Newly-Built Homes Rarely Make History

A client of mine, an avid vinyl records collector, has a framed cartoon by Alex Gregory next to his albums that says, “The two things that really drew me to vinyl were the expense and inconvenience.”

To our friends in the suburbs, our love for historic homes and neighborhoods might come across just like that. Why pay more for older foundations, smaller closets and bathrooms, one-car garages, narrower driveways, creaky floors, flood-prone basements, and less energy-efficient windows, when you can get your very own McMansion just 30 minutes down the highway in any direction?

But just like my client showing me Fleetwood Mac’s Rumors on vinyl for the first time, when you experience life in a historic home, you get it: A historic home, like a vinyl record, comes to life in front of you. What’s perceived as old feels new and alive. You feel its history, its nuances. You understand its value is in its longevity, its resilience, and its ever-growing story — a story you’re now part of.

But when it’s time to add your own chapter to the history of your home, you might feel the weight of history bearing down on you, not to mention the complexities of complying with a Historic Preservation or HOA. I think that’s why some homeowners turn to shortcuts — trends and quick fixes — to put their spin on “home.” What may seem easier at the time is ultimately less impactful.

I bet most of us have at least one room in our home where we wish a previous homeowner had made a better choice, had honored the home instead of following a trend — drywall where there should be plaster; carpet or tile where the wood floors could have been; an Amazon Echo where a turntable might have gone. Don’t you wish you could go back in time and plead with that past homeowner? I wish I could tell them, “Your history is my historic. Take a chance — do something special, meaningful, wild even. Pour love into this home and I will honor it and cherish it, and add my history, too.”

Give yourself permission to dream, to think big, to walk away from craft stores and HGTV shows, and instead create your vision of home. If you don’t put your spin on it, owning that historic home is just an expensive, inconvenient hobby.

Featured in the January Edition of Stroll, a magazine published for the people of Mesa Park and Heritage Hills.