HAPPINESS IS… a cozy house. What has made you happy about your home this summer, dear readers? Me: Outside, my perennials are getting well established and sending me lots of colorful blooms. Inside, we had the kitchen floor polished so it’s nice and shiny. Best of all, my brother and his kids came to visit, and we spent a lot of time at the nearby lake. How about you? Are you glad you chose the home you did? Is your home happy you chose it?
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35 comments
Tut says
My office. Good view of the neighborhood, nice breeze coming through and a quiet ceiling fan when it gets hot. The neighborhood we live in also helps. Mostly friendly people always willing to help each other with projects (mostly coming to me to borrow tools). If it wasn’t for out realtor, we’d most likely be in a place less neighborly.
I also like that we found a neat metal wall hanging thing at Pier 1. It’s just a bunch of metal rods welded together in a mostly squarish shape, but it looks so 60s that it really helps define our family room. The new MartinLogan speakers also made a big statement in there—they’re hard to ignore and so far–out looking.
Joe says
getting our kitchen MOSTLY complete……
atomicbowler-dave says
Missouri Michael,
I feel your pain, man!
There is very little so disheartening as to find that what was believed and planned for to be a minor ache is in fact a major deformity, is there? I deal with the sort of anger and frustration you have had to live through with the previous party’s poor workmanship or slapdash, uncaring work on a regular basis…I always ask myself where were they when Dad or Granddad or Uncle so-and-so, etc. uttered that most important mantra of working on ANYTHING…”always do the job like you’ll be the next one to work on it”. And, in your circumstance, perhaps the simple rule of “Do unto others…”.
At least there is the satisfaction of knowing you have put things right and of knowing that your house is now repaired properly and that your work will–along with the house–outlast you and carry forth. You have not only done it for yourself, but for the house itself and for the someday-future owners or occupants, and I hope that you can feel properly proud of that fact.
Sorry you had to go through it, though, and on your own nickel at that.
Our home being rented and not MC in derivation, we didn’t do anything with the structure proper…but Laura did put in a new flower bed–in addition to those she put in last year–that adds a cheer and beauty at the front of the house to see at the end of a long day and to cheer up the otherwise somewhat drab neighborhood. Inside we did of course add some more treasures here and there, and rework an existing corner to have another Tiki/Polynesian/Hawaiiana zone that pleases us and gives the childrens’ friends (one of whom did comment that coming to our house was like visiting a museum) something else to look at and take in.
If our home is not necessarily a structure but a concept…well then, we did quite a bit. Most is intangible, but we have also continued to add to the “hope chest” in the garage…the stored items that will be so perfect when we find and afford the right house.
I really do believe that whether it is a structure like a house or a vessel of some kind…each person who works on, rebuilds, cares for, uses or occupies it leaves a bit of themselves with it…so what we are alll really adding to that place…is a feeling as much as anything else, something that will stay once we and our collections and our things are long gone from it. This goes right back to where Michael is at in a way, for what we leave most when we work on and live with a good old house or a good old boat…are tangible bits of love, dedication, satisfaction, comfort and joy. We become part of it, too…so that not only do we get to enjoy it, in Cheryl Wheeler’s words “…someday we’ll make some young strangers happy when we die…”
Best,
Dave
nancy says
Our home had been neglected for so long! There was much thought & planning involved in the building & furnishing of the home. Nothing had been done to it in the last 50 years! Everything was exactly as it had been when the family that built it moved in. We have been working on it for the last 2 years. We still have the kitchen to go but this summer we have been able to concentrate on the outside. It has been wonderful! Our house is so happy & makes us & all our guests happy. Every time I walk through the house at night & can see the moon through our windows up high, our 3 little miniature donkeys in their pasture, or walk from one room to another & can see views of the Chesapeake Bay & sailboats out one of the 29 sliding glass doors it takes my breath away. We feel so lucky to have found this treasure of a home that no one else appreciated & we love! I just know that we are making this house as happy as it is making us!
sablemable says
What made me happy was that we got more interior painting done, the pull-down light installed and new hinges and cabinet pulls on the kitchen cabinets. The pantry (formerly the broom closet) is almost ready which makes me real, real happy!
Sadly, I’ve neglected the outside, but we did get all the shrubs trimmed back and shaped. All in all, we’re just about ready to move in! Yippee skippee!!!!!
Elaine says
I love my house, a 1964 wing colonial. What makes me happiest this year are the four vintage style red tulip chairs we added to the front porch last year. This year, I added all kinds of porch jewelry, wind chimes, spinners and such, and some attractive little tables. With that our too narrow porch has become a wonderful place to sit in the afternoons, sipping on lemonade or coffee, and our two year old landscaping makes a pleasant frontispiece to our view of the other wonderful homes in the neighborhood. On the procrastination front, we finally had our flatscreen TV mounted to the center of the built-in bookshelves in the family room, and got rid of two really nice rocking love seats that just took up too much room in there. This is inspiring a substantial decluttering campaign and book and media thinning. Anyone want to come shopping in my library?
sumac sue says
To Michael in Missouri, I hope your frustration is eventually wiped out by the satisfaction of knowing you are doing a good thing in repairing your house.
Earlier this summer, we were irritated with our house and wanted to move. After looking at a few other houses, we realized that the positive points of this place far outweigh the negatives. Our irritation evaporated, and the rest of the summer has been much more pleasant. Our flowers and veggies have done well. We’ve made more of an effort to chat with neighbors, and exchange some plants and seeds. Home improvement tasks have been minimal — little things like attempting to organize stuff in the garage. Biggest deal was we set up the aquarium in the living room — which got it out of the garage.
Elizabeth Mary says
This summer I have come to really love my outdoors. I am finally reconciled that my move into this little house, which was done to lower my overhead, didn’t exactly accomplish that because of the cost to maintian the yard. That was a five year battle internally. But, now that I accept it, I LOVE my outdoors. The giant magnolia that came with the house is in great shape, the flower beds that have been added are big and healthy this year as are the lilacs. But, most of all, this year I finally spent the money to put a retractable awning over the way too hot patio and now I have an outdoor room and actually go outside and sit. The awning has added so much more than anticipated to my happyness with the outside. Now I can’t wait for next summer to have even more time in the outside and to see the butterflies and hopefully more hummingbirds in the garden.
Eartha says
What a great question. I can’t wait to hear all of the answers!
This Summer was when we actually got to see inside of the home that we’d driven past and dreamed about for so many years (instead of just guessing what it must look like). This Summer was also when we went out on a very shaky limb and bought just that house!
We got the feeling that the house hadn’t been cared for in years and years and yes, we have had a lot of moments like those that Missouri Michael mentioned that made our blood pressure soar. Even so, it’s been a Summer of looking out freshly acquired walls of windows at our new family of squirrels and birds…and of meeting the next door neighbors who have lived here over seventy years. I know that we’ll be glad that we bought this house. I also get the feeling that when we’re done and the ivy and grime is all pulled back, and the house shines again, it will be glad that we bought it. I’m already picturing our Christmas tree in the front window. I’ve always wanted a front window. : )
Missouri Michael says
Happiness is…honeysuckle that bloomed all summer because it never got very hot outside. It always smelled good in my backyard! Is my house happy I chose it? Absolutely. It is improving daily. Am I glad that I chose the home I did? Hard question…I love the location of my house…the quiet cul-de-sac near the edge of town makes me feel like I’m living in the country, especially since there is no traffic going by my house. I’ve been tackling my bathroom more this weekend, and every time that I try to fix something up, I find that the previous owner did poor maintenance and covered up problems to make them look better instead of fixing them correctly. The half rotted out wall in the bathroom that was covered up with new bead board paneling was a nasty surprise…now that I got that wall rebuilt, I found another mess behind the next piece of bead board that I removed. I get more and more irritated with the previous owner daily, as I am always finding things that they covered up instead of fixing. Eventually it will all be fixed…but if the house had been taken care of in the first place I wouldn’t be in this mess. And if I had discovered these things when I looked at the house…I would have either (1) made a much lower offer on the house, stating the neglect and hidden repairs needed, or (2) most likely, this would have been someone else’s headache. Sorry Pam, it’s been a frustrating weekend! But the bathroom’s going to look great!
pam kueber says
Oh my goodness, Michael. I’m sorry to hear about your bathroom. This definitely happens in restoration/renovation…the not-so-happy surprises. Know that your house is VERY happy you chose it, so that you could give it the TLC it deserves. You are doing a good thing.