Old Home Ideas That Deserve a Comeback

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I recently read an article titled: “15 Old House Features We Were Wrong to Abandon.” The point of the article being there are many home features that we were probably right to leave behind (at least as of today), but there are some really cool features that deserve a comeback.  Clicking through the list, I was surprised and excited to see that our home already has four of the fifteen and two more that I have planned to add to our home.   Funny thing is, those four features are some of my favorite features of our house.  They include:

  1. Transom windows.  We have them over interior and exterior facing windows and doors in our house and it makes the house seem so much more open, airy, and bright. Plus, its such an unexpected feature – we get positive comments on them all the time.
  2. Laundry Chute.  I cannot begin to tell you how helpful it is to push a load of dirty laundry down our chute, straight into our laundry room vs. carrying it down the stairs, through the family room, then kitchen, and into the laundry room.  You know you’re guaranteed to lose at least one sock on a trip like that!  It has been such a great element to our home that when my parents were doing a full remodel on their home in CT, I suggested they add in a laundry chute to the plans and they did!
  3. Intercoms.  I’ll be honest, ours is pretty outdated and a bit of an eye-sore in our house (we’ll get to replacing it eventually) but trying to get someone’s attention upstairs or in the garage without yelling does come in handy.
  4. Ceiling Medallions.  We have a ceiling medallion in our kitchen and I thought it was such an interesting feature.  We replaced the original light fixture that was hanging there and kept the medallion.  I never would have thought to add it, but I am happy it’s there and adds a little personality to our kitchen.

And the two I hope to add to our home:

  1. Dutch Doors. It will be so wonderful to be able to open the top door to talk to the delivery man without our huge dog running out to bark at them.
  2. Clawfoot Tub. This is my dream tub for our master bathroom remodel if it fits within the space & budget.  Stay tuned on that one – work to start in Fall 2017.

So, there are six of the fifteen that I clearly agree society was wrong to abandon.  Below is the remainder of the list from the article I read.  I don’t see an immediate need for them at our house, but that doesn’t mean it’s not fit for another family.  Hope this starts to get you thinking during your next home remodel or search.

  1. Sleeping porches
  2. Boot scrapers for your front stoop
  3. Pocket shutters
  4. Phone nook
  5. Dumbwaiter
  6. Mail slot on your front door
  7. Root cellar
  8. Rumford fireplaces
  9. Picture Rail Moulding

 

Decor Decision Making

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This January, I finally pulled the trigger on a purchase that I had been researching for months.  I was scouring my go-to sites daily for affordable decor (Joss & Main, Wayfair, & Zulily) and after weeks of no luck, I expanded my search to my more expensive favorite retailers (Pottery Barn, Serena & Lily, and Crate & Barrel).  I found TONS of options, but I just could not for the life of me make a decision.  Believe it or not, my big decision was 2 decorative pillows for our family room couch. Crazy – I know.  Why are the small purchases sometimes the hardest!?  It took me months to decide on 2 pillows and literally 2 days to decide on a 12′ x 15′ rug for our family room.  Believe me, the rug was a lot more expensive than the 2 pillows 🙂

I think my hang-up was that the colors of our family room are so comfortable to me.  A lot of grays, blue, and white and that is something I have always decorated with.  However, I wanted to take a little chance with the pillows and put a splash of unexpected color in the room.  Our beautiful rug has a touch of mustard yellow, salmon pink, and mint green – all colors I like but wasn’t sure I wanted to highlight.  I finally decided to pull out that salmon pink and purchased 2 really cozy, cotton cable knit sweater pillows in a Paprika color.  I had gone back and forth on whether to purchase a pillow with a design or keep it simple.  In the end, I decided that the rug had such a strong pattern that simple, classic pillows would look best.  The faded “pink” turned out to fit in perfectly and I’m really pleased that the pillows made the room even a touch more comfortable. Yellow lab approved.

A Passion for Homes

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Nearly a year ago, October 2016, I was a new mom home on maternity leave and I found myself doing a lot of soul searching.  The days were long but filled with tremendous love for this new little boy that joined our family.  Nearly every day, I would pack up the baby & harness up the dog and we would venture out on a long walk. I would find myself daydreaming on these walks. “What are my dreams?”  “What are my passions?” “What do I get excited about?”  These are questions I have asked myself a million times before but, I could never really come up with an answer that I believed was true.

Finally, after countless strolls through neighborhoods in Boulder, CO, things started to click.   I realized that I was checking out each and every home I passed with curiousity.  I realized that I dream about future homes for my family.  I constantly envision our next house project to continue to make our home comfortable, yet beautiful. I get excited seeing what other people have done with their homes.  I spend free time perusing real estate sites.

Fast forward to Fall 2017.  I’m excited to announce that I’ve made a major career shift from marketing & selling in Corporate America to marketing & selling a new product, something I’m passionate about: Homes.