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1) Addition - The original construction of our house is a four-square. Four rooms on top, four on the bottom. The original house is QUALITY. There's an addition on the main floor, though, that gives us a bathroom/laundry room and a mudroom. Both of these rooms are crucial to the running of our household. The quirk is that the addition was shoddily built. There's not a square corner in either room. The person who cut the linoleum was clearly a rank amateur. There is no insulation (in a bathroom! in a place where the weather regularly gets under zero degrees!). Don't even get me started on the windows in the mudroom.
2) Water - The water in our town is super hard. And that means every pipe is clogged and no matter how often we clean our stainless steel sink, it looks like garbage.
3) Bathrooms - So not only does our downstairs bathroom not have insulation, it's also the only shower in the house. The upstairs bathroom is small and only has a tub. The upstairs sink is also ALWAYS running slow, no matter how many times we snake it out.
4) Crypt - There's a room in our basement I call the crypt. I think it was probably originally the coal chute. Or the originally entrance to the basement. Or both. It's creepy AF.
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| If you come visit, you can see this creepfest in person. |
5) HVAC - The air conditioning barely works on the second floor. The house probably should be zoned and have a second air conditioner for the bedrooms. But it isn't and it doesn't, so if you come visit us in the summer, just be aware that it might not be super comfortable.
1) Location - The location is clearly the best part of our house. We're walkable to everything in town and the library is literally two blocks away. Yes, we do have the worst house in the best neighborhood, thankyouverymuch.
2) Layout - I love the four square layout. There is not an inch of wasted hallway space in the house. It is the best of an open floor plan without actually being an open floor plan. I love the wood window frames, the wood floors, and I love how I know where my husband is at any moment of the day, even though we have a giant house*.
3) Peak Cozy - We have made this house our own. It is peak cozy. The furniture is perfect. The decorations are perfect. The rugs are perfect. I can't get over how much our house represents us.
4) Windows - There are windows in every room. I love it.
5) Addition - As much as I whine about the addition and how badly built it is, I also love the mudroom and how much the girls love it. And I love having a shower. And not having to go to the basement to do laundry.
*A giant house for two people, a dog, and a cat. I am sure this would not feel quite so spacious if we had children or other people running around.
Just a list of chores I should be doing right now.
1) Floors - I should sweep every day and vacuum every other. In reality, I sweep every two or three days and vacuum most Sundays.
2) Windows - I have to clean the stupid windows a couple of times a year and every time I forget how much I love that we have windows in every room.
3) Counters - Our kitchen counters are some weird laminate that the old owners painted black. I have to clean them every time someone uses them. LOL. Or they get hard water spots. And every speck of broccoli that didn't quite make the cutting board shows up. Why paint them black? I'll never know.
4) Dining room table - Why does the dining room table become the landing pad for every possible random piece of mail/business/shopping/to-do list item that comes into our lives?
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| Why does it always look like this?! |
5) Candle batteries - We have five LED candles that are sporadically around the main floor of our house. These are crucial when it gets dark at 4:30pm. Right now the batteries are dead and I don't even notice most nights because I'm getting ready for bed before it's truly dark out. I'll need to get those batteries replaced in the next month or so. See here for where some of those candles live.
1) Bathrooms - The showers need renovated ASAP. We need a working shower and a working tub both upstairs and downstairs. We need the plumbing to be revamped, particularly upstairs. There are some issues with this (time, money), but we're mostly nervous because there is vermiculite insulation that probably has asbestos in it and asbestos remediation could be quite a thing. We'll definitely do the upstairs before the downstairs, but we have to make some decisions about whether or not to keep the layout the same (four bedrooms, one bath ) or make the bathroom and primary bedroom both larger and go to a three bedroom, one bath upstairs.
2) The Jungle - Our yard is out of control. We really need to figure it out.
3) Addition more broadly - While the downstairs bathroom is part of the addition, we need to tackle the addition more broadly - fix the lack of insulation problem, put in new windows, maybe get some new doors to replace a couple of cheap doors.
4) Garage - Our garage is a two-car garage if each of those cars is a compact car and the people getting in and out of the car can squeeze through a ten inch gap. Right now that's all true, but I'm not sure that will be true forever.
5) Attic - Our attic is a beautiful wide open unfinished space. In our retirement years, I'd love to redo that room and make it a huge library. I'd also use the opportunity to redo the HVAC system and zone the house so it was a zone on each floor, including the attic. My husband would probably say redoing the basement would be a better use of resources, but this is my list, not his.
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Does your home have any quirks? What's the best thing about it?
Oooh this is a fun read. I love old quirky houses. I don't know if you know this, but our house was my husband's grandparents'. We put a second floor on it and gutted the original house, and let me tell you, workmanship was SOLID back then. I don't think it's as old as yours, but it's pretty old. Our house in Calgary was 1962 and it was a cozy little bungalow. Someone said to me "you must be happy with your new house since yours is small and old" (paraphrase) and I was like EXCUSE ME? I loved that house. It was a perfect location in a perfect neighbourhood, and while it was small it was absolutely wonderful. I love our new house but I have lovely memories of our cute little bungalow.
ReplyDeleteI can't believe people are so rude about other people's homes. Of course you loved it! You raised your family there! That person is RUDE.
DeleteOMG, Nicole! What a thing to say!
DeleteI love your house! Every time there's a photo showing the inside of your house, it makes me feel nostalgic for the midwest and the house I grew up in. That house was built in the 1920s, and had plenty of quirks- like, the "front door" was on the side of the house... but on the side where our neighbor's driveway was. If you parked in our driveway, you would naturally come in the "back" door, which led into the kitchen. It was a constant source of confusion for visitors. There were a lot of things like that (who designed that house, anyway?) The house we live in now has no quirks- it's just a typical Florida house built in the 1970s. Definitely not as fun as an old house.
ReplyDeleteOh, ha! We have an actual front door, but we rarely use it because the garage is behind the house. And people know that we use the back door, so if someone comes up to the front door, we know they don't know what's up.
DeleteI mean a house with no quirks sounds like a smoothly running house with correct insulation and no asbestos, so you should be happy about that!
Our house has quirks. Like a space under the stairs that looks like Harry Potter could emerge from it at any minute. We also have a space OVER the stairs where we store some food goods (it's also the access to our attic which isn't usuable space). When the kids were younger they used to make forts in this space!
ReplyDeleteOur house was built in 1972 and definitely has good bones. We've done quite a few upgrades, but most of them had to be done. Now we really should do some landscaping, but...ugh. We're useless with home repairs so literally have to hire out everything and it costs so much money and is such a headache. So far this year we've done nothing. But our bathroom fan looks like it came over on Noah's ark and it sounds horrific so we need to get an electrician out to fix that and while he's at it we need to get him to finish updating our light switches and outlets (the ones upstairs haven't been fixed yet and they're not properly grounded which is definitely not to code anymore).
Like Jenny, people get confused where to enter our house. We NEVER use our front door and it's not really set up for guests (no place to put dirty shoes etc). I always know if it's someone's first time coming to our house because they come to front door. Once they've done that once, they know the side door is the "correct" entrance.
I don't even want to talk about landscaping, Elisabeth. We probably should invest in it and then keep it up, but neither of us likes the gardening aspect of home ownership. I think it will probably be the last of the projects we ever tackle. If we ever do. Hey, once we die it will become someone else's problem.
DeleteYES! Our front door situation is the same. No one uses it and it's not set up for people to actually use.
Our house has a lot going for it - everything works, and the Hubs put in really good insulation so our temperature situation is on point. We do need to update the kitchen and downstairs bathroom, but there isn't a pressing need to start - everything works, it's just old. The other quirk/slash feature is that the previous owners built an addition on the second floor over the garage that is meant to be two bedrooms. Since there's no HVAC and the construction isn't as good as the rest of the house the Hubs used to use it as storage space. Then COVID and WFH came along and all of a sudden we needed two home offices instead of one, so Hubs did a big ol' clean out and put all of the storage stuff in one room and turned the other room into his office. He got portable AC and heating units that work pretty well.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like your family has the perfect situation! I sometimes wonder about these shoddy additions to lovely houses - why are people doing that?!
DeletePretty sure I walked right past your house this morning without realizing it, lol. You do live in a great area. We really wanted a home right in town for the walkability, but ended up just on the outskirts. I can, and have, walked downtown from there – it just takes a little longer.
ReplyDeleteI love that my house has a huge backyard and formerly belonged to a very popular FA teacher whose name appears on a few signs around town.
It is such a good location. I cannot talk about how great this neighborhood is enough. I grew up in a literal cornfield and was adamant that we move someplace with sidewalks. I got my wish and am grateful for it every day!
DeleteI wish our yard wasn't so huge, to be honest. We really hate the upkeep. Oh, well. At least we can't touch our neighbor's house from ours.
I have such a love for homes with history and character! Thank you for sharing yours here.
ReplyDeleteMy mom grew up in a farmhouse built by her great-grandparents when they moved to Ohio from Germany. I wish it were still in the family, but I'm so glad the current owners have renovated it and are taking care of it. ❤️
It is lovely when people take the time (and money!) to keep old houses going. They're worth it!
DeleteYour house love is delightful--it's so nice when people enjoy where they live. I was surprised when you told me how big the house is, but it absolutely makes sense when you factor in that Hannah and Zelda live there too and that you have activities like yoga and biking and so on that take up space.
ReplyDeleteI guess the biggest quirk of our house is that it's built on a passive solar model with tons of south-facing windows and skylights, so we don't need to heat the house very much in winter. The thing is there is no air-conditioning, because it wasn't needed when the house was built. But temperatures have risen in Michigan with climate change, so it can be uncomfortable on 90-degree days.
Our house is stupid big for two people, but I refuse to feel terrible about it. We welcome guests!
DeleteYour house is lovely! I suppose you could put in window AC units in the true heat of the summer. It would sort of defeat the purpose of the design, but what are you going to do?
It sounds like a house we once owned. It was well built, but the addition wasn't particularly. It had three bathrooms, but the only one with a shower was in he basement BR with the spiders.
ReplyDeleteAmericans talk differently sometimes: ""The showers need renovated ASAP." Canadians that I have known would either say "renovating" or "need to be renovated." I notice this often, but I am only mentioning it you. Consider yourself special.
Ah, this is a me thing. It should be "need to be renovated," but I drop the "to be" a lot. It's Midland American English and it comes from having parents who grew up speaking it. It sometimes makes me sound like a rube, but I honestly don't notice I do it!
Deletehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midland_American_English#Grammar
That is a very cool house, and I'm pretty sure it's better to have the worst house in the best neighborhood than the best house in the worst neighborhood?
ReplyDeleteOur house is just new enough to not have character and not new enough to not have shit falling apart. I've done some paint colours and decorating that I like, and I like it because it's mine, and because there are three floors and we are a family of introverts, and we can all be home and still go to our corners if we want to.
I wish I was better at keeping it neater, because when I do I feel like it reflects my better self, and when I don't I feel like it reflects my actual self (ha ha?), which is messy. One of my book club friends did say it was like Mardi Gras all the time here (she had no kids, and was taken aback by the glitter footprints on the stairs).
Oh, our house definitely reflects my mental state. When I'm losing it, the house is a wreck. When I'm doing fine, the house is spotless and organized. I'll leave it to you to figure out what it looks like right now.
DeleteGlitter footprints! How whimsical!
OH, and on the 'the showers need renovated' - this phrasing is a thing I know about because it was mentioned once on thirtysomething. Thank-you, show that aired in 1987.
ReplyDeleteYeah, it's a thing I have tried to change in my lexicon, but I just can't seem to notice I'm doing it.
DeleteI love the phrase "peak cozy" and I feel like my aesthetic-obsessed tween might need to borrow it at some point! Your house is super cool (you have a crypt?!?!) but I love what you love about it even more. I feel like we are in this transition phase in our house (almost 10 years into living here) as we navigate all this extra furniture that landed in here last year, the end of the little kid years, etc. PS: I have so loved reading the lists all week. There's just something special about a list of 20 :)
ReplyDeleteI think everyone should have a goal of peak cozy in their homes, especially in bedrooms.
DeleteI'm glad you're enjoying the lists. I figured I made all my guest posters do it and it turns out it IS a ton of work!
Your house sounds lovely, and I think it's very cool that you have a "crypt". Quirky things like that are so fun. I love it when people are satisfied with their houses and make it perfect just for them. Your location sounds amazing! Two blocks from the library is a dream!
ReplyDeleteThe location is AMAZING. I love where we live so much and I could never go back to living in a rural or suburban area. Yay for closeness to all the books!
DeleteI hear you on having all the things that make the house "yours"; that's so important to me, too. We do condo checks for some of our neighbors in the summer and honestly, a few places look like the interior designer made all the decisions. They don't feel at all personalized; I could never live like that.
ReplyDeleteI know it. Those houses that are all neutral and glass make me feel like crying. How can you live like that?
DeleteThe biggest "quirk" about our house is the tiny, coffin-like shower in the master bedroom. We keep talking about re-doing the bathroom but the one issue is the giant, street facing window (and the time and money, of course).
ReplyDeleteYour house sounds perfect. I would love to live two blocks from the library! My closest library is about 20 minutes away by car.
Ugh! 20 minutes BY CAR to the nearest library. I would move. LOLOLOL. Big talk from me.
DeleteOur house's biggest quirk is that is groans and squeaks. Not sure why. I hope it isn't about to fall in on us.
ReplyDeleteWhen we were house hunting, there was one house that my Husband really wanted to look at, and it was kind of dark and dank and poorly laid out and there was carpet in the carport. CARPET!!!!. And I was like, "Why are we looking at this house???" And he said, "It's three blocks from the library! I thought you'd love it." I did love the idea, but not enough to deal with having carpet in the carport and all that lack of sunlight.
My favorite thing about our current house is the location too - it's a ten minute walk to the metro station, and a ten minute walk to a walking trail and park. Everything else - is still fine, better than fine - enough rooms and bathrooms and a nice open kitchen - but I definitely came to see it for the location. Oh I also love our front door, but we've just replaced it and they were able to put the old door knob on the new door, so I guess I would say, I love the hardware on our door.
Every house has its share of creaks and moans. I am rarely in the house by myself, but thank goodness for Hannah and Zelda because I know they'll react if a sound is really weird!
DeleteA lot of things can be changed about a house, but location is not one of them. If you have a good location, that is worth a lot of headaches to me.
I wish any part of my house were QUALITY, but it's not. Sigh. Your comment about the addition makes me think about those reality home improvement shows where they do a bunch of work in a weekend with a strict budget, and how crappy so much of the quality is. One thing I love about my house is that my 45 year old HVAC still works. I guess it's QUALITY.
ReplyDeleteYour house is beautiful and definitely GOALS. I don't want to think about what a house like that would cost here, when my 1979 townhome is probably over $700k.
Well, you can probably afford a house like ours if you moved to the middle of nowhere! There are plenty of gorgeous houses like this for well under $300,000 in the Midwest! Come join us! There's good cheese, cheap housing, and plenty of fresh water!
DeleteYou have a crypt! That's so cool. I would love to see that creepfest in person.
ReplyDeleteHmm... maybe the quirkiest thing about my apartment is that the door to the porch is so narrow that I can't really put furniture out there. I have to literally assemble it WHILE on the porch (and then disassemble it on there to bring it inside). I could probably get something that folds up to put out there, but I just don't have the desire.
Well, Stephany, next time you find yourself in my neck of the woods, I'll show you the crypt!
DeleteHa ha. Why did they design the porch door like that? I guess maybe they thought people would just bring folding chairs out there? The mysteries of modern construction!
Old houses are the most cozy and the most unique in my opinion; your's sounds like it needs some attention, but you guys are so busy and you can make it work how it is now. Being a homeowner means there is always something to tend to, but reading a book or talking a walk is way more fun. 🤩
ReplyDeleteOh, wait, If I do visit, please don't take me to the crypt. I'll have bad dreams forever....
Oh, this was such a fun post, Engie. I loved learning about your house and how you've made it your own. It sounds like a lovely place, even with all its quirks.
ReplyDeleteWe live in one of the oldest neighborhoods in town and so most of the houses are old and small (unless someone has taken the time and money to completely gut and built up the original houses that are from the 1920's or something). I often lament about our old, quirky small apartment and the landlord doesn't really invest into it (remember the kitchen floor story?)... if we owned, we could probably really make it nice but alas, buying in CA is CRAZY.... but there's a lot of charm in this neighborhood.
Built in 1912? I'd bet dollars to donuts that's a coal cellar. My parents' house - out east - was built in 1936 and they also have one. They did a complete overhaul before we moved in, but they love it, have been there 40+ years, and only plan to leave when they can no longer navigate the stairs. My brother's house was built in 1928. My 'house' is an apartment that was built nearly 10 years ago and since I have been here 7 years of those 10, has had no upgrades (i.e. fresh paint, etc.) since then. That said, I'll be a renter the rest of my life, I suspect. I always wanted a house but now it's just not going to happen. I'll live vicariously through everyone else. ;)
ReplyDeleteIsn't it great when you love your house and its a home.
ReplyDeleteMy apartment building was build two years ago so there better not be any quirks any time soon.