Posted on 12/08/2004 4:17:02 PM PST by Republicanprofessor
Collecting tank still in our attic! Everyone that sees this house HAS to check out that tank! lol
All the floors are intact except kitchen has linoleum over the wood. Praise be; it's only one layer!! MANY layers of wallpaper that need to come off. Don't think the house has EVER been scraped and painted.......just painted, again and again. It's chipping in CHUNKS!
The house was built in the mid-1800's by my great grandfather - who had 500 acres and a saw mill - the house was typical for the time - the "cook room" added on to the main house - the woodshed/granary added to the other end of the cook room, etc - in the usual connecting buildings - but I always remember the cook room and "sitting room" floors - they were Birdseye maple! Couldn't do that today for love nor money!
Next summer, I'm ripping down all the walls on the main floor, re-insulating, and re-plastering. I have wallpaper under god-only-knows how many layers of paint. Plus, damages over time were fixed poorly, leaving divots and rough spots. I've already done this with my kitchen.
Today - I see houses going up - matchsticks and whatever that stuff is they slap on the ribs. Roofs not "picked" enough for snow and ice load, and definitely no solid beam ridge pole. "Planned obsolescence" runs rampant
I've never understood why, in the day when architectural detail could be manufactured much easier than in 'the olden days', why our architure has gotten simpler and plainer. Big shiny boxes.... yawn. Making it round doesn't seem to make it any more pleasing. Have we no artistic style anymore?
Birdseye Maple, quite nice. I have oak flooring throughout the main floor, but it's all in rough shape, and all of it needs sanding and refinishing.
Oh yes...lots of paint over the wallpaper. And here I sit on the computer......lol
Yes, the houses now are terrible. We just moved from a 10 year old house in Dallas area. It was already falling apart. Those houses will look like trash in another 10-15 years.
Auntie's house still had the original plaster - in excellent condition - and not a piece of wallpaper anywhere -
There's a bronze statue of Shakespeare holding a globe light atop the newel post in the front hallway - 3 generations of us teenagers used to slide down the banister and that glass globe would whing around - but for some unfathomable reason - it's still whole and there!
Now, repeat loudly: THIS IS NOT A PHALLIC SYMBOL!
If women dominated architecture we would all be living in caves, nice caves, but still caves.
I'm single, so I've been doing a very slow remodel, no one to complain *L*
Your Aunties house was a much higher end place than mine. This house is old, and nice, but it was built practically. I'd like to move on to something more interesting, with more odd character in my next one. I plan to restore this place and resell it within a couple of years.
I have a colleague, not even a liberal, who thinks builders should admit that their buildings will not last. I guess that means that they would be "disposable."
I like the history that comes with old buildings: the change in architecture from a town center outward toward the newer developments. It says a lot about a town or city. I also love old Victorians (although we are not handy people and bought a newer home, but with an unusual layout).
A local builder has recently unveiled some new model homes. He took designs from the turn of the last century, and made a few minor changes to accomadate new conveniences, and is essentially producing brand new Victorian-Era homes in new neighborhoods.
That's a great plan - and I have an idea you will do it! That's super
Yeah, then I can start all over on another house. It's like a part-time job.
Yes, its a LAMELLA structural form(diamond pattern columns)built possibly as a sex toy for a very LARGE lesbian, on the one hand; but an intelligent design on the other as to three dimensional volume(sphere)vs two dimensional areas(cube). This gherkin form is very common in ancient storage jars, graineries, etc. As a fellow architect, at least give the guy credit for trying something different; where's YOUR imagination?
But I have appreciated the alternative insights on this thread, as well as all the info about redoing Victorian houses.
Good point, a round peg amoung square holes; and yet it says HEY, I'm DIFFERENT, notice me! As a arch'l teacher(night courses/jr coll, prin of bldg const)several years ago, one of my points was that : you would NEVER think of walking in public naked and yet the building you design/build = baring your innermost soul to the whole world. There is a biblical reference to this. Ugly inside = ugly outside, beautiful inside = beautiful outside. Think about it...
I wonder if it functions well? It does look odd in that skyline.
I took historic drawings of arcadian cottages and went around to architects until I found someone who understood I wanted a modern, efficient version with the same ambience. I feel completely in love with the acadian farmhouses during a trip through Louisiana. At that, the plans were redrawn twice before we got it right. I love having every room open up to outdoors, the porch that wraps around the entire house. I bought land on a mountain, but looks like it will actually get built in the rolling countryside (job changes).
I have a girlfriend who restores Victorian houses in Nashville (well, hubby restores, she lawyers). I have loved each of their houses, but wouldn't want to live in them.
Coffee or tea?
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