As a child, you sat on your grandfather’s Levi jean-clad lap, breathing in the scent of Dial soap and Old Spice, listening to him share the stories of his life. You sat at attention as his raspy voice spoke of a time before the internet, a time when he ran around barefoot through the hills of Kentucky, a time when he won your grandma’s heart by his strong, tan shoulders and his generous offer to buy her new shoes with the ticket given to him by the military after he survived the invasion at Normandy.
And now, you sit on the creaky old hardwood floor of your 104 year old home, and you wonder at the stories the walls could tell. Stories of a baby’s first bath in the claw foot bathtub in the new indoor bathroom. Ah, the luxury. Stories of two friends sitting on the porch, surveying the sunset, sipping ice cold lemonade and chuckling about college memories. Stories of the dining room’s mint green phase, its’ yellow phase, its’ white phase. Stories of little children’s feet pitter-pattering through the hallway 90 years ago, and again today. And as your home’s newest inhabitant, you feel as if it’s your mission to bring what you have to offer to the space. There are ways to let your home whisper its’ memories of times long past. Maybe you are in the middle of a full blown flip, or maybe you’d simply like to leave your fingerprints on the house – to make it feel like you. What you do to your house is up to your discretion, but amid the paint swatches and stain colors and shower curtain fabric choices, here are a few thoughts. Texture creates warmth and expresses personality. Plaster walls, peeling paint, exposed lathe – used tastefully, these are just a few examples of texture adding character and age to a space. If your house is 100 years old, let it be 100 years’ worth of lived in, well-loved character. It doesn’t need to look like a brand new home, because it isn’t. And chances are, if you let your home’s age shine through, its’ walls will whisper secrets of knowledge that spans the century. Your old home has a story. Let its’ walls have a moment to speak. The best piece of advice I have heard for curating a home that is truly you is to simply take your time. We live in a culture ruled by the more, the better the sooner. Bur that doesn’t mean we have to embrace that lifestyle. As years pass, you’ll bring home the geode paperweight from the wilderness trip, the Mexican blankets from your Florida internship, the copper pot from your honeymoon, the family heirloom furniture, and the beautiful vintage kilim throw pillows. Select items with care. Wait for the right thing to show up for the right price instead of filling the void with a temporary fix that you’ll toss in a month, two months, a year. I knew I wanted black bentwood style chairs for the dining room, but I didn’t purchase them immediately. They can be pricey. I waited and watched. I was able to source a few from Craigslist, one from a flea market, and a few on sale, and now we have a complete set that came at a beautiful price. Sure, it would have been nice to have a full set immediately, but now each of them have a story attached. For me, they were well worth the expense of patience. There are still projects on our to-do list, but that’s what brings the joy in the journey of having a home. My home is my safe space; my favorite place to be. I love the texture of the plaster walls. I love the tall ceilings and unique arching doorways. I love our tiny, plant-filled rooms with antique portraits on the walls and our furniture that spans the centuries. I love our vintage rugs and when the afternoon light throws long shadows and crystalized rainbows across the walls and floors. But most importantly, I love the people whose footsteps and laughter echo through the old walls and leave us with memories for the days to come.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorM E G A N Archives
October 2017
Categories
All
|