fireplace using the very cool but somewhat chipped floors.”
2. Sharon loves the brick floors in the kitchen, laundry room, hallway and office in her house. “They’re indestructible,” she says. “Just roll some glossy sealer on it every few years to ensure it is simple to mop and they’re all set!”
3. Decoratorlb’s Victorian farmhouse came with original doors and doorknobs set much lower than she had been used to. “Back in the 1890s, folks were short in height,” she says. “Initially it was very strange to hit down to utilize a doorway, but now it reminds me of a previous history in the home and all of the people who’ve lived here before us.”
4. “I love the woodwork in my 1910 Craftsman bungalow,” says groveraxle. “Crown molding and film rails, built-in china closet, and also the worst, which can also be the top: a plate rail that goes all of the way round the dining area. I use a shop vac. Would not have it any other way”
Before Photo
Structural quirks become blessings.
5. Lm Chipman’s home has taught her about the durability of older houses. “Friends and acquaintances refer to our medieval German row home as a ‘hexenhaus‘ (witch’s home),” she says. “The first time we tried to hang something out of the ceiling, we were looking to find it was filled with straw and impossible to use for mounting anything,” she says.
Before Photo
“But as we have progressed through various phases of renovation,” Lm Chipman continues, “we have discovered the first wattle and daub construction, found in this picture, is the sturdiest and most adaptive aspect of the construction”
6. Terri Thompson’s 1920s farmhouse is full of surprises, such as this water cistern, first to the home. Although initially it looks like a deep eyesore on the side of the home, a little research revealed that this could be a future advantage.
Commonly found in turn-of-the-century rural houses which didn’t have modern plumbing, this 10-foot-deep cistern originally gathered and filtered water out of the home’s gutters. A pipe directed up into the kitchen, in which the water can be pumped into the home to use.
While it has its drawbacks, she loves this water storage alternative can save water for her garden during particularly dry years.
7. “The first thing I said when I saw [our wood-burning stove] for the first time when we were contemplating buying the home was, ‘God-awful awful … it’s gotta go!'” Says prettyhappynut. “Well, 10 decades later so many great memories afterwards, not only did we never get rid of it but we stored it through a recent renovation and had it installed in our living space. Talk about growing on you … “
8. Agsus22’s 1940s home is full of crazy quirks — such as a old block chimney in the living room wall which had been covered by paneling. After hammering out it, she put a 55-gallon fish tank at the area.
“All these are matters that bothered me initially, and I am sure there are many more,” she says. “But just like the majority of things in an older home, they grow on you, and it turns into a labor of love to conserve as much of their history as you can while still trying to make it more contemporary and traditional to today’s times!”
Loving your house’s quirks often means sacrificing advantage for charm.
9. My apartment’s radiators took some time to grow on me. They looked cute at first, but when I moved I immediately learned what a hassle they were. Impossible to adjust and incredibly loud, they struck me as the most powerful heating alternative potential.
Fast forward to four decades afterwards, and I couldn’t imagine my flat without these clanking metal beasts. I am grateful for these charming heaters — particularly on especially cold San Francisco nights.
10. Some ers felt exactly the same way for their radiators, such as moresparkly, who filed this picture. They’re “so comfy to perch on,” she says.
11. er texshop had the chance to get rid of some radiators but chose to keep them. “Although they take up wall space, I love the nostalgic look of the radiators,” says texshop. “Glad to know others feel the same”
Some ers emphasize their home’s crazy quirks.
12. “When changing a three-season room into a year-round area, [we realized] the walls had many irregular surfaces and edges, and there was a post that would have been difficult to eliminate,” says er erplaut.
“We made a decision to emphasize them with white pine and give the space a very Japanese flair,” erplaut says. “It is now many people’s favourite space in our home.”
13. The previous owners of tcufrog’s home had a big-screen TV built in an entertainment centre. Attempting to fit a brand new flat-screen TV into the built-in was close to impossible. Instead, she had a cabinetmaker add doors and cabinets, and a removable back panel so for mounting the TV. “Not only does it look great, but now we have somewhere to stash DVDs and toys at the living space, plus compartments to our home server,” tcufrog says.
14. “When I first walked into this home, it had been so dark,” says er ikwewe. “All of the walls are paneled in actual cherry paneling. I thought it was going to need to go.” Rather, she maintained the paneling and had one part of the living room wall opened into the big window in her dining and kitchen area. ” Now I love it,” she says.
Sometimes loving the challenges necessitates additional work.
15. er seananddebra1 loves to garden, but living in northeast England doesn’t make that simple. Regardless, he and his wife have made the backyard the main focus of their remodeling. “Summers are unpredictable, but my wife toils endlessly to bring the very best of what the U.K. offers,” he says.
Your turn: Prove us a quirk of your house you’ve learned to adore.