Congratulations to Amy Hill and Cindy Friday — the two readers who won a “Love The House You’re In” collage — featuring them and their houses — specially created by collage artist laureate Mel Kolstad. Mel’s been doing a Love The House You’re Inn collage-a-month for the blog. ENTRIES NOW CLOSED. But, we thought we’d take it one step further by getting readers involved. On Tuesday night, I used the random number generator at random.org (I to select the two winners. Their numbers came up! (I did not try to “judge” the comments — everyone’s were great — I selected the winners randomly.) Mel has started working with them on their collages. Thanks to everyone who participated. Your comments — AMAZING! We love our houses, that’s for sure!
Here were the rules:
- Leave a comment below, answering the question, “Why do you love the house you’re in?”
- You must sign up for my weekly newsletter.
- Residents of U.S. and Canada only.
Additional details:
- I’ll pick two winners from among the comments with a random number generator at 8 p.m. on April 19. (I will cross-check that they are newsletter subscribers, and if they are not, I will pick again.)
- If you win, you will send up to three high-resolution images to Mel, she will create your collage and mail it to within a month. The collage is mounted on a 4″x4″ wood tile with a notch for hanging – it’s very cool!
- Pam will confirm with you whether you’d like it featured on the blog or not – your choice.
- If this all goes well, I’ll continue the contest every month.
What do you think? Wanna win? Why do you love the house you’re in?
Susan says
I love our 1926 house because it’s full of heirlooms, tag-sale finds, and e-bay treasures that we’ve collected in our 17 years here. I love the view of trees and of butterfly bushes and roses planted by my husband (only old-fashioned roses that don’t need chemicals) from the big windows in the kitchen, dining room, living room and our bedroom. The southern exposure in our bedroom is a napper’s dream! I love the very short front lawn that reminds us we are in a neighborhood built in the 1920s (sorry–don’t love the midcentury obsession with lawns). I love that our neighborhood is junky enough that we don’t get in trouble when our backyard starts looking like Sanford and Son. And, look ma!, no fences! There are things about those 1950s and 1960s lifestyles that were just a tad uptight! It’s not a true beauty from the outside, what with the aluminum awnings and all (one of the many “newer” features added after a fire in 1978), but it’s held up for all these years and holds us well.
Robin Leiss says
Hi. I live in a 1956 ranch. I love my house because it’s so small and cozy. I also love my home because we brought our son home to this house. It’s full of memories. Oh and we have a pink bathroom original to the house!
Amanda says
I love our home because we spotted it while I was pregnant with our daughter and watched it on the market for months and then finally, when the time was right, we were able to put in the offer after three viewings and many long talks. When she was three months old, we moved in. She is now five and her brother is three. We live in every corner and spot of our 1958 ranch and are currently renovating our kitchen and dining room to restore it back to its original 1950’s wonderfulness (with some modern updating). We still have the original cabinetry in our garage and we even found pink tiles in our attic when we moved in! Apparently, we’re finding out that our kitchen and bathroom were originally both pink!
My husband was a realtor for a few years and we would look at lots of houses, just for fun but we were always happy to come home! Even our kids get excited when we turn onto our street and pull into the driveway.
Mechele says
I love my mid-century modest home…just like Goldilocks loved the bears’ home. It’s JUST RIGHT! Not too big, not too small… just right. It’s constructed of real building materials.. like wood and glass and metal. No plastic. It’s constructed solidly, built to last with a level of craftmanship that simply no longer exists. It is Simply…simple and beautiful.
Kelly says
Ooh! This is so much fun! Not just the chance of winning one of those super amazing collages but also reading how much people love their homes.
Let’s see…I love my house because it’s the first house since my childhood house that has feel completely like “home”. I feel like my husband and I are not only thankful for it but it’s thankful for us and the care that we are taking to preserve it. It’s the first house that I’ve ever lived in that I’ve thought that I would like to live in for the rest of my life. Not to sound corny, but I think that the house was waiting on us to find it. : ) Oh, and I love it because it has *the* perfect Christmas tree window!
gavin hastings says
…Corny?
Just wait till I tell MY house story….It’s one step from being a “Lifetime” movie……
Your post is really very sweet.and your home is all the things it should be.
sumac sue says
Oh dear. Seeing as how we have been out house hunting in order to replace our house, I’m not sure we qualify for this competition! We love our neighborhood, love our street, love our neighbors, love our back yard, love our brick veneer, BUT we don’t love the inside of our house because the floor plan is silly. And we hate our steep driveway. The cost of fixing some problems seems prohibitive, and maybe not even possible — how can you replace a steep driveway with a flat one? We have found another 50s house a few streets away that we think we could love, but, the neighbor to the left has apparently opened up a junk yard on the premises — at least four old cars on the driveway, a pile of old bicycle parts in the back yard, etc. We don’t think we could handle moving in next to all of that, knowing it will probably get worse. So, we will keep looking, and in the meantime, we enjoy what we do love about our place. Such as, I’m now going to go hang laundry on my 50s era clothesline, under the shade of an apple and a pear tree, both now in bloom. And my husband will be home for lunch because we live so close to his office. We may not exactly love our house, but we love the quality of life we have at this house. That counts for a lot!
Lovely Mrs E says
I love my house because it’s not like all the others. In a neighborhood of brick cottages from the 40s, it’s a white Craftsman, sturdy and square. I love the red front door…the original glass doorknobs…the hardwood floors…the arched doorways…and the cute trim on the shelves in the tiny kitchen. The neighborhood has tall trees, incredible blooming heirloom flowers and a park you can walk to. Awwww……..happiness.
Natalie @ Chadwell Chronicles says
I would love one of those collages! I love our house because of our kitchen and living areas. We wanted a house that had most of the square footage in the living areas so that we could have people over and later encourage our children to be in the living areas and not cooped up in their rooms. It’s a 1960 ranch that is being restored to its original glory and I knew it was my home when we walked into it.
I could go on and on just like I am sure everyone else on here could.
Kelly says
It took us a while to appreciate its charm, but we LOVE the house we’re in. In fact, it looks almost identical to the one in the featured collage! It’s a 1956 split that has been fiddled with over the years by previous owners. We’ve nearly finished restoring the original master bath to a gleaming pink beauty (complete with some of the original pink and black floor tiles found underneath vinyl flooring). Next we’ll turn our eyes towards the kitchen…
Susan, aka Kitty Mommy says
Yay! I’m the first! I would love a collage of my home. I love the house I’m in because, from the moment I walked in, I knew I was “home”. My house is a 1961 ranch that we purchased from the original owners, who built the place themselves. Nearly everything about the house is original, from the Nutone food center and Fold-Away Hood-Fan above the electric stove to the yellow main bathroom and pink master bathroom (and there’s lots more to love!). I couldn’t be happier!