I had wandering eyes. I was – and still am – looking for the next project, next house, next adventure. The work on our first house was finally finished and could I sit back and relax – enjoy the fruits of my labor….what are you kidding! No, I was out looking for my next conquest. I didn’t care if it was old, lacking a working heating system, missing a few shingles… the hunt was on. So what caught my eye? New constuction!
OK, OK, so here I am – this old house lover – and I go and purchase a new house. That is just wrong, you say. But – with every house I learned something new. You know how they talk about the grass always being greener on the other side of the fence? Well, I thought that a new house might be easy and certainly a change from a hundred year old house. I was wrong – at least about the easy part. You see, the problem is, I just love houses. Any kind of house – and every house – old or new, updated or not – has a story to tell and a lesson to teach. Mind you, a new house just doesn’t have a lot of stories, but I just had to try it. And let me tell you, I learned a lot.
I learned that I loved the quirkiness of old houses. I loved the cool, smooth, feel of plastered walls. Sheetrock just doesn’t have that feel and forget about all those nail pops! I spackled dozens of those nasty pops and even tried sheetrock screws to remedy the problem. I learned that just because a house was newly constructed, did not mean that it didn’t have its own set of issues. I learned that I loved the nooks and crannies in old houses. New construction is often so geometric – rectangle after rectangle arranged so neatly – so predictable and to my eyes, lacking in the architectural detailing that I had previously taken for granted. Stock “colonial” molding is the norm for new houses. That is the 2 1/2″ trim around all the windows and doors in development housing. I had assumed that the generous molding in my Victorian was the norm. Generally 4+ inches, that substantial molding gave grace and importance to the opening – like jewelry on the wall of the house. Nowhere is that detailing to be found in most new construction. The window and door openings floated unanchored on chalky, white walls. And then, there were the baseboards – thin strips of wood, barely peeking out of the builder’s grade carpet – absent was the substantial 6″ baseboard that graced my old house. The rooms looked naked in their whiteness and out of proportion with their thin, weak strips of molding. I decided to take what I had learned in my carpentry class, combined with my appreciation of the older aesthetic, and turned that 1986 colonial into something that would give homage to a time when finish carpentry was an art.
I installed crown molding in the formal living areas and also designed and put up a chair rail for the formal dining room. I framed out the room openings with molding and wood trim – new construction is notorious for not trimming out these transition areas.
I learned that I missed trees! New homes stand like lonely sentinels on their muddy territories. No grass, no bushes, no trees!!! Where does one sip lemonade – or other frosty libations – on a hot summer day?? What shady tree will offer comfort on a mid-August afternoon – that is a story to tell in twenty years!
After landscaping the yard, designing the patio and deck – I started to get the “itch”. Once again I started to look around for another house. I had come to the conclusion that I needed “project” houses – so off I went in search of something to fix up. Several months later a vacant home called to me. It sat on a little hill in a rural road in Wrightstown, Pa, and was surrounded by waist high weeds, and it was a foreclosure! A challenge for sure – the previous owner had cut down all the trees and bushes, and had allowed animals to use the second floor carpets for their “business”. But the interior woodwork was sumptuous, the house was large – plenty of room for a family of five – plus various dogs, cats, pet rats, mice, snakes, lizards and a neighbor’s pony who liked to graze in our yard.
It was a lovely home – great party house – the large pool in the back was the center of our entertaining efforts. We redesigned the kitchen, but this time were were able to have contractors do the installation. It was the first time I was introduced to granite – and I was in love again. It doesn’t take much to win me over! I spent a lot of time designing and planting gardens – loved the colors and smells…..
In the meantime I decided to take a course at Bucks County Community College in Architectural Stained Glass Windows. The master bath had a 4′ x 4′ window next to the whirlpool tub. Not wanting to install curtains, I designed and executed a window with opaque glass – wisteria vines on a mottled pink background – turned out great and is still at the property.
But the most important thing that happened at that house was an introduction. While I was taking my stained glass window course I heard about another program at the college. A new course of study in Historic Preservation. The program was run by a charismatic, Pied Piper of a professor named Lyle Rosenberger. He had single handedly turned a small, obscure program, into a nationally recognized Historic Preservation Certificate Program in a matter of a few years. The year was 1998 – and I was about to embark on one of the best learning experiences of my life – and I was lucky enough to be taught by the master. This house was finished – another house was in my sights – and I was about to enroll in a program that would be the beginning of the most rewarding educational adventure in my life.
