An Old Fashioned House

I saw a picture of a lovely, old Victorian cottage. It was being sold in a nice area, here in Vermont. However, the price was so high, it made me sad. Why? Because it was packed with modern updates. There were stainless steel appliances, a "granite chef's kitchen," and "Quakermaid oak cabinets." But wait. . it gets worse. . . there is a "new Kohler bathroom." All these modern, high-end touches, make the price prohibitive for lower middle class families. If the house had just been left in its "old fashioned" state, with basic repairs, a little paint and some cleaning, it would have been absolutely charming! It would have been affordable to a low-income family, who would have been thrilled to own it.

People, in these days, forget that creativity and hard work are what make an inexpensive home lovely and valuable.

I remember watching a home- and- garden program. Viewers toured the home of an elderly woman who wanted to sell it. As the kitchen came into view, I saw the most beautiful cabinets I had ever seen! These were painted a sage color and the owner had stenciled delicate vines to make a subtle trim around the edges. There were tiny hints of pale colored flowers. It looked lovely! However, the realtor advised the owner to replace those cabinets, saying that buyers today want modern, neutral fixtures. While that is generally true, something is being lost in our culture, when old fashioned houses are being replaced with modern, elegant features which is only affordable to dual-income career couples and the upper class.

Mr. White and I have a 3 story colonial house. It is 150 years old. We had some visitors come by in our first year here. They were retired, wealthy relatives. They looked around and said it would cost us a fortune to update this place. They shook their heads and said we had a lot of work to do. I cannot comprehend that mind-set. Why would I modernize this charming old house? Why would I not cherish it as the "museum" that it is? I love my large drafty rooms and my large, old windows. I love the old chimney and the homemade "Yankee" * kitchen cabinets. The charm of this house is that it is affordable, lovely, and vintage. . .  This is truly an old fashioned house. I can only hope that there are still many more out there.

Blessings
Mrs. White

* The term "Yankee" implies New England ingenuity, by making do with what we have while using  little or no money.

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